Associations between Caregivers’ Open- and Closed-ended Questions and Toddlers’ Language Skills in Senegal

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:45 pm - Gold 1
  In Roundtable Session: Language, Multilingualism, and Linguistic Equity

Abstract

Research in Western societies shows that adults’ open-ended questions support child language development. However, we know little about language development in Africa. This study examines the association between the open- and closed-ended questions that caregivers in Senegal ask Wolof-learning children when they are 24 months old and their language abilities concurrently and one year later. There were no significant associations between the proportion of open- and closed-ended questions and child language outcomes. However, ‘what’ questions were associated with child vocabulary and language milestones one year later, but not concurrently. ‘How’ questions were only associated with language milestones one year later. ‘Why’ questions were primarily for reprimanding children, possibly explaining the observed negative longitudinal association between these questions and language milestones.

Authors

• Yatma Diop, University of Vermont

• Lori Skibbe, Michigan State University