Examining the nature of children's linguistic environments: evidence from socioeconomically and ethnically diverse families

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

The language children are exposed to relates to a range of developmental outcomes. However, prior research has typically focused on children from a narrow range of socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds, and it has primarily examined speech from mothers, overlooking other sources of input in children’s environment (e.g., fathers, siblings). The presentations in this symposium seek to rectify these gaps in the literature by examining several aspects of children’s language exposure from different input sources in socioeconomically and ethnically diverse samples.

The first presentation examined how a socioeconomically diverse sample of predominantly Hispanic mothers and fathers engaged in contingent, reciprocal interactions with their 9-month-olds and whether these exchanges predicted children’s language skills at 18 months. The second presentation examined children’s attention to overheard speech from parents, siblings, and peers in White working-class and African American poor communities and whether this attention varied based on the content of the overheard speech or the context in which it occurred. The third presentation examined whether parents’ discussion of mental states (i.e. thoughts, feelings, desires) with their 4.5-year-olds varied with different dimensions of socioeconomic status (education, income) or the context of the parent-child interaction. Finally, a discussant with expertise on the language environments of socioeconomically, linguistically, and racially diverse children will provide commentary on presentations, current challenges, and future directions.

Together, these presentations shed new light on the nature of children’s linguistic environments in socioeconomically and ethnically diverse groups across contexts and reaffirm the importance of considering these factors when exploring impacts of language input.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Erin Roby, NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Discussant

• Mary Bratsch-Hines, University of Florida

Individual Presentations

• Mother-infant and father-infant “serve and return” interactions: Link to language skills at 18 months - Presenting Author: Yu Chen, New York University School of Medicine; Natasha J Cabrera, University of Maryland - College Park; Stephanie M Reich, University of California - Irvine

• How Overheard Speech Supplements Child-directed Speech for Young Language Learners in Two American Communities - Presenting Author: Douglas E. Sperry, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College; Linda L Sperry, Indiana State University

• Exploring the complex relations between SES and parental mental-state language in a socioeconomically diverse sample - Presenting Author: Erin Roby, NYU Grossman School of Medicine; James Z Sullivan, University of California - Merced; Maritza Miramontes, University of California - Davis; Emily Kendrick; Rose M Scott, University of California - Merced