Journal & Issues

Volume 27 (2023): Issue 1 (January 2023)

Volume 26 (2022): Issue 1 (January 2022)

Volume 25 (2021): Issue 1 (January 2021)

Volume 24 (2020): Issue 1 (January 2020)

Volume 23 (2019): Issue 1 (January 2019)

Volume 22 (2018): Issue 1 (January 2018)

Volume 21 (2017): Issue 1 (December 2017)

Volume 20 (2016): Issue 3 (December 2016)

Volume 20 (2016): Issue 2 (December 2016)

Volume 20 (2016): Issue 1 (October 2016)

Volume 19 (2015): Issue 3 (December 2015)

Volume 19 (2015): Issue 2 (October 2015)

Volume 19 (2015): Issue 1 (May 2015)

Volume 18 (2014): Issue 3 (December 2014)
Children's Language and Communicative Knowledge, Part Two. In childhood and beyond, Issue Editor: Barbara Bokus

Volume 18 (2014): Issue 2 (August 2014)
Children's Language and Communicative Knowledge, Part One. In Memory of Professor Grace Wales Shugar, Issue Editor: Barbara Bokus

Volume 18 (2014): Issue 1 (May 2014)

Volume 17 (2013): Issue 3 (December 2013)

Volume 17 (2013): Issue 2 (September 2013)

Volume 17 (2013): Issue 1 (June 2013)

Volume 16 (2012): Issue 3 (December 2012)

Volume 16 (2012): Issue 2 (December 2012)
Language as a Tool for Interaction, Issue Editor: Joanna Rączaszek-Leonardi

Volume 16 (2012): Issue 1 (January 2012)

Volume 15 (2011): Issue 2 (January 2011)

Volume 15 (2011): Issue 1 (January 2011)

Volume 14 (2010): Issue 2 (January 2010)

Volume 14 (2010): Issue 1 (January 2010)

Volume 13 (2009): Issue 2 (January 2009)

Volume 13 (2009): Issue 1 (January 2009)

Volume 12 (2008): Issue 2 (January 2008)

Volume 12 (2008): Issue 1 (January 2008)

Journal Details
Format
Journal
eISSN
2083-8506
First Published
01 Jan 1997
Publication timeframe
1 time per year
Languages
English

Search

Volume 18 (2014): Issue 3 (December 2014)
Children's Language and Communicative Knowledge, Part Two. In childhood and beyond, Issue Editor: Barbara Bokus

Journal Details
Format
Journal
eISSN
2083-8506
First Published
01 Jan 1997
Publication timeframe
1 time per year
Languages
English

Search

0 Articles
Open Access

Parent-Child Interaction and Lexical Acquisition in two Domains: Color Words and Animal Names

Published Online: 30 Dec 2014
Page range: 204 - 210

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This paper explores young children’s and parents’ use of color words and animal names in two published studies. The aim is to compare the ranges and kinds of these words in parentchild interaction and to consider the implications of these findings for our understanding of early lexical development. Color term data were drawn from the Gleason corpus in CHILDES: 12 boys and 12 girls ranging in age from 25-62 months, and their parents. Results showed that parents used and emphasized only the same 10 most basic colors, with many teaching episodes. Parents’ most frequent terms, red, blue, and green were also children’s most frequent terms and are the ones acquired earliest according to MacArthur Bates lexical norms. In the second study CLAN programs were used to identify animal names in corpora from a variety of families in CHILDES, with 44 children ranging in age from 1;6-6;2. Children and parents produced a remarkable number and range of animal terms, with individual preschoolers naming as many as 96 different, often rare, animals, such as crocodile and pelican. Parents and children thus attend to the same limited set of basic color terms. By contrast, biophilia, our shared human love of the living world is reflected in children’s extensive animal lexicon.

Keywords

  • animal names
  • biophilia
  • color terms
  • lexical acquisition
  • parent-child interaction
Open Access

Acquisition of Romani in a Bilingual Context

Published Online: 30 Dec 2014
Page range: 211 - 225

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The paper presents research findings from research on Roma children and their acquisition of different grammatical categories in the Romani language. Results from three different studies with Roma children from Bulgaria are discussed: acquisition of mental state verbs (MSV), Bates-MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) in Romani and subtests from DELV (Seymour, Roeper, & de Villiers, 2005). All the testing and research shows that Roma children follow the paths of normally developing children in their language development. Roma children are able to correctly use nouns, verbs, wh-questions and to assume different communicative roles.

Keywords

  • Romani
  • acquisition
  • language development
Open Access

Switching Between Noun and Verb Agreement Rules Comes at a Cost: Cross-Sectional and Interventional Studies in a Developmental Sample

Published Online: 30 Dec 2014
Page range: 226 - 250

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This study clarifies the impact of switching context between noun and verb number agreement rules in written language production. In Experiment 1, children from grade 3 to 6 were asked to fill in sentences with nouns and verbs in either a switching condition (noun followed by verb) or a repeating condition (noun followed by noun). The results showed that third- and fourth-grade children produced more erroneous agreements in the switching condition than in the repeating condition, showing that switching between rules comes at a cost, whereas fifth- and sixth-grade participants’ performance was not affected by the switching context. Based on these findings, Experiment 2 aimed to assess whether a switching treatment offers a greater opportunity to improve the acquisition of grammatical agreement production, as compared to a simple treatment. Teachers from grade 3 gave either a switching treatment (mixed noun and verb exercises) or a simple treatment (noun exercises followed by verb exercises). The results show that children learned better from the switching treatment than from the simple treatment. These findings highlight the cost of switching between noun and verb agreement rules during the acquisition of grammatical number agreement and also how grammatical spelling acquisition can be improved at school.

Keywords

  • grammatical writing
  • number agreement
  • switching context
  • instructional practices
Open Access

Age and Gender Effects on Motivation and Attitudes in German Learning: The Polish Context

Published Online: 30 Dec 2014
Page range: 251 - 262

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The research investigates the German language learning motivations of Polish secondary school students and university students. Questionnaire data were collected from 247 students (126 from secondary school and 121 from university). The aim of this research was to examine the relationships among language attitudes, instrumental, cultural interest, integrative, L2 self and motivated learning. The results show the existence of age and gender difference in variables under consideration. Relationships were found between age and gender to the motivational attitudes: older and female students had a more integrative attitude than younger and mail students and experienced more intensive motivation.

Keywords

  • language learning
  • age
  • gender
  • second language motivation
  • language attitudes
  • German language
Open Access

Narrative Identity of Adolescents and Family Functioning

Published Online: 30 Dec 2014
Page range: 263 - 279

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The paper presents research conducted within the narrative psychology paradigm. Its main purpose was to explore the relationships between features of adolescents’ identity narratives and their assessments of family functioning and themselves as family members. The choice of subject was motivated by current reports on identity formation difficulties in adolescence. Adolescents’ narratives were subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis. Associations between specific aspects of self-narratives and participants’ perceptions of how their families functioned and how they functioned in the family system were evaluated. The results confirm the hypothesized relationships between the features of adolescents’ narratives and evaluations of their families and self-assessments of their own functioning in those families. Multi-thematic, content-rich and positively evaluated self-narratives are associated with positive assessments of selected aspects of family functioning and adolescents’ own functioning within the family. The following aspects of family assessment are significant: affective expression, level of emotional involvement in the family, level of control, family role performance and communication. Important factors in the self-assessment were: sense of competence in family role performance, assessment of one’s communication, behavior control and affective expression.

Keywords

  • adolescence
  • identity issues
  • family relationships
  • development
  • narratives
0 Articles
Open Access

Parent-Child Interaction and Lexical Acquisition in two Domains: Color Words and Animal Names

Published Online: 30 Dec 2014
Page range: 204 - 210

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This paper explores young children’s and parents’ use of color words and animal names in two published studies. The aim is to compare the ranges and kinds of these words in parentchild interaction and to consider the implications of these findings for our understanding of early lexical development. Color term data were drawn from the Gleason corpus in CHILDES: 12 boys and 12 girls ranging in age from 25-62 months, and their parents. Results showed that parents used and emphasized only the same 10 most basic colors, with many teaching episodes. Parents’ most frequent terms, red, blue, and green were also children’s most frequent terms and are the ones acquired earliest according to MacArthur Bates lexical norms. In the second study CLAN programs were used to identify animal names in corpora from a variety of families in CHILDES, with 44 children ranging in age from 1;6-6;2. Children and parents produced a remarkable number and range of animal terms, with individual preschoolers naming as many as 96 different, often rare, animals, such as crocodile and pelican. Parents and children thus attend to the same limited set of basic color terms. By contrast, biophilia, our shared human love of the living world is reflected in children’s extensive animal lexicon.

Keywords

  • animal names
  • biophilia
  • color terms
  • lexical acquisition
  • parent-child interaction
Open Access

Acquisition of Romani in a Bilingual Context

Published Online: 30 Dec 2014
Page range: 211 - 225

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The paper presents research findings from research on Roma children and their acquisition of different grammatical categories in the Romani language. Results from three different studies with Roma children from Bulgaria are discussed: acquisition of mental state verbs (MSV), Bates-MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) in Romani and subtests from DELV (Seymour, Roeper, & de Villiers, 2005). All the testing and research shows that Roma children follow the paths of normally developing children in their language development. Roma children are able to correctly use nouns, verbs, wh-questions and to assume different communicative roles.

Keywords

  • Romani
  • acquisition
  • language development
Open Access

Switching Between Noun and Verb Agreement Rules Comes at a Cost: Cross-Sectional and Interventional Studies in a Developmental Sample

Published Online: 30 Dec 2014
Page range: 226 - 250

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This study clarifies the impact of switching context between noun and verb number agreement rules in written language production. In Experiment 1, children from grade 3 to 6 were asked to fill in sentences with nouns and verbs in either a switching condition (noun followed by verb) or a repeating condition (noun followed by noun). The results showed that third- and fourth-grade children produced more erroneous agreements in the switching condition than in the repeating condition, showing that switching between rules comes at a cost, whereas fifth- and sixth-grade participants’ performance was not affected by the switching context. Based on these findings, Experiment 2 aimed to assess whether a switching treatment offers a greater opportunity to improve the acquisition of grammatical agreement production, as compared to a simple treatment. Teachers from grade 3 gave either a switching treatment (mixed noun and verb exercises) or a simple treatment (noun exercises followed by verb exercises). The results show that children learned better from the switching treatment than from the simple treatment. These findings highlight the cost of switching between noun and verb agreement rules during the acquisition of grammatical number agreement and also how grammatical spelling acquisition can be improved at school.

Keywords

  • grammatical writing
  • number agreement
  • switching context
  • instructional practices
Open Access

Age and Gender Effects on Motivation and Attitudes in German Learning: The Polish Context

Published Online: 30 Dec 2014
Page range: 251 - 262

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The research investigates the German language learning motivations of Polish secondary school students and university students. Questionnaire data were collected from 247 students (126 from secondary school and 121 from university). The aim of this research was to examine the relationships among language attitudes, instrumental, cultural interest, integrative, L2 self and motivated learning. The results show the existence of age and gender difference in variables under consideration. Relationships were found between age and gender to the motivational attitudes: older and female students had a more integrative attitude than younger and mail students and experienced more intensive motivation.

Keywords

  • language learning
  • age
  • gender
  • second language motivation
  • language attitudes
  • German language
Open Access

Narrative Identity of Adolescents and Family Functioning

Published Online: 30 Dec 2014
Page range: 263 - 279

Abstract

ABSTRACT

The paper presents research conducted within the narrative psychology paradigm. Its main purpose was to explore the relationships between features of adolescents’ identity narratives and their assessments of family functioning and themselves as family members. The choice of subject was motivated by current reports on identity formation difficulties in adolescence. Adolescents’ narratives were subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis. Associations between specific aspects of self-narratives and participants’ perceptions of how their families functioned and how they functioned in the family system were evaluated. The results confirm the hypothesized relationships between the features of adolescents’ narratives and evaluations of their families and self-assessments of their own functioning in those families. Multi-thematic, content-rich and positively evaluated self-narratives are associated with positive assessments of selected aspects of family functioning and adolescents’ own functioning within the family. The following aspects of family assessment are significant: affective expression, level of emotional involvement in the family, level of control, family role performance and communication. Important factors in the self-assessment were: sense of competence in family role performance, assessment of one’s communication, behavior control and affective expression.

Keywords

  • adolescence
  • identity issues
  • family relationships
  • development
  • narratives