- A young infant sits on a parent’s lap facing the parent. The baby smiles and coos and makes many unintelligible sounds. The parent copies the sounds and smiles back at the baby.
- A 1-year-old is at the table with her family. She reaches forward and makes a sound. One of the parents uses a high-pitched voice, and says, “Oh, you want some more milk?” (Infant directed speech)
- A toddler says, “Mommy goed tore?” and the parent says, “No, mommy is going to work. She will be back soon.” (Over regularization)
- A preschooler says, “I wanna pay it da tuck and car.” A parent responds, “I know you want to play with the truck and car but it is time for bed.”
- A 6-year-old says, “Daddy, don’t turn off the TV. I am going to watch the show about the bears in Yosemite.” Dad responds, “Let’s get a book about bears off the shelfand one of our books about Yosemiteso we can look things up while we watch the show.
based on the scenarios
Give an analysis of the parent’s role in language development. Summarize the parent’s role from the point of view of each of the two theoretical views of behaviorist and nativist approaches. How does the concept of infant-directed speech apply to the parent’s reactions to the infant and young child’s language development? Then, summarize your own view of the language acquisition process. Which theoretical approach makes the most sense to you, and why?
