 So what can I do to help my child acquire and use language well?
“
The biggest single step is a negative one: to get rid of the common
notion that language means talking; that talking means using words
and that therefore the whole process of language-learning is delayed
until a baby is nearly a year old. Language is communication between
one person and another. So if you wait to interest yourself in your
child’s language until she can speak, you will have missed a
great deal of the fun.” (Penelope Leach, cited in Acredolo
and Goodwyn (2000)).
What is the key to successful baby signing?
“
Persistence, perseverance, keeping relaxed, consistency, starting early
and not doing too much too soon.” (Answers given by mums attending
TinyTalk UK classes and part of a dissertation study by a Social
Sciences undergraduate at Bristol University, 2003)
How does baby sign language fit into theories of how language is best
acquired?
 Language acquisition has been researched for many years.
The ‘nature’ versus ‘nurture’ over-simplistic
distinction made way for other models such as those looking at how
people interact with their children and the environment around the
child. Piaget (1926) believed that language is inextricably linked
to intellectual development. He felt that “thought
is internalized action” (in Webster and Wood, 1989).
Mental reorganization and development can occur with or without helpful
adults and other people
around. (Others have discovered that intelligence levels are often
shown at a much higher stage than language (Wood, 1986)). Chomsky
believed we are born with a ‘language acquisition device’ (or
L.A.D.) and to fully develop our L.A.D. we do need helpful adults
and children
to support us. He called this help a ‘language acquisition
support system’ (or L.A.S.S.). Parents and carers all take
on this role of being the L.A.S.S.
This was taken a step further
by Vygotsky (1962) who said that this
interaction between young children and their parents or carers had
to be of quality for it to be meaningful. Those with more advanced
language skills needed to support those with less advanced language
skills, providing ‘scaffolding’ or support. This includes
asking closed questions (offering a choice of 2 things to the child
or a question that requires a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’ answer
in some form). Children need everyday routines and patterns with
appropriate language (Sacks, 1990).
The TinyTalk UK Signing Pack
contains 50
signs that relate to the child’s environment (such as ‘toy’, ‘food’ and ‘nappy’)
and the first speech sounds pronounced (such as those beginning with ‘b’ and ‘d’,
such as ‘bath’, ‘book’ and ‘bed’ and ‘duck’, ‘dog’ and ‘daddy’).
Bernstein (1965) also found a link between a family’s socio-economic
background and how restricted or elaborate the language spoken was.
TinyTalk UK works closely with Surestart to ensure that all parents
are empowered in raising their children and that all children get
the very best start in life.
In reality, language (whether spoken or signed) develops through
a range of processes.
We learn through imitation, an element of innate ability, cognition
and input. This input has to be of quantity as well as of quality.
(This goes back to how much time parents and carers really spend
talking to their children). “Problem-solving and rule-learning have both
also been proved to be of benefit to infants in understanding language” (Galloway,
1998).
From birth, hearing children have language all around them.
They are positively “well-buffered” (Snow, 1994) with an “input
cushion” (Nelson et al., 1993): they get more than needed to
activate their language development. Carers also make adaptations to
the way that they talk to young children, termed ‘Motherese’ (Snow,
1977). This facilitates language development. Words are usually simpler
and about ‘the here and now’. Phrases are shorter and
exaggerated intonation is used. The appropriateness of the social
context or language
is crucial (Bruner, 1975 and Vihman and Miller, 1988).
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