A groundbreaking study conducted by Harvard University reveals the factors that influence early language development in children. Contrary to common beliefs, the study found no link between a child’s gender, socioeconomic status, or exposure to multiple languages and their language development. Instead, the study discovered that children who heard more adult talk tended to be more vocal themselves. The research challenges the assumption that slower language development is solely due to lower-socioeconomic parents providing less input to their children. Read on to learn more about this fascinating study and its implications for early interventions.
A recent study conducted by psychologist Elika Bergelson from Harvard University challenges some common beliefs about language development in children. Bergelson’s research aimed to understand how children learn language comprehension and production and whether factors like gender, socioeconomic status, and exposure to multiple languages have an impact on language development.
Contrary to popular belief, Bergelson’s study found no significant association between a child’s gender, socioeconomic status, or exposure to multiple languages and their language development. Instead, the study revealed that children who heard more adult talk tended to be more talkative themselves. This finding suggests that factors like age and clinical factors, such as prematurity or dyslexia, are more influential in language development.
To conduct the study, Bergelson and her team collected audio recordings from wearable recorders worn by 1,001 children from 12 countries and 43 languages. The machine learning analysis of over 40,000 hours of recordings found no significant differences in vocalizations based on gender or socioeconomic status. However, the study did find that with every year of development, children produced around 66 more vocalizations per hour and that kids who heard more adult talk produced more vocalizations themselves.
It’s important to note that the study only focused on vocalizations made during the day and did not examine the sophistication of language used by children. Therefore, it is possible that socioeconomic and gender factors may still impact other aspects of language development.
Bergelson’s research challenges the common belief that slower language development is solely due to parents from lower-socioeconomic backgrounds providing less input to their children. The findings suggest that there may be other factors at play, such as children who produce more speech eliciting more talk from adults or talkative environments promoting more speech among children.
This study provides valuable insights into language development in children and highlights the need for further research to determine the exact reasons why child speech and adult talk are intertwined. By understanding the factors that influence language development, researchers can improve early interventions for children who struggle with language acquisition.
Bergelson’s work in the field of language development is supported by grants from prestigious organizations such as the National Institute of Health, National Science Foundation, and National Endowment for the Humanities. Her research aims to diversify the pool of children studied in language science, which has traditionally focused on white, middle-class Americans. By including children from different backgrounds and languages, Bergelson hopes to provide insights into how language develops for everyone, including children who are deaf or blind.
Overall, Bergelson’s study challenges the link between socioeconomic status and language input and output and opens up new avenues for understanding language development in children. The results of this study were published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and are considered complementary to other research in the field.
