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Commentary for Article 4 – Fernald et al. (2013)
Main Question/Hypothesis
There exist striking disparities among how kids learn a language as they grow. Some
infants begin speaking in one year, while others wait until their second birthday to produce
words. However, some children who are late to talk catch up with others a few months later, but
others proceed to advance their language slowly, achieving reduced levels of language
competency. Several studies have explored the disparity in language learning between kids, and
most of them focus on learners' motivation, native language, age, and exposure to a new
language. Therefore, this study examines the role of socioeconomic status in children's language
development. The aim is to comprehend how kids from advantaged families differ from
disadvantaged families regarding early language proficiency. Besides, the authors also strive to
find when SES disparities start to manifest.
Research Design
A sample of 48 English-learning infants was followed or observed longitudinally
between 18 and 24 months. First, the selection of participants was thorough and well-
coordinated, ensuring the researchers applied the suitable sample. For instance, the scholars
selected the kids based on their daycare centers and birth records. They also avoided picking kids
of preterm birth who experienced birth complications and ones with visual or hearing
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impairment, known developmental disorder, and medical conditions. The goal was to eliminate
all variables that could affect the findings.
Furthermore, the authors utilized real-time interventions of spoken language processing
to study the sample. They tracked the infants' development transitions in processing competency
regarding vocabulary learning. Secondly, the scholars assessed disparities in various critical
features of early language development considering family SES. Parents filled the MacArthur-
Bates Communicative Development Inventory: Words & Sentences (CDI) after 18 and 24
months, revealing on a checklist of 680 items the words their kids pronounce and understand.
During the same period, researchers used the looking while-listening (LWL) procedure to assess
kids' comprehension of familiar phrases in real time. Other techniques applied to examine how
language proficiency differences among the participants include verbal, visual, and coding.
Researchers also calculated accuracy and reaction time (RT) to measure real-time speech
processing among the kids.
Main Findings
The authors found massive differences in language and vocabulary processing
competency at 18 months between infants from lower and higher SES families. By the end of
two years, researchers discovered a six-month blank between SES teams regarding processing
skills significant to language development. According to the authors, the participants in the
research came from diverse backgrounds. Still, they revealed similar transition patterns in the
competency of real-time language processing between 18 and 24 months (243). Unlike young
children, older kids could interpret heard speech signals gradually. They fixate the intended
picture upon getting sufficient information to recognize the referent. Researchers also found
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connections between early vocabulary development skills and spoken language processing,
replicating outcomes formerly depicted in kids from rich, profoundly educated families.
Implications of the Findings/Did the Authors Answer the Question?
Fernald et al. (2013) shows a considerable imbalance in language development between
disadvantaged and advantaged SES families, which is a problem, considering all kids learn and
advance to compete in the markets upon growing up. Therefore, governments and learning
institutions must coordinate with parents in finding viable ways to close the gap. Overall, the
authors have answered the research question. They have generated findings that relevant parties
can generalize and apply to promote language processing and vocabulary development in kids
from a young age.
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Work Cited
Fernald, Anne, Virginia A. Marchman, and Adriana Weisleder. "SES differences in language
processing skill and vocabulary are evident at 18 months."?Developmental Science,?vol.
16, no. 2, 2013, pp. 234-248.
