The language patterns of preschool children in the computer environment.This article describes the language patterns of eight preschool students in a computer environment. Videotaped interactions at the computer center were analyzed an·a·lyze tr.v. an·a·lyzed, an·a·lyz·ing, an·a·lyz·es 1. To examine methodically by separating into parts and studying their interrelations. 2. Chemistry To make a chemical analysis of. 3. to examine the nature of the verbal interaction that took place among peers. Using Halliday's functional framework, the authors found that regulatory was the most popular language pattern, followed by heuristic A method of problem solving using exploration and trial and error methods. Heuristic program design provides a framework for solving the problem in contrast with a fixed set of rules (algorithmic) that cannot vary. 1. and representational rep·re·sen·ta·tion·al adj. Of or relating to representation, especially to realistic graphic representation. rep . The results of this study reveal the scope and variety of preschool children's language in the computer environment and may help early childhood educators  This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject.Please help recruit one or [ improve this article] yourself. See the talk page for details. understand how preschool children use language to interact with each other. ********** As computers are becoming increasingly popular in preschool classrooms, their role in child development (in the areas of cognition cognition Act or process of knowing. Cognition includes every mental process that may be described as an experience of knowing (including perceiving, recognizing, conceiving, and reasoning), as distinguished from an experience of feeling or of willing. , emotion, and language) also has been closely examined (Clements Clements is a name that can refer to the following: People First Name Surname
adj. 1. Being other than verbal; not involving words: nonverbal communication. 2. Involving little use of language: a nonverbal intelligence test. skills, structural knowledge, long-term memory long-term memory n. Abbr. LTM The phase of the memory process considered the permanent storehouse of retained information. long-term memory , manual dexterity, verbal skills, problem solving problem solving Process involved in finding a solution to a problem. Many animals routinely solve problems of locomotion, food finding, and shelter through trial and error. , abstraction In object technology, determining the essential characteristics of an object. Abstraction is one of the basic principles of object-oriented design, which allows for creating user-defined data types, known as objects. See object-oriented programming and encapsulation. 1. , and conceptual skills when compared to children without computer experiences in similar classrooms (Haugland, 1992; NirGal & Klein Klein , Melanie 1882-1960. Austrian-born British psychoanalyst who first introduced play therapy and was the first to use psychoanalysis to treat young children. , 2004). Among the research that is focused on how computers mediate MEDIATE, POWERS. Those incident to primary powers, given by a principal to his agent. For example, the general authority given to collect, receive and pay debts due by or to the principal is a primary power. peer or group interaction, a limited number of studies were devoted to the understanding of the nature of talk by young children in the computer environment. Mercer mer·cer n. Chiefly British A dealer in textiles, especially silks. [Middle English, from Old French mercier, trader, from merz, merchandise, from Latin merx (1994) studied the oral language produced by a group of British primary school students at the computer. He identified three unique categories of talk that young children exhibit in the computer environment--namely disputational talk, in which children argue with each other on a variety of issues; cumulative talk, in which children build upon each other's talk; and exploratory talk, in which hypotheses are proposed and tested. While this study captured the general nature of primary school children's language production in the computer environment, it did not provide a more detailed and inclusive look into the complex language produced by young children. Using Tough's (1977) functional framework, Bhargava and Escobedo (1997) examined the language of preschool children in a structured computer environment and found that among the functions of informing, directing, expressing, and inquiring inquiring, v to draw information from a client—whether by verbal questioning or physical examination—to assess the person's state of health. , informing is the most popular function in that structured learning context. Just as in the previous study, the four-category framework was inadequate to describe the complex nature of the language produced by preschoolers in the computer environment. Hoyles, Healy, and Sutherland Sutherland or Sutherlandshire, former county, N Scotland. Under the Local Government Act of 1973, Sutherland became (1975) part of the new Highland region (now a council area). (1991) examined the influence of computers on child language patterns in a mathematical learning environment. They concluded that the discussion patterns of a group of 12- to 13-year-old children differ in computer and non-computer environments. In the computer environment, students tend to use more formal, descriptive, and specific language associated with the software program, while the language is more general and natural in the non-computer environment. Interestingly, Kelly and Schorger (2001) focused on the expressive language of preschoolers in a computer center. After comparing the computer and free-play environments, they did not find significant difference in the amount of language spoken in the two contexts. Instead, differences were found in individuals, rather than in contexts. While all these studies captured some aspects of the nature of preschool children's language in the computer environment, the authors of the current research believe that they did not adequately reveal the scope and variety of children's language. In order to portray por·tray tr.v. por·trayed, por·tray·ing, por·trays 1. To depict or represent pictorially; make a picture of. 2. To depict or describe in words. 3. To represent dramatically, as on the stage. a more inclusive picture of children's language in the computer environment, this research intended to apply a more comprehensive theoretical framework to verbal interactions that occurred at the computer. Theoretical Framework Three linguistic theories--i.e., the speech act theory (Austin, 1962; Searle, 1969), the developmental theory (Piaget Pia·get , Jean 1896-1980. Swiss child psychologist noted for his studies of intellectual and cognitive development in children. , 1955), and the functional theory (Halliday, 1973)--were examined to determine which one would be the best framework to uncover the nature of verbal interactions in this study. The speech act theory posits that all human speech is used to perform acts, which include assertive as·ser·tive adj. Inclined to bold or confident assertion; aggressively self-assured. as·ser  tive·ly adv. , directive, commissive,
expressive, and declarative de·clar·a·tive adj. 1. Serving to declare or state. 2. Of, relating to, or being an element or construction used to make a statement: a declarative sentence. n. acts (Searle, 1975). Although this theory has been widely used in discourse analysis Discourse analysis (DA), or discourse studies, is a general term for a number of approaches to analyzing written, spoken or signed language use. The objects of discourse analysis—discourse, writing, , conversation, communicative event, etc. , we believed that a framework that is based on child language would be more appropriate to understand child language production. Therefore, we did not use the first theory. The second theory that was considered was Piaget's developmental theory, which speculates that a child goes through specific stages in his or her language development. This theory has explicitly described these stages and identified the characteristics of the language at each stage (e.g., the sensorimotor sensorimotor /sen·so·ri·mo·tor/ (sen?sor-e-mo´ter) both sensory and motor. sen·so·ri·mo·tor adj. Of, relating to, or combining the functions of the sensory and motor activities. , preoperational, concrete operations, and formal operations). Nonetheless, the authors were not interested in the developmental level of the participants' language. Rather, they were mainly concerned with determining the nature of language that is produced at the computer center. The researchers believed that for this purpose, the functional view of child language developed by Halliday (1973) would be the most appropriate framework, for two reasons. The first reason is that the theory was developed based on the analysis of child language and thus would be best for understanding child language. The other reason is that its seven-category framework provides a much broader and inclusive scope than did the previous two theories. Halliday (1973) defined the functional theory of language as "one which attempts to explain linguistic structure, and linguistic phenomena, by reference to the notion that language plays a certain part in our lives; that it is required to serve certain universal types of demand" (p. 96). He identified seven functions in child language: Instrumental (language is used to satisfy personal needs and to get things done; e.g., "Candy candy: see confectionery. candy Sweet sugar- or chocolate-based confection. The Egyptians made candy from honey (combined with figs, dates, nuts, and spices), sugar being unknown. , Mommy"); Regulatory (language is used to control the behavior of others; e.g., "Go out"); Interactional (language is used to get along with others; e.g., "You want to eat?"); Personal (language is used to tell about themselves; e.g., "I am playing now"); Heuristic (language is used to find out things or to learn things; e.g., "How did you get that?"); Imaginative (language is used to pretend or to make believe; e.g., "Let's pretend this is a hotel"); and Representational or Informative (language is used to communicate for the information of others; e.g., "I'll tell you how to draw a dragon"). To Halliday, a young child tends to use language in one distinct function at a time, while an adult often combines several functions in one instance of language. For this reason, this seven-category theory provides an adequate model to understand the relatively unambiguous functions in a child's use of language. It was applied to the data collected in the current research to unveil the nature of preschoolers' language in the computer environment. The authors also developed and employed a coding scheme that consists of the seven functions. The following are the questions this study set out to answer: 1. Are Halliday's seven functional categories all present in the language produced in this preschool classroom's computer environment? 2. What is the most frequently used function in this computer environment? 3. Do Halliday's seven functional categories cover all the language produced? Methodology Participants and Setting The research took place at a rural Head Start center in a southern state in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Of the 18 participants, 10 were girls and eight were boys. Seventeen children were white and one was Hispanic Hispanic Multiculture A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race Social medicine Any of 17 major Latino subcultures, concentrated in California, Texas, Chicago, Miam, NY, and elsewhere . All children were native speakers of English and ranged in age from four to five years. They were predominantly pre·dom·i·nant adj. 1. Having greatest ascendancy, importance, influence, authority, or force. See Synonyms at dominant. 2. from low socioeconomic so·ci·o·ec·o·nom·ic adj. Of or involving both social and economic factors. socioeconomic Adjective of or involving economic and social factors Adj. 1. backgrounds. During a three-month period, the researchers made five visits to the classroom to meet with the teachers and observe and record child interactions. On each visit, the researcher videotaped what happened at the computer center during the free-choice free-choice the animals are free to eat as much as they like of two or more feeds which are available. time in the morning from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Parental/guardian permission was obtained prior to observation. At any given time, at least two teachers were in the room with the children. The computer center was one of the eight learning centers in the classroom. A 13"-computer monitor sat on a desk that was placed against the wall. The area was blocked in by a big shelf that had many storage cubes cubes See QQQ. where students put their backpacks, clothes, and other personal belongings personal belongings npl → efectos mpl personales . Programs installed on the computer included Kid Pix Kid Pix is a bitmap drawing program aimed at children. Originally created by Craig Hickman, it was first released for the Macintosh in 1989 and subsequently published in 1991 by Brøderbund. , Reader Rabbit Reader Rabbit is an edutainment software franchise created in 1989 by The Learning Company. This series currently makes up the greater part of a franchise of grade-based and subject-based titles, where the games for infancy through second grade feature Reader Rabbit. Personalized per·son·al·ize tr.v. per·son·al·ized, per·son·al·iz·ing, per·son·al·iz·es 1. To take (a general remark or characterization) in a personal manner. 2. To attribute human or personal qualities to; personify. Preschool, LEGO My Style Preschool, and Freddi Fish Character Freddi Fish is a fictional anthropomorphic fish in the award winning Freddi Fish series of children's software from Humongous Entertainment. Freddi Fish has her own pal, Luther, who is her best friend and goes with her on all her adventures. . Depending on the program the child was working with, he or she might draw, paint, assemble different things, match words with pictures, or identify rhyming rhyme also rime n. 1. Correspondence of terminal sounds of words or of lines of verse. 2. a. A poem or verse having a regular correspondence of sounds, especially at the ends of lines. b. words. Two small chairs were placed in front of the computer. A teacher-made sign that read "computer" was posted at the top of the monitor. Data A small digital video camera was set up at the computer center when the researcher visited the site. Recordings were made only during the daily free-choice time from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Data were collected throughout the fall semester se·mes·ter n. One of two divisions of 15 to 18 weeks each of an academic year. [German, from Latin (cursus) s on five separate visits. The five videotapes, each approximately 45 minutes long, were viewed and transcribed. As short segments of interactions at the computer center usually do not contain much language production, only interactions that lasted more than three minutes "Three Minutes" is the 46th episode of Lost. It is the twenty-second episode of the second season. The episode was directed by Stephen Williams, and written by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz. It first aired on May 17, 2006 on ABC. were chosen for analysis. In the end, a total of seven segments were included in the data analysis. The shortest interaction is approximately three minutes and the longest is about 16 minutes. Table 1 is a summary of the length of each interaction and the pseudonyms This article gives a list of pseudonyms, in various categories. Pseudonyms are similar to, but distinct from, secret identities. Artists, sculptors, architects
In actual analysis, data were examined using the analytic induction Analytic induction refers to a systematic examination of similarities between various social phenomena in order to develop concepts or ideas. Social scientists doing social research use analytic induction to search for those similarities in broad categories and then develop method (Erickson & Shultz, 1982) to identify similarities in the data. This approach is widely used in social science research and involves carefully searching for similarities in the data and developing categories and subcategories within the similarities. For this study, all selected transcripts were perused repeatedly for significant patterns pertinent PERTINENT, evidence. Those facts which tend to prove the allegations of the party offering them, are called pertinent; those which have no such tendency are called impertinent, 8 Toull. n. 22. By pertinent is also meant that which belongs. Willes, 319. to the seven categories of the coding scheme. For example, all utterances that indicate commands or requests were coded as regulatory. All utterances that were used to build or maintain relationship were coded as interactional. Language used to find out how things work was categorized cat·e·go·rize tr.v. cat·e·go·rized, cat·e·go·riz·ing, cat·e·go·riz·es To put into a category or categories; classify. cat as heuristic, while remarks intended to inform others were classified as informative. The selected data were analyzed by both researchers, and the inter-rater reliability Inter-rater reliability, Inter-rater agreement, or Concordance is the degree of agreement among raters. It gives a score of how much , or consensus, there is in the ratings given by judges. was established at 82 percent. Findings After the data were coded, the frequency of each type of function was counted and compared. Table 2 below summarizes the findings. Regulatory According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Halliday (1973), the regulatory language pattern is "the use of language to control the behavior of others, to manipulate manipulate To cause a security to sell at an artificial price. Although investment bankers are permitted to manipulate temporarily the stock they underwrite, most other forms of manipulation are illegal. the persons in the environment; the 'do as I tell you' function" (p. 23). As the results show, regulatory is the most frequently occurring language function at the computer center, demonstrated when children instruct in·struct v. in·struct·ed, in·struct·ing, in·structs v.tr. 1. To provide with knowledge, especially in a methodical way. See Synonyms at teach. 2. To give orders to; direct. v. peers to perform certain acts. This is consistent throughout the segments selected for analysis. Some examples include "Click this," "Do that again," "Take the red one," and "Go back." A closer look at the data reveals an apparent distinction between task-related regulatory language and behavior-related regulatory language. Task-related: We frequently observed the participants telling a peer what to do on the computer. The prevalence of regulatory language in the computer environment supports the research finding that children often compete for the control over the mouse in a pair or group context (Plowman & Stephen, 2005). It is the direct result of the fact that one participant has no access to the mouse and, in order to participate, has to give frequent directions. It also suggests that at this age, children haven't developed the awareness or the competence to minimize their regulatory language, resulting in quick directives and orders given to other children. In addition, the computer center is a place where everything happens so quickly that children do not have the time to ponder Ponder - A non-strict polymorphic, functional language by Jon Fairbairn <jf@cl.cam.ac.uk>. Ponder's type system is unusual. It is more powerful than the Hindley-Milner type system used by ML and Miranda and extended by Haskell. and modify their speech. Here are some examples of the regulatory language found in the computer center: Ethan-Dylan: Hey, push that for a second. Push that. Dylan-Ethan: Watch this ... watch this. Dylan-Ethan: Get me out of here 'cause I want to.... Charity-Courtney: Get that. Behavior-related: Children did sometimes, although not frequently, use regulatory language to direct the behavior of others in response to the action of the peer. Here are a few examples: Dylan-Ethan: Quit it! (Ethan kept saying "Oink, oink, oink," imitating pigs.) Dylan-Corey: Quit it! (Corey kept hitting him with a toy.) Ethan-Corey: Get out of the way! (Corey blocked his view.) Table 3 is a summary of the subcategories in each segment. Heuristic The second most frequently occurring language pattern is the heuristic function. Halliday (1973) defined it as using language "as a means of investigating reality, a way of learning about things" (p. 6). This function is usually in the form of a question about anything the child wants to know about: an event, a person, the environment, and so on. It is regarded as one of the most important foundations for learning. Working on a computer means encountering and overcoming technical difficulties as well as socializing with each other. The researchers found two types of questions in the heuristic function (i.e., those that are related to the task and those that are related to the person). Questions related to the task: Frequently the participants would ask what has happened, what is happening, or how to solve a problem on the computer, with the emphasis on the event itself. Ethan-Chase: What happened? Chase-Ethan: What's happening? Corey-Dylan: Which one doesn't belong? Questions related to the person: This subcategory sub·cat·e·go·ry n. pl. sub·cat·e·go·ries A subdivision that has common differentiating characteristics within a larger category. usually has a socializing nature whereby children ask questions about each other, with the emphasis on the person. Dylan-Ethan: What are your favorite colors? I love yellow. Dylan-Rocky: Do you have a motorcycle motorcycle, motor vehicle whose design is based on the bicycle. The German inventor Gottlieb Daimler is generally credited with building the first practical motorcycle in 1885. The motorcycle did not become dependable and popular, however, until after 1900. at home? Chase-Ethan: Did your mom She goes to the gym. make it for you? The following table shows the distribution of this function in the segments. Representational or Informative According to Halliday (1973), the representational language pattern serves to communicate information to others. When a child answers a question, or describes or explains an event or process, it is a representational statement. Halliday argued that this function is not a dominant one for young children, although it gains prominence prominence /prom·i·nence/ (prom´i-nins) a protrusion or projection. frontonasal prominence as they mature. The researchers identified the following two subcategories in the data. Describing: At the computer center, these children often describe to their peers what has happened on the computer, what they just did with the program, or simply what just appeared on the screen. Chase-Ethan (explaining what is happening on the screen): Get cut off ... cut off. Chase-Ethan: I never see that chair. Chase-Ethan: ... his nose is being cut off. Chase-Ethan: I cut him. Chase-Ethan: ... made a worm worm, common name for various unrelated invertebrate animals with soft, often long and slender bodies. Members of the phylum Platyhelminthes, or the flatworms, are the most primitive; they are generally small and flat-bodied and include the free-living planarians (of ... now turned green. Ethan-Chase: Now it's gray. Explaining: Unlike other centers, the technological nature of the computer center often requires children to help each other to solve problems and accomplish tasks through collaboration Working together on a project. See collaborative software. . Here are some examples: Ethan-Dylan: That goes to the top. Madison-Chase: This one, up here. Ethan-Dylan: That thing ... right there ... that place.... The following table is a summary of the two subcategories in the seven segments. Personal Personal is the language function that is used to "offer to someone else that which is unique to himself, to make public his own individuality individuality, n collective characteristics or traits that distinguish one person or thing from all others. " (Halliday, 1973, p. 6). Basically, it is used to tell others about oneself. In the collected data, the researchers identified the following subcategories. Action or state: The participants often talk about what they did or what they are doing while they work with a peer on the computer. Dylan-Rocky: You keep on ... I beat him. Rocky-Dylan: I picked the bird ... I picked the dog. Ethan-Chase: I take the dragon. Ethan-Dylan: I am okay. Ability: In this particular environment, a child frequently tells a peer what he/she can or cannot do with the computer. Dylan-Ethan: I know. Ethan-Dylan: I have a great idea. Dylan-Ethan: I know how to get out. Dylan-Ethan: I can't get out of this. Ethan-Dylan: I know what happened. Ethan-Dylan: I know what we can make. Preference: Sometimes the information given to a peer is specifically related to personal preferences, things they like or dislike, thus making public their individuality. Dylan-Ethan: What are your favorite colors? I love yellow. Dylan-Corey: I don't like that one. Personal will: Sometimes a child simply states his or her will. Dylan-Ethan: I want to try. Corey-Dylan: I want to play. Table 6 a summary of the personal function in the seven segments. Instrumental This category represents the language pattern that is used to get others to do things to meet personal needs. Halliday believes that it is probably the first language function children use, as such needs as food and drink must first be met. As children mature, however, their needs become more diverse and sometimes it is difficult to distinguish this function from regulatory and personal. Halliday (1973) cautioned that "[i]t would be wrong to draw too sharp a line between the different functions" (p. 24). For example, he saw a clear connection among the instrumental, regulatory, and interpersonal in·ter·per·son·al adj. 1. Of or relating to the interactions between individuals: interpersonal skills. 2. categories. Nevertheless, the most distinguishing characteristic Noun 1. distinguishing characteristic - an odd or unusual characteristic distinctive feature, peculiarity characteristic, feature - a prominent attribute or aspect of something; "the map showed roads and other features"; "generosity is one of his best of this function is "getting others to do things for personal needs." Here are some examples: Dylan-Rocky: Give me that! (Instrumental) Dylan-Rocky: I want to play for a while. (Personal) Dylan-Rocky: Cut and paste To move an object from one location to another. When the operation is complete, there is nothing left in the original location. It may refer to relocating files from one folder to another or to relocating selected text or images from one document to another. , cut and paste! (Regulatory) The researchers found two basic patterns within this function. One is asking others to get a specific object, and the other is asking others to act in a way that benefits the requestor. Object: Dylan-Rocky: Give me that! Ethan-Dylan: Get the hat for me! Act: Ethan-Dylan: I want it red! Dylan-Ethan: Let's trade places. Interactional Interactional function refers to the use of language in the interaction between the self and others. With this function, children use language to establish or maintain interpersonal relationships This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. Please help Wikipedia by adding references. See the for details. This article has been tagged since September 2007. , to include a peer in or exclude a peer from play, or to impose or contest a status (Halliday, 1973). In this study, only a few instances of relationship-building were identified that show thoughtfulness and goodwill on the part of the speaker. Here are some examples: Rocky-Dylan: You want to do this one? Chase-Ethan: Do you want pink? The table below summarizes this function. Imaginative The imaginative function is one in which the child uses language to create a make-believe environment. It is often signaled with words like pretend or make up, or through dramatic role assignment. Contrary to our prediction, imaginative language was rarely used in the computer environment. We only identified two cases in the seven segments. Here are the two statements: Corey-Ethan: You be the red dragon. I'll be the brown dragon. Dylan-Ethan: Let's pretend to be the dogs. Summary of Findings Research question #1: Are Halliday's seven functional categories all present in the language produced at this preschool classroom's computer environment? Although Halliday's seven functions were based on his analysis of child language produced in the home environment between a mother and a child, our analysis shows that all the seven functions also exist in the language generated by preschool children in the computer environment. Research question #2: What is the most frequently used function in this computer environment? The results show that the regulatory function is the dominant pattern in the computer environment, followed by heuristic and representational. On the next page is a graphic summary of the frequency of all the seven types of language functions in the seven segments. Research question #3: Do Halliday's seven functional categories cover all the language produced? Except for some interjections, like "wow," "hey," and "okay," almost all the utterances fall into one of the seven categories. It proved to be an exhaustive framework to understand the language produced by young children. As Halliday (1973) argued, "Our conception of language, if it is to be adequate for meeting the needs of the child, will need to be exhaustive" (p. 9). Discussion It is obvious that regulatory language is by far the most frequently used language function in the computer environment, either related to what the children were doing on the computer or to their behavior in general. It usually consists of very brief, straightforward commands directed to the mouse controller, as only one child had physical control of the mouse at any given time. Unlike other centers where toys and other prompts are available as the tool of participation (Elgas, Klein, Kantor, & Fernie, 1988), this particular computer center furnishes only one mouse that may be controlled by only one child. Therefore, in order to enter, participate in, and contribute to what happens there, those who do not have the mouse have to use language as their only tool. Although participation through the use of language is guaranteed in most cases, the effect of this kind of regulatory language really depends on the receptivity receptivity, n the state of being open to the action of a drug or homeopathic remedy. See also reactivity. of the mouse controller. A close examination of the regulatory language reveals a high frequency of direct commands in the form of imperative sentences. For example, "Go back," "Click there," and "Push that" are very common. It seems that these children either do not know how to use, or due to some environmental reasons, cannot use, more requests or mitigate mit·i·gate v. To moderate in force or intensity. mit  i·gation n. their tone by using polite speech when asking a
peer to perform an act. After all, there are different, sometimes
better, options of language to achieve the same goal. This pragmatic
aspect of language should be learned as part of children's language
arts language artspl.n. The subjects, including reading, spelling, and composition, aimed at developing reading and writing skills, usually taught in elementary and secondary school. skills. The second most prevalent pattern of discourse is the heuristic function, which frequently occurs in the form of a question. About 90 percent of the questions are related to what the children were doing on the computer. They ask questions about how to do certain things on the computer and why things happen in certain ways. In fact, it was rare that a child was observed to be distracted dis·tract·ed adj. 1. Having the attention diverted. 2. Suffering conflicting emotions; distraught. dis·tract . The other 10 percent of questions were intended more for socializing purposes and are about personal interests and family, but still originated from the task at hand. For example, the question about favorite color occurred when Dylan and Ethan were coloring animals on the computer. The third most frequent language pattern is the informative function. It seems that most informative language occurs when a question is asked. It is intended to answer questions, clarify, and explain the procedures to follow in order to accomplish a task. Due to the difference in their skills in computer, some children can provide effective scaffolding for their peers to effectively accomplish the task at hand. Occasionally, language was used to describe a specific object or a process, such as what is on the screen or what has happened or what is happening ("There is a dog"; "His nose is being cut off"). In the two subcategories identified in this function, explaining by far dominates describing. [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Clements (1994) suggests that the proximity of a partner at the computer can encourage children to interact with each other and learn from each other. This is evident in the current research, whereby the heuristic and informative functions provide abundant opportunities for children to learn from each other--not only computer skills, but also vocabulary knowledge and problem-solving skills. The fact that children use relatively more personal statements but fewer interactional or instrumental statements suggests that children at this age are still quite self-centered, although they demonstrate some awareness of the need to establish and maintain interpersonal relationships. Data indicate that these children are focused on expressing their feelings, needs, wants, and wishes (e.g., "I want to color it red"; "I want that"). Only in a few cases did they express their interest or concern for their peers (e.g., "You want to play?"; "You want pink?"). This study supports Halliday's classification of child language into the seven functions. All the seven functions were found in the data of this study, and except for such interjections as "Wow," "Hey," and "Yeah," almost all language fit one of the seven functions. The regulatory function is the predominant pre·dom·i·nant adj. 1. Having greatest ascendancy, importance, influence, authority, or force. See Synonyms at dominant. 2. function in this environment, contrary to Halliday's finding that informative function usually dominates the language during the course of maturation maturation /mat·u·ra·tion/ (mach-u-ra´shun) 1. the process of becoming mature. 2. attainment of emotional and intellectual maturity. 3. . The findings of this research suggest that in the computer environment, preschool children tend to use language mainly to regulate the behavior of peers, and to engage in questions and answers to scaffold scaffold Temporary platform used to elevate and support workers and materials during work on a structure or machine. It consists of one or more wooden planks and is supported by either a timber or a tubular steel or aluminum frame; bamboo is used in parts of Asia. learning. Other language functions, such as imaginative and interactional, are relatively rare. For preschool classroom teachers, free choice and rotation are two popular strategies to manage computer centers. While free choice may cater to the interests of individual children, it does not provide the opportunity for children to develop other types of language skills. If some children keep on returning to this center, just as some of the participants of this study did, they may miss the opportunity to use and learn the language for other purposes. In this sense, rotation may be a more beneficial practice, as it would allow children to visit different centers and use different kinds of language for different purposes in different environments. Although this study showed regulatory to be the language function that was utilized most by preschool children in the computer center, the findings do reveal a shortage of complex language use (e.g., such as describing and explaining) by the preschool children. The situation may be improved if early childhood educators provide more opportunities for children to use complex language. Consequently, classroom teachers could closely monitor and engage students in talks that require them to describe and inform what they did and/or how they did it. They also could design activities for centers to include components that engage children in orally describing and explaining processes to their peers. As children receive more prompts and questioning from teachers to perform this kind of task, their use of complex language may become more prevalent. While this research identified the language patterns of preschool children in the computer environment, it did not investigate their language patterns in the non-computer environment. To understand whether these language patterns are consistent across different environments, future research may compare the language produced in various settings to determine whether environment plays any role in the language functions that children use. The result will help early childhood educators make better use of different areas in the classroom to promote language development. References Austin, J. (1962). How to do things with words. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press The Harvard University Press is a publishing house, a division of Harvard University, that is highly respected in academic publishing. It was established on January 13, 1913. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. . Bhargava, A., & Escobedo, T. (1997). What the children said: An analysis of the children's language during computer lessons. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED409561) Clements, H. (1994). The uniqueness of the computer as a learning tool: Insights from research and practice. In J. L. Wright & D. D. Shade (Eds.), Young children: Active learners in a technological age (pp. 31-49). Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is the largest nonprofit association in the United States representing early childhood education teachers, experts, and advocates in center-based and family day care. . Clements, H., Nastasi, B., & Swaminathan, S. (1993). Young children and computers: Crossroads and directions from research. Young Children, 48(2), 56-64. Clements, H., & Sarama, J. (2003). Young children and technology: What does the research say? Young Children, 58(6), 34-40. Elgas, P., Klein, E., Kantor, R., & Fernie, E. (1988). Play and the peer culture: Play styles and object use. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 3, 142-153. Erickson, F., & Shultz, J. (1982). The counselor as gatekeeper In an H.323 IP telephony or video environment, a gatekeeper is a device that manages domains and provides call control. It is used to translate user names into IP addresses, to authenticate users and to manage network resources. : Social interactions in interviews. New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of : Academic Press. Halliday, M. (1973). Explorations in the functions of language. London: Edward Arnold Edward Arnold can refer to:
Haugland, S. (1992). The effect of computer software on preschool children's developmental gains. Journal of Computing computing - computer in Childhood Education, 3, 15-30. Haugland, S. (2000). Computers and young children. Champaign Champaign (shămpān`), city (1990 pop. 63,502), Champaign co., E central Ill.; inc. 1860. It adjoins the city of Urbana and is a commercial and industrial center in a fertile farm area. The Univ. , IL: ERIC Clearing house on Elementary and Early Childhood Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED438926) Hoyles, C., Healy, L., & Sutherland, R. (1991). Patterns of discussion between pupil pairs in computer and non-computer environments. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 7(4), 210-228. Kelly, K., & Schorger, J. (2001). "Let's play 'Puters' ": Expressive language use at the computer center. Information Technology in Childhood Education Annual 2001, 125-138. Mercer, N. (1994). The quality of talk in children's joint activity at the computer. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 10(1), 24-32. Nir-Gal, O., & Klein, P. (2004). Computers for cognitive development in early childhood--The teacher's role in the computer learning environment. Information Technology in Childhood Education 2004, 97-119. Piaget, J. (1955). The language and thought of the child. New York: World. Plowman, L., & Stephen, C. (2005). Children, play, and computers in pre-school education. British Journal of Educational Technology, 36, 145-157. Searle, J. (1969). Speech acts. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP) is a publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534, and one of the two privileged presses (the other being Oxford University Press). . Searle, J. (1975). A taxonomy taxonomy: see classification. taxonomy In biology, the classification of organisms into a hierarchy of groupings, from the general to the particular, that reflect evolutionary and usually morphological relationships: kingdom, phylum, class, order, of illocutionary acts Illocutionary act is a technical term introduced by John L. Austin in investigations concerning what he calls 'performative' and 'constative utterances'. According to Austin's original exposition in How to Do Things With Words . In K. Gunderson (Ed.), Minnesota studies in the philosophy of science: Vol. 7. Language, mind and knowledge (pp. 344-367). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press The University of Minnesota Press is a university press that is part of the University of Minnesota. External link
Tough, J. (1977). The development of meaning: A study of children's use of language. New York: Wiley. Shoudong Feng Tammy Benson University of Central Arkansas The University of Central Arkansas is a state-run institution located in the city of Conway, the seat of Faulkner County, north of Little Rock. The school is most respected for its programs in Education, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy. Table 1 Segment Length of interaction (minutes) Participants 1 8 Rocky & Dylan 2 10 Charity & Courtney 3 14 Ethan & Chase 4 4 Chase & Madison 5 16 Ethan & Dylan 6 19 Corey & Dylan 7 13 Charity & Dylan Table 2 Segment Instrumental Regulatory Interactional Personal 1 1 15 1 3 2 0 19 3 9 3 3 50 1 21 4 1 5 0 10 5 3 53 1 17 6 2 46 2 14 7 0 37 0 12 Total 10 225 8 86 Mean 1.43 32.14 1.14 112.29 Segment Heuristic Imaginative Informative 1 1 1 2 2 9 0 22 3 25 0 15 4 5 0 7 5 24 1 27 6 31 0 25 7 26 0 16 Total 121 2 114 Mean 17.29 10.29 16.29 Table 3 Segment Task-related Behavior-related Total Segment 1 14 1 15 Segment 2 18 1 19 Segment 3 48 2 50 Segment 4 54 3 57 Segment 5 4 1 5 Segment 6 50 3 53 Segment 7 44 2 46 Total 232 13 245 Table 4 Segment Person-related Task-related Total Segment 1 0 1 1 Segment 2 0 9 9 Segment 3 1 24 25 Segment 4 1 4 5 Segment 5 0 24 24 Segment 6 1 30 31 Segment 7 1 25 26 Total 4 28 131 Table 5 Segment Describing Explaining Total Segment 0 2 2 1 Segment 11 11 22 2 Segment 3 12 15 3 Segment 0 7 7 4 Segment 9 18 27 5 Segment 4 21 25 6 Segment 6 10 16 7 Total 33 81 114 Table 6 Segment Action/State Ability Will Preference Total Segment 1 3 0 2 0 5 Segment 2 4 1 4 0 9 Segment 3 6 7 5 3 21 Segment 4 0 3 6 1 10 Segment 5 8 4 5 0 17 Segment 6 7 4 3 1 15 Segment 7 5 2 5 2 14 Total 33 21 30 7 91 Table 7 Segment Object Act Total Segment 1 1 0 1 Segment 2 0 0 0 Segment 3 1 2 3 Segment 4 0 1 1 Segment 5 0 3 3 Segment 6 1 1 2 Segment 7 0 0 0 Total 3 7 10 Table 8 Segment Total Segment 1 1 Segment 2 3 Segment 3 1 Segment 4 0 Segment 5 1 Segment 6 2 Segment 7 0 Total 8 |
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