Language Development and Social Disadvantage

Language Development in the Context of Social Disadvantage

• Child language interventions can be problematic, racist, classist, ableist, and sexist.
• Feeling troubled or confused during the lecture is understandable.
• Social disadvantage is complex and needs to be defined and measured appropriately.
• Evidence connecting language development/delay and social disadvantage is complex.
• Research needs to acknowledge the quantity and quality of interactions between mothers and children in socially disadvantaged contexts.

Language and Social Disadvantage

• There are barriers to providing a language-rich environment for families facing socioeconomic challenges.
• Examples of interventions to improve language development in low socioeconomic contexts : Talking Time, Talk Boost, and the Nuffield Early Language Intervention.

Child Language Interventions and Social Disadvantage

• Universal and targeted interventions are designed, delivered and evaluated in low-socioeconomic contexts.

Mother-Child Interaction and Social Disadvantage

• Quantity of child-directed speech from the primary caregiver is a factor to consider.
• Mother's sensitivity and quality of interactions significantly affect a child's development.

What is Language Delay?

• The presentation describes language delay within the context of social disadvantage, but doesn't define it in detail .

How is Social Disadvantage Measured?

• Socioeconomic inequality is measured through various factors.
• Postcodes, free school meals (UK), healthcare benefits (Australia), educational attainment, and family characteristics are used for assessment.
• Measures also include family literacy measures and an estimation of the number of books in the home.

Poverty

• A substantial portion of the UK population is experiencing poverty, and this significantly affects children.
• Sociodemographic factors like ethnicity influence the experience and severity of poverty.
• Food insecurity is a major concern within impoverished families.

Capital

• Financial capital includes income, disposable income, wealth, and security.
• Cultural capital is linked to wider societal privileges and is often debated.
• Social capital is divided into bonding (similar individuals), bridging (dissimilar at the same level) and linking (across hierarchical levels).

Habitus

• Bourdieu's concept of habitus explains how social and cultural forces perpetuate inequality.

SES and Education

• Disadvantaged pupils are defined by factors such as eligibility for free school meals, care status, and adoption history.
• A significant percentage of pupils in state-funded schools are classified as disadvantaged.
• Academic performance (e.g., grades in maths and English) is examined in relation to socioeconomic background and ethnicity.

SES and Language Development

• Social economic status (SES) is strongly linked to language delay.
• Language delay impacts school readiness.
• There's a need to consider how language delay is defined and the implications of not being school-ready.

Association vs Causation

• Language disorder can be interpreted as poor language performance linked to social disadvantage and extreme neglect.
• Strong correlation between social disadvantage & children's language skills, but disentangling the causal path is tricky.

Continuing Language Deficit Debate

• Language-deficit debate has been ongoing since the 1960s and 70s.
• The debate is ongoing.

Positionality

• A speaker's identity factors influence/bias perceptions of the world.
• Positionality is important for evidence-based practitioners

Stereotypes

• Stereotyping can hinder understanding of social disadvantage.
• View a video from Oxfam to consider stereotypes

Examination of Stereotypes

• Speakers categorized A-K review the Oxfam video from a critical/not sympathetic perspective.
• Speakers L-Z review the video from a more sympathetic perspective.

Impact of Prejudice

• Research demonstrates that parents sometimes incorrectly perceive their children's language and developmental issues not related to social disadvantage.

Associations between Children's Language Skills and Socioeconomic Factors

• Children's language competence often varies strongly based on socioeconomic factors.
• Maternal language input has different impacts across social groups based on socioeconomic status.
• Educational differences affect language development.
• The impact of social disadvantage on language skills, literacy and educational outcomes exist, but there's an ongoing debate.

Caution: Population Studies

• Population studies have limitations regarding direct links between social disadvantage and language impairment.
• Multiple factors might influence early language development, such as family history, gender, and early neurobiological factors.

Explanations

• Maternal education is linked to language competence.
• Quantity of a child's primary caregiver's interaction also affects their language competence.
• Mothers' sensitivity and response to the child through interactions impacts children's language development in measurable ways.

Gender

• Research on fathers' language input is limited relative to mothers.

Language Socialization

• Infant-directed, contingent, and reciprocal conversations between mothers and infants are considered atypical in certain global cultural contexts.
• Socio-cultural factors impact how children learn.
• Children in cultures with less direct interaction still reach similar linguistic milestones.
• Maternal input varies across cultures, affecting language skills.

Intervention Studies

• Interventions range from small studies to larger-scale policies.
• Some interventions aim to change the language environment, but there's a lack of clear evidence supporting the effectiveness of changing the language environment and what aspects of poverty affect language.
• Some critics believe interventions may have the opposite effect; causing harm.

Hart and Risley (1995)

• Conducted a study on the expressive language of families with varying socioeconomic backgrounds.
• Compared the amount of language used with families of differing socioeconomic status.
• Different socioeconomic backgrounds corresponded to substantially differing amounts of language used.
• This study is criticized for its design limitations and assumptions about the speech environment affecting language development.

Evidence against Hart and Risley

• Other researchers have questioned Hart and Risley's findings, examining how the researchers have defined vocabulary input, recognizing other factors influencing children's language development; and how wider social interaction/cultural elements influence language.

Outcomes From Today

• Define and measure social disadvantage.
• Evaluate the evidence on associations between language delay and social disadvantage.
• Examine research on mother-child interactions.
• Critically analyze evidence on language delay and social disadvantage.
• Apply findings to evidence-based practitioner tasks and roles.

Core Reading

• Sperry et al. (2019) and Golinkoff et al. (2019) are key papers reexamining and challenging assumptions associated with language acquisition.

Optional Reading

• Important readings for additional background on social contexts, interactions, and language development.

References

• A compilation of research papers cited throughout the lecture's presentation on language development and social disadvantage.

Summary

• Social disadvantage is associated with language delay.
• But proving causation is complex; other factors exist and must be considered when studying the topic.
• It is important to move beyond blame of parents and look at holistic and potentially more impactful socioeconomic factors.

Linguistic difference/variation

• Sociolgical and linguistic anthropological perspectives differ regarding child development and language.
• There is a lack of cross-disciplinary collaboration in this field.

This quiz explores the complex relationship between language development and social disadvantage. It examines the impact of socioeconomic factors on child language interventions and discusses various programs aimed at improving language skills in marginalized communities. Delve into the challenges and implications of supporting children in these contexts.