16.2997, Review: Lang Acquisition: Berman (2004)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-16-2997. Sun Oct 16 2005. ISSN: 1068 - 4875.

Subject: 16.2997, Review: Lang Acquisition: Berman (2004)

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1)
Date: 16-Oct-2005
From: Carol Goldfus < goldfus at netvision.net.il >
Subject: Language Development across Childhood and Adolescence 

	
-------------------------Message 1 ---------------------------------- 
Date: Sun, 16 Oct 2005 19:23:59
From: Carol Goldfus < goldfus at netvision.net.il >
Subject: Language Development across Childhood and Adolescence 
 

EDITOR: Berman, Ruth A. 
TITLE: Language Development across Childhood and Adolescence
SERIES: Trends in Language Acquisition Research
PUBLISHER: John Benjamins Publishing Company
YEAR: 2004
Announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/16/16-67.html 

Carol Goldfus
Levinsky College of Education, and School of Education at the University 
of Haifa 

OVERVIEW

This comprehensive book, edited by world-renowned academician and 
researcher, Ruth Berman (Tel Aviv University), "Language Development 
across Childhood and Adolescence" makes a significant contribution to the 
field of language acquisition research in general and later language 
development and the development of literacy specifically.

This collection of articles defines the field of Later Language 
Acquisition and provides extensive evidence of the huge advances in 
knowledge. It does so by bringing together the most recent developments 
and research of various aspects of language acquisition across childhood 
and adolescence, both from psycholinguistic and cross-linguistic 
perspectives, in an authoritative display of scholarship. This book is a 
state-of-the-art volume, encompassing all the central topics in the field 
while, at the same time, providing extensive empirical evidence. 

An official publication of the International Association for the Study of 
the Child Language (IASCL), it is the third in the series Trends in 
Language Acquisition Research. There are twelve chapters written by 
researchers throughout the world, presenting various aspects of later 
language development across five languages- Hebrew, Spanish, Swedish, 
French and English. 

Many of the studies reported here are samples of materials elicited in the 
framework of a large scale cross-linguistic project on developing literacy 
in different languages and different contexts, coordinated by the Editor. 
In her preface, Ruth A. Berman provides a rationale and overview of the 
book and states that "... the book touches on a deliberately wide spectrum 
of domains of linguistic knowledge; contexts of language use; research 
orientations; age groups and developmental stages and languages"(xiii).

SYNOPSIS

The volume is introduced by a preface and an overview chapter written by 
Marilyn A. Nippold and concludes with a discussion written by Liliana 
Tolchinsky. The remaining ten chapters are research papers undertaken from 
psycholinguistic and cross-linguistic perspectives where the components 
and basic elements of linguistics have been researched across various age 
groups and languages.

Two main strands, namely the attainment of literacy during the school 
years and later language development, are presented from various points of 
view. Nippold, in the introductory chapter questions 
(i) the nature and substance of language growth beyond the preschool 
years; 
(ii) the ways this growth can be revealed; and 
(iii) the factors which drive these later linguistic attainments. 

The questions are based largely on the contents of this book where the 
main points are briefly summarized from an international perspective. Each 
question is subsequently addressed and answered throughout the book.

Berman is the first to provide the framework for studying later language 
development beyond the pre-school years. Her developmentally motivated 
phase-based model of language acquisition across adolescence makes a case 
for the study of later language as a separate domain by considering how 
mastery of a language is a gradual and protracted process, extending well 
into adulthood. 

At the linguistic level, researching the development of vocabulary 
provides a window for studying the interaction between cognition and 
context and how this interaction changes with development. Dockrell and 
Messer thus argue that lexical acquisition is an extended process and 
involves the integration of phonological, semantic and morpho-syntactic 
knowledge with cognitive and social processes (p. 35).

The authors provide a critical account of research studies involving 
vocabulary acquisition in the early school years, and include populations 
of children with language difficulties. By doing so, they are able to flag 
up the complexity and challenges involved in understanding the exact 
nature of word knowledge in general and vocabulary acquisition in 
particular. This critical approach to research on vocabulary acquisition 
brings to light the fact that many studies do not provide in-depth insight 
in to the nature of semantic representations and how these change over time
(p. 38).The justification for their research (and thus this chapter) is 
that emphasis must be placed on assessment of lexical competence. The 
authors make a strong case for being able to assess and understand the 
differences between production and comprehension in order to draw 
conclusions about vocabulary acquisition. Furthermore, they distinguish 
between preschool vocabulary and the effects of formal education on 
vocabulary as written language becomes increasingly important for learning 
about language. In addition, they make the critical point of the 
importance of vocabulary knowledge which differentiates the better readers 
from the poorer readers, and, furthermore of greater significance is that 
the 'literate lexicon' (Ravid, this volume) provides a robust predictor 
for identifying language difficulties at later stages of schooling.

These ideas are extended in the chapter by Dorit Ravid who, in an erudite 
and comprehensive exposition, extends the study of vocabulary growth to 
the 'mental lexicon', the development of literacy and the interface of 
vocabulary development and complex syntactic structures. By providing 
extensive empirical studies, Ravid makes a strong case for the role played 
by derivational morphology in understanding the changes in children's and 
adolescents' language during the school years. This evidence supports the 
Berman model of language acquisition and development. Furthermore, the 
exhaustive overview of the literature and the extensive research carried 
out both on normative cohorts of children across the various age groups, 
as well as data from language-impaired populations, provides depth to our 
understanding of the complex processes involved in language development 
and literacy.

Included in this book are three chapters based on the data obtained in the 
cross-linguistic, developmental study of spoken and written text 
construction abilities in seven languages mentioned above. They are the 
chapter on the lexical realization of arguments in oral Spanish texts by 
Ekaterina Khorounjaia and Liliana Tolchinsky, the chapter on the 
acquisition of academic French by Harriet Jisa, and the chapter on text-
writing development by Åsa Wengelin and Sven Strömqvist.

In each country, subjects in four age groups -- grade-schoolers (aged 9-10 
years), junior high (12 to 13), high school (15 to 16), together with 
university-educated adults -- were shown the same short video clip 
depicting different types of interpersonal conflict (moral, social, 
physical), and all subjects were then asked to tell and write a story 
describing an incident where they themselves had been involved in a 
situation of conflict with someone and also to give a talk in class and 
write an essay discussing the topic of 'problems between people'. Thus, 
closely comparable methods of elicitation were applied so that each 
participant across age groups and countries in the project produced four 
texts: a personal-experience narrative -- both written and spoken- and an 
expository text -- both written and spoken -- on a socially relevant 
topic, with performance on the four tasks balanced for order across the 
population.

Within this fascinating study, language development is measured against 
the criteria of adult competence; this involves the ability to choose the 
appropriate register depending on whether the discourse is formal or 
informal, written or spoken. The studies in oral discourse in Spanish, 
formal academic French and text writing development in Swedish address 
different aspects of language development. 

The goal of the Spanish study (Khorounjaia and Tolchinsky) was to explore 
the development of the syntactic patterns of argument structure. The 
research reported in this chapter focuses on the analysis of oral texts, 
both narrative and expository produced by the participants at each of the 
four levels. In a detailed and well-structured chapter, the authors 
introduce the linguistic structure of realization of argument, explaining 
the uniqueness of the Spanish language as opposed to French and English. 
They then go on to give a detailed breakdown of the analysis of the oral 
data and how these results were coded, building on from previous work 
carried out by Berman and Verhoeven, 2002.
 
Ekaterina Khorounjaia and Liliana Tolchinsky's explanations and many 
examples provide the necessary background to the development of the 
linguistic notion of argument structure within discourse. Their comparison 
of genre-related differences addresses the issue of 'demands of different 
communicative circumstances and interlocutor needs'(108). They ask leading 
questions showing how the results partially support certain aspects of 
language development, for example, the use of noun phrase complexity, and 
connect their study to other chapters while at the same time showing how 
more research is needed in order to find out more about register 
sensitivity as well as the interrelations between grammar and discourse 
across the different ages. 

Similarly, Harriet Jisa, provides a well-developed argument for 
researching the development of academic French. She investigated  the 
ability of the four age groups to produce both oral and written academic 
texts, which, she claims, is 'the key to academic success'. Her research 
lends credence to the processes necessary for the attainment of 
literacy. "Learning to use language to encode information in writing and 
to extract information in reading" (Ravid and Tolchinsky, 2002) forms the 
basis for the developmental process in the attainment of literacy. 

In her analysis of the data, Jisa emphasizes the role of expository 
discourse and its suitability for studying academic language use. The use 
of anaphoric references and passive constructions, for example, used by 
the adolescents illustrate more academic and higher register forms of 
expression. The conclusion to be drawn is that learning academic writing 
contributes to the use of such structures characteristic of later language 
development.

"Writing is a complex activity, where the writer has to manage the major 
processes of planning, execution, and monitoring in order to successfully 
arrive at a final edited text. From a developmental point of view, the 
management of these processes can be expected to differ at different ages 
and levels of schooling and literacy" write Åsa Wengelin and Sven 
Strömqvist, the authors of the Swedish chapter. In their chapter, the on-
line cognitive processes involved in writing are researched across the 
ages by analyzing the distribution of pauses in on-line text-writing, on 
the assumption that the observed distribution of pauses reflects the 
distribution of cognitive effort during text-writing. 

Wengelin and Strömqvist thus add another piece to the jigsaw puzzle of 
literacy development as the acquisition of text-writing belongs solidly in 
the domain of later language development. Their chapter explains the 
keystroke-logging paradigm, a computer programme specifically designed for 
research with on-line writing, where the pauses and transitions made by 
the students in the different groups, were analysed. Development was 
measured at the word and sentence levels. The results, reported in detail 
across the ages, demonstrate that practice in text -writing creates 
changes in the processes and leads to more proficient processing and 
writing. These text construction abilities have their parallel in reading 
research where similar processes have been researched. However, research 
on writing is not as proliferate as reading, thus this research not only 
provides an added dimension to literacy development and later language 
acquisition but also provides a paradigm for further research of the 
written modality. 

Sébastien Pacton and Michel Fayol study the ability of children aged five 
and eleven to spell in a deep orthography as of French, and discuss the 
importance of accurate spelling despite the availability of computerized 
spelling checkers, in order to attain writing proficiency. Their arguments 
relate to the continuum of literacy acquisition with a focus on spelling, 
a domain that has recently been gaining momentum as a topic for research. 
Included within this survey of psycholinguistic research is the role of 
explicit and implicit learning in acquiring accurate and effortless 
spelling, an issue that is found to be important in many other aspects of 
later language development. 

A further contribution at the linguistic level, namely the development of 
the syntactic abilities as a critical stage in language development, is 
provided by Cheryl M. Scott whose emphasis is those children who have 
language-related difficulties. These children use utterances which are 
shorter and less complex than the regular children, and are unable to 
understand and produce spoken language as a result of their difficulty in 
learning syntax. By providing an overview of research carried out by 
herself and others, Scott provides valuable information and understanding 
of the abilities and disabilities of underlying syntactic processing. Her 
research delves into comprehension of the difficulties experienced by such 
children in the production of language, particularly writing, and the 
importance of clause connectivity and subordination in developing 
linguistic literacy. In the field of learning disabilities, little 
research has been carried out in understanding difficulties in syntax by 
comparison with studies investigating decoding and word recognition. 
Scott's research thus contributes significantly to the field of language 
development as well as to language-related disabilities.

Socialization is another important aspect of language development. As 
discourse does not exist in a void, the socio-cultural and pragmatic 
socialization theories of language development should occupy a central 
theme in research of language development. Shoshana Blum-Kulka's chapter 
thus deals with peer interaction and pragmatic development, and the 
ability to produce socially and culturally appropriate spoken and written 
discourse in a variety of situations. 

The strength of this paper lies in a clear and succinct overview of the 
field, illustrating on the one hand, the importance of this particular 
aspect of language development, and at the same time commenting that peer 
interaction has not been empirically researched as much as other areas of 
later development. Emphasis is placed on two major domains of pragmatic 
ability namely, conversational skills and discursive literacy skills, both 
of which are illustrated through two examples of research in role-playing 
activities. The studies give a detailed transcript of two nine-year old 
girls and boys in two different situations, each of which is discussed in 
detail. According to the author, the conversation elicited during this 
research showed practice of advanced lexicon; use of advanced forms of 
language; choice of register and shared culture, backing up the argument 
for more research in this field to understand the development of the 
different aspects of pragmatic development. 

The only chapter in the book relating to comprehension and the 
construction of meaning is that of Joan Peskin and David Olson which 
addresses later language development from the perspective of understanding 
poetry, of learning to make the crucial distinction between what is said 
and what is meant. Research of both high school and university students is 
presented and the contribution to later language development is shown by 
the challenges provided by the poetic genre. Comprehension of poetry 
appears to be is a function of cognitive development as well as requiring 
specialized instruction, practice and formal schooling. In this context 
and with its emphasis on literacy, teaching plays a critical role in later 
language development -'students learn to become culturally literate' (p. 
230). Furthermore, exposure to complex language in school provides the 
environment for the learner to develop the ability to actively analyze 
structural aspects of language, to increase vocabulary; and to cope with 
complex syntax. Despite the different focus, understanding poetry can be 
placed at the centre of later language development as it provides an 
excellent illustration of how the combination of linguistic, cognitive and 
social factors shape language development; in this way coming full circle 
in understanding what is meant by 'early emergence' and 'late mastery' 
of linguistic knowledge (Berman, this volume). 

In the final chapter, Liliana Tolchinsky considers the nature and scope of 
later language development. In an overview she highlights the most 
important points in later language development thereby tying together 
the 'plethora of issues' (p. xiv). 'Development of language does not 
consist of accumulating new linguistic forms; rather, previously acquired 
forms evolve to acquire new functions, and conversely, old functions come 
to be expressed by an increasing diversity of linguistic forms' (p. 234). 
She thus provides the key to understanding the domain of later language 
development which is so eruditely presented in this book. Furthermore, she 
introduces the terms, 'appropriateness' and 'divergence', again 
pinpointing a particular paradox; this is that as language develops, 
children become aware of genre and cultural setting and deploy various 
registers and adapt to the situation and on the other hand, language 
development shows individuality and heterogeneity. The latter is 
illustrated through the different approaches and various aspects 
researched. Tolchinsky further shows the connection of linguistic, 
cognitive development with the attainment of literacy in an academic 
setting, relating to the development both of the written and the oral 
skills needed.

The leading questions posed by Nippold in the introductory chapter have 
been addressed through the many research studies presented throughout the 
book. Later language acquisition takes place in an academic setting, 
involves abstraction, the growth of a literate lexicon and the use of 
complex syntactical structures in the production of both oral and written 
discourse. The factors driving these later linguistic attainments place 
literacy within an educational setting where the opportunity for 
socialization involves the gradual development of metalinguistic 
competence and cognition. 

EVALUATION

Taken together, Language Development across Childhood and Adolescence 
provides new insights to the field of later language development and the 
development of literacy. The editor, Ruth A. Berman, must be congratulated 
on compiling a book of such high academic caliber. Each chapter discusses 
a separate aspect of later language acquisition and each exposes the 
reader to a totally different approach to the same phenomenon; for 
example, many different languages and settings have been presented. The 
reader has to weigh up and assimilate knowledge from different 
perspectives and build a psycholinguistic, cognitive understanding of 
language acquisition. Moreover, as the development of later language is 
approached from a linguistic point of view, this specialized terminology 
and conceptual perception has to be understood and internalized; discourse 
analysis, too, provides the anchor for contextualizing and understanding 
the methodology and tools used for analyzing both oral and written 
language where the emphasis throughout the book is on the production of 
language rather than comprehension.

This book can provide much of the core material for university courses on 
Later Language Development. With its detailed and up to date bibliography 
the whole book or selected chapters will no doubt add to the quality and 
content of linguistic courses across disciplines.

This book is not a systematic introductory book, but rather an impressive 
overview of the field, written by leading researchers. In the twelve 
chapters, the main components of language, namely, lexicon, morphology, 
syntax, semantics and pragmatics in written and spoken contexts have been 
covered. Furthermore, the research presented includes monolingual and 
cross-linguistic settings.

Notwithstanding this vast array of studies and multifaceted perspectives, 
none of the distinguished authors sets out to pull together all of this 
international research or to provide a synthesis of the wide-ranging 
research that has been carried out. 

Finally, although the concluding chapter considers the main points of 
later language research and stands on its own as an excellent chapter on 
later language development, more references are introduced rather than 
providing the reader with a summing up of the multifaceted and complex 
linguistic view of language and research that has been so eruditely 
provided throughout the book. The editor in the preface hopes that 'the 
story that emerges forms a coherent and cohesive piece of discourse and a 
solid basis for future investigation' (p.  xiv). The latter part is more 
than adequately provided for but it is left to the reader to form that 
coherent discourse. At times some readers might be overwhelmed by the 
abundance of studies and data; a more focused summary would have 
complemented the excellent preface, clarified the relationships between 
the chapters as well as enhancing the readability and accessibility of the 
book.

Notwithstanding these few drawbacks, I wholeheartedly commend this book 
but particularly at the postgraduate level rather than at the 
undergraduate level, as some of the content is conceptually complex and 
assumes very specialized background knowledge of the topic. There is no 
doubt that this book will become a classic and we can look forward to more 
publications from the impressive range of international studies being co-
ordinated by the editor.

REFERENCES

Berman, R. A. and Verhoeven, L. (2002)."Developing text-production 
abilities across languages, genre, and modality." Written Languages and 
Literacy 5(1):1-44

Ravid, D. and Tolchinsky, L. (2002)."Developing linguistic literacy: A 
comprehensive model." Journal of Child Language 29:417-447. 

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Carol Goldfus is currently head of the English Department at Levinsky 
College of Education, Israel, and an associate researcher in the 
neurocognitive science laboratory in the School of Education at the 
University of Haifa. She received her doctorate in linguistics and 
education from the University of Birmingham, England. Her main interest 
focuses around language acquisition in typical and dyslexic students. She 
is currently involved in reading comprehension research, teacher 
education, memory research and the development of materials for the 
assessment of learning disabilities as well as cognitive intervention in 
mother tongue and foreign language acquisition for those students who have 
language-related disabilities.





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