Terms:
1. Expressive act - This is the act of producing (creating) language, spoken or signed. What a person says in their own idea.
2. Receptive act- How we receive language, spoken or signed. This is usually seen before expressive acts, for example a child answering a question.
An example of receptive speech where the speaker has not received information the way the speaker intends is seen from the example below.
-Bill: I love grapes.
-Josie: Gross, I don't like peanuts.
This is an example of receptive speech where Joise received the language that Bill spoke, but she did not understand what Bill intended. Bill made a statement of his opinion about grapes, some how Josie did not receive the message as intended and used expressive language about her opinion on peanuts not grapes.
3. Meta-linguistic-A combination of expressive and reactive acts, and also focuses on the form of language, also known as thinking about language.
For example, when asking a child "Do you know the words ape and mosquito? Is one word bigger than the other? Which word is bigger, ape or mosquito?
A child that has not yet developed meta-linguistic understanding would answer ape is a large word, because in their mind ape is a much bigger animal. A child with meta-linguistic acts would understand that the word mosquito is a larger word because it has more letters.
You cant tell that a child has mastered meta-linguistic acts when they are able to understand riddles and jokes, and can notice errors in speech and correct them.
An example of a child correcting themselves in seen in a video called "Cane's Beehive" in the text book Speaking and listening for preschool through third grade. The child said "And then he went back up to his beehive and I was and then I checked if he was there yesterd...today". Cane could hear that he was starting to make a mistake in his speech and he corrected it so his audience would understand his story.
- Talk, talk, talk . Your child learns the most from you! Engage your child is as many conversations as possible. Getting tired of talking, let your child make a special phone call to grandma or grandpa!
- While conversing with your child ask open ended questions! Allowing your child to answer opened ended questions allows them to use all aspects of language. For example, instead of asking "Didi you like this book" which in response a child might say "yes" or "no", ask "What was your favorite part about this book?". This give more opportunity for the child to express themselves.
- Read to your child.
(Class notes, 1-25-12)
