Infant vocalizations elicit simplified speech in childcare
Infants use their vocalizations to actively shape their learning environments in multiple social settings- including childcare classrooms! Previous work has shown that mothers simplify their speech in response to babbles which helps infants learn language more easily. The results of this paper demonstrate that childcare teachers simplify their speech when responding to baby babbles. Infants heard shorter, simpler, and less unique speech from their teachers after babbling. Just like in mother-infant conversations, teachers provide simpler more learnable information at moments infants are more receptive to learning. This ‘simplification effect’ finding is important to consider when designing educational opportunities to support language development in childcare settings. Our results suggest that encouraging more talk in classrooms isn’t the primary goal. Rather, teachers should be encouraged engage in conversations to create speech that is sensitive, simplified, and appropriately timed.
Albert, R. R., Ernst, M., & Vallotton, C. D. (2023). Infant vocalizations elicit simplified speech in childcare. Infancy, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/ infa.12520
Teacher talk: Object-directed babbling impacts teachers’ responses in childcare settings.
Infant vocalizations attract parents’ attention and prompt them to respond in ways that are helpful for facilitating language development. But, many infants spend extensive time in childcare settings in non-parental care. This study investigated whether assistant teachers show similar response tendencies as mothers when responding to infant vocalizations. Just like mothers, we found that childcare teachers also pay attention to where babies are looking when they babble. Teachers are more likely to respond to infants after they babble at objects than when they vocalize undirected. Further, teachers provide more sensitive responses, such as descriptions and questions when babies babble at objects. This means that infants can change their opportunities for learning based on where they look when vocalizing!
However, unlike mothers, the teachers in this study were not influenced by the speech-like quality of the babble. Teachers were equally likely to respond to immature and mature babbles and did not change what they said to different types of infant vocalizations. While the teachers could perceive differences in vocalization types, they did not use that information when deciding if and how to respond. Babies seem to benefit from responses that are selective to their more advanced vocalizations so the teachers’ lack of selective responding suggests that infants may receive different opportunities to learn in childcare settings. These results can inform professional development opportunities for non-lead infant teachers to avoid overly simplistic messages that encourage educators to simply talk more, but also promote responsiveness that is both selective and contingent upon infant behavior.
Albert, R. R. (2021). Teacher talk: Infant vocal cues affect non-lead infant teachers’ responding. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 55, 326-335. https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1cSI-39HNKaTLS
Understanding the Social Functions of Babbling:
There’s a lot more to infant babbling than previously thought. In studying interactions between 9-month-old babies and their mothers, we found that mothers are sensitive to specific cues in infant vocalizations and change their responses based on the quality of the sounds babies produce. Babies are especially sensitive to what they hear within the two seconds after they babble, and use the information parents provide to improve both their understanding and production of language. In this study, we flipped how communication between infants and caregivers is typically studied to determine how infants influence their mothers.
We found that babies at this age are not just learning from sensitive responses, but they are active conversation partners who can directly impact their mother’s way of responding. For example, mothers are far more responsive when their child vocalizes at an object than when they’re making a general, undirected sound. Mothers also use the acoustic quality, or how mature a vocalization is, when deciding how to respond. This means that babies receive different types of information and thereby create different opportunities for learning based on their own vocal production.
Albert, R. R., Schwade, J. A., & Goldstein, M. H. (2018). The social functions of babbling: Acoustic and contextual characteristics that facilitate maternal responsiveness. Developmental Science. e12641.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/desc.12641/full
Infants use their vocalizations to actively shape their learning environments in multiple social settings- including childcare classrooms! Previous work has shown that mothers simplify their speech in response to babbles which helps infants learn language more easily. The results of this paper demonstrate that childcare teachers simplify their speech when responding to baby babbles. Infants heard shorter, simpler, and less unique speech from their teachers after babbling. Just like in mother-infant conversations, teachers provide simpler more learnable information at moments infants are more receptive to learning. This ‘simplification effect’ finding is important to consider when designing educational opportunities to support language development in childcare settings. Our results suggest that encouraging more talk in classrooms isn’t the primary goal. Rather, teachers should be encouraged engage in conversations to create speech that is sensitive, simplified, and appropriately timed.
Albert, R. R., Ernst, M., & Vallotton, C. D. (2023). Infant vocalizations elicit simplified speech in childcare. Infancy, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1111/ infa.12520
Teacher talk: Object-directed babbling impacts teachers’ responses in childcare settings.
Infant vocalizations attract parents’ attention and prompt them to respond in ways that are helpful for facilitating language development. But, many infants spend extensive time in childcare settings in non-parental care. This study investigated whether assistant teachers show similar response tendencies as mothers when responding to infant vocalizations. Just like mothers, we found that childcare teachers also pay attention to where babies are looking when they babble. Teachers are more likely to respond to infants after they babble at objects than when they vocalize undirected. Further, teachers provide more sensitive responses, such as descriptions and questions when babies babble at objects. This means that infants can change their opportunities for learning based on where they look when vocalizing!
However, unlike mothers, the teachers in this study were not influenced by the speech-like quality of the babble. Teachers were equally likely to respond to immature and mature babbles and did not change what they said to different types of infant vocalizations. While the teachers could perceive differences in vocalization types, they did not use that information when deciding if and how to respond. Babies seem to benefit from responses that are selective to their more advanced vocalizations so the teachers’ lack of selective responding suggests that infants may receive different opportunities to learn in childcare settings. These results can inform professional development opportunities for non-lead infant teachers to avoid overly simplistic messages that encourage educators to simply talk more, but also promote responsiveness that is both selective and contingent upon infant behavior.
Albert, R. R. (2021). Teacher talk: Infant vocal cues affect non-lead infant teachers’ responding. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 55, 326-335. https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1cSI-39HNKaTLS
Understanding the Social Functions of Babbling:
There’s a lot more to infant babbling than previously thought. In studying interactions between 9-month-old babies and their mothers, we found that mothers are sensitive to specific cues in infant vocalizations and change their responses based on the quality of the sounds babies produce. Babies are especially sensitive to what they hear within the two seconds after they babble, and use the information parents provide to improve both their understanding and production of language. In this study, we flipped how communication between infants and caregivers is typically studied to determine how infants influence their mothers.
We found that babies at this age are not just learning from sensitive responses, but they are active conversation partners who can directly impact their mother’s way of responding. For example, mothers are far more responsive when their child vocalizes at an object than when they’re making a general, undirected sound. Mothers also use the acoustic quality, or how mature a vocalization is, when deciding how to respond. This means that babies receive different types of information and thereby create different opportunities for learning based on their own vocal production.
Albert, R. R., Schwade, J. A., & Goldstein, M. H. (2018). The social functions of babbling: Acoustic and contextual characteristics that facilitate maternal responsiveness. Developmental Science. e12641.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/desc.12641/full