Poojitha Tanjore
Language development is both an experience-expectant and experience-dependent process. Given the importance of experiences in both households and schools, chronic poverty, and lower socioeconomic status (SES) are negatively associated with the pace and quality of language development. SES impacts language development through determining early communication, school-based resources, and caregiver understanding of language development. This substantial gap between SES persists and can widen with age. Therefore, it is valuable to study the impact of SES on parents’ speech and school-based resources, and their consequential impact on children’s language development.
Cognitive stimulation in the form of reading, playing, teaching, and other reciprocal interactions are associated with positive language development (Cates, Dreyer, Berkule, White, Arevalo, & Mendelsohn, 2013, p. 1). Research states that children from low SES face lagging language development compared to their middle-class counterparts due to lower reciprocal interactions (Cates et al., 2013, p. 2). The study Infant Communication and Subsequent Language Development in Children From Low-Income Families: The Role of Early Cognitive Stimulation determined whether early cognitive stimulation alters initial infant communication and whether the impacts are essential for language learning in a low-income sample. Through study determined what age and due to which environmental influences language disparities between those of different SES arises (Cates et al., 2013, p. 7). Results indicated that early cognitive stimulation and toddler language development were explained by the frequency of cognitive stimulation on early infant communication (Cates et al., 2013, p. 8). The relationships between early cognitive stimulation and language development are determined by parental communication with infants, which underscores that SES can take effect early in life (Cates et al., 2013, p. 8). First lags in language development, which is caused by lower socioeconomic status, can persist into long term language development discrepancies (Cates et al., 2013, p. 9).
Many factors hinder parental communication with children in families of low SES. With those from low-wealth communities typically working in the service sector, irregular hours and lower wages are the norms (Vernon-Feagans, Garett-Peters, Willoughby, & Mills-Koonce, 2010, p. 339). Many of these jobs are far from the family home, leading to long commutes and less time at home. The study Chaos, Poverty, and Parenting: Predictors of Early Language Development concluded that language development is slowed by a chaotic household (Vernon-Feagans et al., 2010, p. 350). Chaos, defined as instability and disorganization, is linked to parents having less time, causing an immediate decrease in the number of words heard (Vernon-Feagans et al., 2010, p. 350). These factors are often consequences of lower SES, showing that SES plays a role in language complexity heard and developed by children (Vernon-Feagans et al., 2010, p. 349). It was demonstrated that fewer words heard leads to smaller productive vocabulary over time (Vernon-Feagans et al., 2010, p. 341). Alternatively, households with too many people cause overstimulation and subsequent withdrawal of children (Vernon-Feagans et al., 2010, p. 341). Many studies have shown the impact of lower maternal education on language development (Vernon-Feagans et al., 2010, p. 345). However, this study showed that disorganization contributed considerably more to future expressive and receptive language than did maternal education (Vernon-Feagans et al., 2010, p. 347 ). Instability and disorganization, caused by overworked parents, messiness, frequent moving, and changes in caregivers. Chaos and instability have the most significant impact at early ages on language development (Vernon-Feagans et al., 2010, p. 349).
Maternal speech towards children can determine later communication in children of all SES (Hoff, 2003, p. 1369). In regards to maternal speech habits, The study The Specificity of Environmental Influence: Socioeconomic Status Affects Early Vocabulary Via Maternal Speech, tested whether maternal speech varied based on SES and whether this variation was the reason for later vocabulary differences. The study observed interactions between 33 high SES and 30 mid-SES mothers and their respective children. After ten weeks, the study found that the vocabularies of children from high SES grew more than that of children from mid-SES, showing the direct impact of SES on language development. High-SES mothers use speech that positively impacts language development (Hoff, 2003, p. 1376). For example, higher SES mothers were more likely to use child-directed and contingent speech. This study establishes maternal expression as one of the most important catalysts to quicker language development, and shows that maternal speech varies due to SES (Hoff, 2003, p. 1375).
Not only is language development impacted by experiences in the home, but school-based experiences also vary due to SES. Studies such as Paucity and Disparity in Kindergarten Oral Vocabulary Instruction and A Double Dose of Disadvantage: Language Experiences for Low-Income Children at Home and School, found that school placements were based on residence. Placements caused children in poor communities to attend economically disadvantaged schools (Neuman, Kaefer & Pinkham, 2018, p. 103). More impoverished schools had shorter hours, could not meet yearly progress goals, and had less experienced teachers (Neuman, Kaefer & Pinkham, 2018, p. 106). Unfortunately, children who attend schools in lower SES districts are less likely to receive the early stimulation and print resources needed to foster language development (Wright & Neuman, 2018, p. 108). Poorer schools exacerbate pre-existing language discrepancies leading to differences in academic performance, potentially harming prospects for many children (Neuman, Kaefer & Pinkham, 2018, p. 115).
As detailed in Paucity and Disparity in Kindergarten Oral Vocabulary, teachers in more deprived districts tend to teach language differently. Teachers in the more impoverished areas studied showed a high frequency of short sentences and commands when interacting with students (Wright & Neuman, 2018, p. 349). Observation determined that teachers in more affluent school districts spent more time explaining more definitions of complex words to their children than those in poorer districts (Wright & Neuman 2018, p. 350). Consequently, students in wealthier districts showed more significant growth in vocabulary comprehension than students from poorer schools (Wright & Neuman, 2018, p. 350). Additionally, intervention programs that can close the language gap that arises in the household and schools are difficult to implement in poorer districts due to overworked and underqualified teachers, in addition to a lack of funding (Neuman, Kaefer & Pinkham, 2018, p. 115).
Moreover, print resources in schools play a role in determining reading, writing, and language comprehension. A study done in the Journal of Educational Psychology, A Double Dose of Disadvantage: Language Experiences for Low-Income Children at Home and School, states that SES affects children’s daily access to resources (Neuman, Kaefer & Pinkham, 2018, p. 102). Studies such as For the Rich it’s Richer: Print Experiences and Environments Offered to Children in Very Low-and Very High-Socioeconomic Status First-Grade Classrooms showed that children from lower SES have lower school readiness (Duke, 2000, p. 470). This early disadvantage may cause a “spiral of causality” as children from lower SES backgrounds who start behind stay behind due to a lack of resources, precisely due to the number of books available (Duke, 2000, p. 458). This study looked at twenty classrooms from low and high SES districts to record information about the library, environmental print, and any activity that taught print agency. Students from low SES encountered less print on the walls, had fewer books and magazines, fewer references to classroom environmental print, and had fewer chances to engage with the print that was available (Duke, 2000, p. 458). There was an average of 40% fewer print resources in lower SES classroom libraries, worsened by the fact that lower SES classrooms rarely integrated their classroom print resources with topics of study (Duke, 2000, p. 458). High SES classrooms also offered more time with the extended text, showing better agency with print (Duke, 2000, p. 452). Exacerbating the gap between language development in school-aged children of different SES is the lack of print resources in less wealthy schools, which leads to a decrease in print familiarity and agency. This decreased language comprehension and experience can determine academic performance, communication abilities, and the eventual development of soft and hard skills.
Child education is not the only factor in determining language development. The number of years that parents have attended school and their understanding of child psychology can cause the language development of their child (Rowe, 2012, p. 2). A Longitudinal Investigation of the Role of Quantity and Quality of Child-Directed Speech in Vocabulary Development showed that more highly educated parents used diverse vocabulary than parents with less education (Rowe, 2012, p. 7). The level of parental education and higher-level vocabulary use were positively related (Rowe, 2012, p. 4). Parents with more education also spent more time explaining vocabulary and helping children understand connections between concepts (Rowe, 2012, p. 7). However, educating parents about child language development and the importance of contingent speech mediates this starting disadvantage (Rowe, 2008, p. 185).
Educating parents about child development is essential in supporting language development, as found in Child-Directed Speech: Relation to Socioeconomic Status, Knowledge of Child Development, and Child Vocabulary Skills. Researchers in this study observed the interactions of 47 families to determine what drives the relationship between SES and child-directed speech. Researchers found information that showed that children from low-SES families experienced less parental talk and varied vocabulary in interactions (Rowe, 2008, p. 199). The differences in words spoken impacted the early communicative experiences of children, as well (Rowe, 2008, p. 200). The findings of this study not only complement those that show that child-directed speech relates to vocabulary production and comprehension, but they also replicate results that there is a relationship between SES and child-directed speech (Rowe, 2008, p. 199).
Contingent speech is when a parent discusses an object in an infant’s direct focus. A Randomised Controlled Trial to Test the Effect of Promoting Caregiver Contingent Talk on Language Development in Infants from Diverse Socioeconomic Status Backgrounds determined that once families used contingent talk, their children used a statistically significant number of new words at 15 and 18 months (McGillion, Pine, Herbert, Matthews, 2017, p. 1127). However, this study also showed that only early intervention to teach contingent talk was most effective due to growth plateauing at 24 months. (McGillion, 2017, p. 1126). Contingent talk intervention is beneficial for disadvantaged children because it increases the number of words heard, and consequently vocabulary (McGillion, 2017, p. 1127). Additionally, as found in The Effects of Socioeconomic Status, Race, and Parenting on Language Development in Early Childhood, caregivers increased the use of complex sentences and contingent speech once educated about the value of their discourse on their child (McGillion, 2017, p. 1128).
This paper outlines experimental studies that determine at what age SES impacts language development, what factors exacerbate SES’s impact, and what factors can mediate the gap caused by SES. SES has an effect not only on parental speech towards their children but also on the resources available to children of lower SES. Parents from lower SES typically communicate less frequently with their children, communicate with smaller vocabulary and syntax variability, and fall into patterns of chaos within the household. Additionally, because school zoning is based on residence, poorer students are more likely to go to needy schools. As a consequence, already behind students from low SES are unlikely to receive the resources, they need. However, educating parents on the importance of child-directed speech, maternal speech, and early communication can help mediate the effects of SES on language development. Language connects individuals. As individuals hone their word, they grow more able to express their ideas, advocate for themselves, and understand others. Verbal communication is a critical part of development, therefore making it invaluable to understand which factors impact its development.
References
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POOJA TANJORE 