Meredith L. Rowe|Kathryn A. Leech|Natasha Cabrera
Going Beyond Input Quantity: <i>Wh</i>?Questions Matter for Toddlers' Language and Cognitive Development
Harvard University|Harvard University|University of Maryland, College Park|University of Maryland, College Park
abstract clear associations overall quantity input children exposed vocabulary acquisition however uncovering specific features input matter better understand mechanisms involved vocabulary learning examine whether exposure wh questions challenging quality communicative input associated toddlers vocabulary later verbal reasoning skills sample lowincome africanamerican fathers 24monthold children n 41 dyads videotaped free play sessions home videotapes transcribed reliably coded sheer quantity fathers input number utterances well number wh questions fathers produce childrens productive vocabulary measured 24 months using mcarthur bates communicative development inventory mcdi completed mothers childrens verbal reasoning skills measured 1 year later using bayley scales infant development results indicate overall quantity father talk relate childrens vocabulary reasoning skills however fathers use wh questions questions related vocabulary reasoning outcomes childrens responses wh questions frequent syntactically complex measured using mean length utterance mlu responses questions thus posing wh questions 2yearolds challenging type input elicits verbal response child likely helps build vocabulary foster verbal reasoning abilities