tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934114849248752492.post5596182200336243684..comments2023-02-09T01:24:09.264-08:00Comments on Frances Evesham's Communication Blog: How to Help Your Child Talk and Grow Smarter: Learning Two LanguagesAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11007766251364466722noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934114849248752492.post-56027677926169762712011-02-27T02:51:43.281-08:002011-02-27T02:51:43.281-08:00Hi there,
Thanks for your comments. I think you...Hi there,<br />Thanks for your comments. I think you've given a good illustration of the fact that we're all individuals and parents often know best! The main point about language is whether a child understands - the words come later. Your sister was clearly OK on understanding but a bit overloaded - as you say, it was hard for her to get at the right 'file'. Well done to her parents for taking the load off temporarily with such a good effect. <br />As for the nature/nurture debate, it still continues. Language is one of our highest levels of intellectual function and some of us tend to be better than others: hence 10% of population with communication difficulties. I worry that taking the 'nature' view too strongly may encourage us to think we can't do anything about language problems, and that's not the case. Some research starting at Frenchay Hospital in Bristol will look at types of intervention and their outcomes - should be useful.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11007766251364466722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4934114849248752492.post-41549606417429999842011-02-26T13:12:35.198-08:002011-02-26T13:12:35.198-08:00Hi Fran,
I know this is the accepted view, however...Hi Fran,<br />I know this is the accepted view, however I know that it is not always the case. For a combination of reasons, my younger sister was brought up on an even mix of Croatian, English and Japanese until the age of nearly three. While this continued she spoke only ug-ug words – despite all efforts at help. Alarmed, our parents cut down to just English and she spoke quite clearly within a couple of weeks. Later, she was able to juggle all three quite proficiently but it appears the 'filing cabinet' got too mixed up to be able to lay hands on the right word with all three versions together. <br /><br />I also know it's heresy in speech-specialist circles, but I'm convinced that people are pre-programmed to a certain language – or a certain language root. Coming from a multicultural family that has lived all over the globe, I've experienced numerous instances of examples of the same environment and language input leading to wildly differing language use and expression difference. It seems to be most obvious in difficulties with grammar and incorrect word usage, which has no relation to the amount of time spent studying or using the language.Mooseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16494661478705787989noreply@blogger.com