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Characteristics of Academic Language Register Occurring in Caretaker‐Child Interaction: Development and Validation of a Coding Scheme
Author(s) -
Aarts Rian,
Demir Serpil,
Vallen Ton
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
language learning
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.882
H-Index - 103
eISSN - 1467-9922
pISSN - 0023-8333
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00664.x
Subject(s) - psychology , coding (social sciences) , turkish , developmental psychology , socioeconomic status , literacy , scheme (mathematics) , language development , linguistics , pedagogy , sociology , social science , philosophy , population , demography , mathematical analysis , mathematics
This article aims at validating a coding scheme designed to investigate the precursors of academic language occurring in early caretaker‐child interactions. Exposure to the academic dimensions of language is an important asset for children to be successful in academic settings. The proposed analytical framework, based on systemic functional linguistics and usage‐based theories and informed by research on the language of school, is useful for assessing caretaker‐child interaction in different languages at home and in schools. The coding scheme is validated by providing interactional data of 15 Turkish mother‐child dyads. A large variation was found in the extent to which academic language features are present in the input, partly related to the socioeconomic status and literacy levels of the mothers. A book reading setting fosters the academic level of maternal input.