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Feedback to first language learners: the role of repetitions and clarification questions*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

M. J. Demetras ,
Kathryn Nolan Post  and
Catherine E. Snow
M. J. Demetras
Affiliation:
The University of Arizona
Kathryn Nolan Post
Affiliation:
Harvard University
Catherine E. Snow
Affiliation:
Harvard University
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Abstract

The conclusion that information regarding the grammatically of children's speech is unavailable in parental input has recently been challenged (Moerk 1983 a, b, Hirsh-Pasek, Treiman & Schneiderman 1984). The present study expanded on this research by broadening the definition of ‘negative feedback’ and by describing individual styles of mother–child dialogues. The purpose was to investigate whether mothers of four 2-year-old children responded differentially to their children's well-formed or ill-formed utterances with explicit and implicit feedback. The middle-class, English-speaking, mother–child dyads were recorded in a naturalistic context at home during play and eating activities. Explicit and implicit feedback were different in terms of the proportion of responses available to the child and their relation to well-formed and ill-formed utterances. The style of response was similar for most analyses across the four mothers.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 13 , Issue 2 , June 1986 , pp. 275 - 292
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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