Book contents
- Language Development
- Language Development
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- A Tribute to Our Friend, Colleague and Fellow Editor, Professor James Law
- Introduction
- Part One Factors Influencing Language Development
- 3 Genetic Studies of Language Disorders
- 4 Hearing and Language
- 5 Co-occurrence between Language Disorders and Common Conditions in Childhood
- 6 Language and Cognition
- 7 Growing Up in Multilingual Communities
- 8 Parent–Child Interaction and Its Impact on Language Development
- 9 Cognitive Competencies and Signals of Risk
- 10 Creating Equitable Opportunities for Language and Literacy Development in Childhood and Adolescence
- Part Two Continuity and Change
- Part Three Impact, Intervention and Equity
- Index
- References
9 - Cognitive Competencies and Signals of Risk
from Part One - Factors Influencing Language Development
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 August 2022
- Language Development
- Language Development
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- A Tribute to Our Friend, Colleague and Fellow Editor, Professor James Law
- Introduction
- Part One Factors Influencing Language Development
- 3 Genetic Studies of Language Disorders
- 4 Hearing and Language
- 5 Co-occurrence between Language Disorders and Common Conditions in Childhood
- 6 Language and Cognition
- 7 Growing Up in Multilingual Communities
- 8 Parent–Child Interaction and Its Impact on Language Development
- 9 Cognitive Competencies and Signals of Risk
- 10 Creating Equitable Opportunities for Language and Literacy Development in Childhood and Adolescence
- Part Two Continuity and Change
- Part Three Impact, Intervention and Equity
- Index
- References
Summary
In this chapter, we consider children's early language acquisition as it develops alongside three other core cognitive competencies: children's understanding of objects, children's understanding of the thoughts and feelings of others (i.e. their theory of mind), and children's knowledge of numbers and mathematical principles. We argue that while early language acquisition is initially supported by these three other competencies, the acquisition of words transforms them by providing a method for children to communicate and organise the information obtained through them. We do this by describing the key milestones occurring within each of the competencies and the genetic and environmental factors which place them at risk, with findings derived from a systematic review of cohort studies in English-speaking countries. A key message is that genetic and environmental circumstances are inextricably linked in predicting early cognitive development, and that some factors are reliably stronger in predicting poor outcomes than others. Additionally, there is clear evidence that income-related disparities are reliably measurable from the age of 3 and then steadily increase throughout the remainder of childhood.
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- Language DevelopmentIndividual Differences in a Social Context, pp. 193 - 230Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022