Processes of Language Teaching and Training in the Interactions of Mother-Child Dyads

MOERK, ERNST L. Processes of Language Teaching and Training in the Interactions of Mother-Child Dyads. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1976, 47, 1064-1078. The verbal interactions of 20 mothers with their children, who were between 1.9 and 5.0 years old, were recorded and analyzed. The recordings were done in the home to increase ecological validity. The results indicated that mothers actively teach all aspects of language, including syntax and morphology. The interactional structures employed in the course of this teaching encompass feedback cycles and calibration processes. The mother-child dyad is therefore described as a self-regulating and relatively closed system. It is suggested that the amount, the type, and the timing of the observed teaching/training processes represent significant variables affecting the process of first language acquisition.