Acquisition of back channel listener responses to adequate messages

Back channel listener responses could be among the last conversational skills acquired. Listener responses (i.e., headnods, umhums) were observed in 36 normal children (12 each at ages 7.5, 9.5, and 11.9 years) in an instructional situation. The frequency of back channel responses increased significantly with age. Additionally, children who provided more listener response demonstrated a significant relationship between back channel responses and a variety of speaker cue combinations. The finding that older children provided more back channel responses associated with a variety of speaker signals was interpreted to mean that older children understood the listener role of providing collaborative feedback.