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Combining observational and experimental approaches to the development of language and communication in rural samples: Opportunities and challenges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 March 2023

Alejandrina CRISTIA ,
Ruthe FOUSHEE Open the ORCID record for Ruthe FOUSHEE [Opens in a new window] ,
Paulina ARAVENA-BRAVO ,
Margaret CYCHOSZ ,
Camila SCAFF  and
Marisa CASILLAS Open the ORCID record for Marisa CASILLAS [Opens in a new window]
Alejandrina CRISTIA*
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et de Psycholinguistique, Département d’études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, Paris, France
Ruthe FOUSHEE
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
Paulina ARAVENA-BRAVO
Affiliation:
Departamento de Fonoaudiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
Margaret CYCHOSZ
Affiliation:
Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA Department of Linguistics, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
Camila SCAFF
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et de Psycholinguistique, Département d’études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, Paris, France Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Marisa CASILLAS
Affiliation:
Department of Comparative Human Development, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Alejandrina Cristia, Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et de Psycholinguistique, Département d’études cognitives, ENS, EHESS, CNRS, PSL University, Paris, France. Email: alecristia@gmail.com
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Abstract

Multiple approaches – including observational and experimental – are necessary to articulate powerful theories of learning. Our field’s key questions, which rely on these varied methods, are still open. How do children perceive and produce language? What do they encounter in their linguistic input? What does the learner bring to the task of acquisition? Considerable progress has been made for the development of spoken English (especially by North American learners). Yet there is still a great deal to discover about how children in other populations proceed, especially populations in rural settings. To examine language learning in these populations, we need a multi-method approach. However, adapting and integrating methods, particularly experimental ones, to new settings can present immense challenges. In this paper, we discuss the opportunities and challenges facing researchers who aim to use a multimethodological approach in rural samples, and what the field of language acquisition can do to promote such work.

Keywords

methodsobservationalexperimentalruralsmall-scaleculture
Type
Article
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 50 , Issue 3: Special issue on Cross-cultural language development , May 2023 , pp. 495 - 517
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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