The influence of socio-economic status and ethnicity on speech and language development

Abstract

A number of factors influence the speech and language development of young children, and delay in the development of speech and language can have repercussions for school attainment and life chances. This paper is based on a survey of 3-4 year old children in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the UK. It analyses the data collected from 255 children in 26 schools, and discusses the effects of socioeconomic status and ethnicity on delayed or advanced language development in young children. Language development in the project was measured using the New Reynell Developmental Language Scales (NRDLS) (Edwards, Letts and Sinka, 2011). The study shows mean standard scores for language Production and Comprehension within the low average range, thus demonstrating a challenge confronting nurseries/preschools in the area in preparing children for compulsory schooling. The research has implications for Early Years education policy and practice.

The Effect of Social Class on the Linguistic Behavior of Saudi Female Employees at Al-Imam Muhammed Ibn Saud Islamic University

“…Concerning the ethnographical features of the participants, which were discussed in the present study, the present study proved to apparent effects of such ethnographic features on the interpretation of the linguistic behavior in terms of the social identity. This result was reported in the studies of Basit et al (2015), Dan and Rui (2017), Habib (2010), Kirkham (2015), Omari andJaber (2019), andSnell (2010). This proved that the researchers were successful when considering the ethnographic aspects of the participants such as gender and age, in analyzing the data.…”

“…Moreover, the researcher noticed that the linguistic variation was used as a means of social distinction in Dhaka society. Basit et al (2015) conducted a mixed-method study to explore the relationship between language development and two social factors which included the socio-economic status and ethnicity in the city of Stoke-on-Trent in the UK. The participants' ages ranged between three and four years old and the children were taken from 26 schools and nurseries.…”

“…Moreover, most of the studies that investigated social class and language use were carried out in Western societies such as Labov (1966), Labov (1972), Cedergren (1973), Trudgill (1974), Sankoff and Laberge (1978), Feagin (1979), Horvath (1985), Basit, Hughes, Iqbal & Cooper (2015), and Kirkham (2015). There were few studies in the area of the social class and linguistic behavior that were conducted in other parts of the world such as Goa's study (2014) which was conducted in China.…”

“…Hence, the present study aimed at bridging the contextual and scientific gaps in the linguistic studies by investigating the Saudi society. Another impetus to conduct this study was that most of the studies that are concerned with the social stratification concentrated on low-class and middle-class people such as the studies of (Basit et al, 2015;Kirkham, 2015) in which the high-class people receive little interest. Thus, this study focused on all the variant social classes of the Saudi society in term of their use of the language.…”

Influence of internal and external factors on early language skills: A cross-linguistic study

“…Maternal education level can positively affect a child's language development (Basit et al, 2015;Pace et al, 2016;Stolt et al, 2007;Westerlund & Lagerberg, 2008;Zauche, 2016). The impact of maternal education may even increase with the child's age and continue throughout the child's schooling (Vasilyeva, Waterfall & Huttenlocher, 2008).…”