A Study Of Cognitively Challenging Language In Teacher-child Shared Reading

Cognitively challenging language,as an important way for young children to achieve sense-making of things around them in daily life,play a significant role in predicting their future performance in literacy and reading comprehension.Cognitively challenging language is an essential component in children’s language learning experiences,which has implications for promoting their early language development.In this study,corpus analysis and conversation analysis were used to analyze the cognitively challenging language used by 30 teachers and 120 children aged 3-6 years who shared two types of picture books(with words versus without words).The corpus ware coded according to the types of reading communication contexts(story-based and non-story-based)and the types of cognitively challenging language(Label,Describe,Compare,Infer,Generalize & Explain).It was investigated that the effects of picture book genre,reading communication context,and children’s age on both teachers’ and children’s use of cognitively challenging language.How teachers and children use cognitively challenging language when reading two types of picture books in different communication contexts were analyzed in detail.The results showed that: 1.Both teachers and children produced higher proportions of cognitively challenging language when reading picture books without words than with words;2.Both teachers and children uttered more cognitively challenging language in non-story-based communication contexts;3.The effect of children’s age on the use of cognitively challenging language in teacher-child shared reading was identified;4.Aided by description(Describe)and explanation(Explain)of the pictures on picture books,teachers enhanced children’s engagement in shared reading;5.Children actively use Label and Describe during shared reading,and Compare and Infer about the content of images drawn on their own experiences.The findings has pedagogical implications for improving the effectiveness of language learning in shared reading: 1.Wordless picture books should be used more frequently in teacher-child shared reading;2.The value of non-story-based cognitively challenging language in teachers’ language use should be emphasized;3.Teachers are encouraged to utilize the picture content to extend conversation with children in shared reading;4.It is significant to seize the language learning and development opportunities brought by wordless picture books for children of different ages.