The Role of A Mother-Child Interaction to Support English Vocabulary Production in Home Environment: A Longitudinal Case Study
Keywords:
second language acquisition, vocabulary development, language exposure, natural language interaction,Abstract
Exposure has been an essential to second language acquisition in the context of English as a foreign language. Both formal and natural methods can be used to obtain exposure. At such a young age, children can engage in activities and interact with their parents or other caregivers at home, which can lead to productive vocabulary growth in natural settings. Vocabulary production is a key indicator of the success of early English vocabulary development. This study aims to characterize the growth of a four-year-old child's vocabulary production in English through interactions with her caregiver at home. A 4-year-old child served as the research participant in this qualitative longitudinal case study. Observation and recordings of the mother and child's interactions over a specific time period were used to gather data. The child's utterances during interaction sessions were transcribed for analysis, with an emphasis on the quantity of vocabulary items, the types of vocabulary production, the development of vocabulary categories, and the categorization of spontaneous, prompted, and imitated production. The results demonstrated the beneficial effects of mother-child interaction on the development of the child's English vocabulary production, especially in terms of the increase in spontaneous vocabulary production. Early English vocabulary development is effectively supported in home learning environments when parents consistently participate in natural language interaction. This study provides concrete proof that parents and early childhood educators can support children's development of foreign languages through meaningful interaction.
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