The FNDP (friendly neighborhood developmental psychologist) long ago told me about a true or false question on one of the exams for one of her classes. The question was: "Comprehension precedes production: True or False?" The answer was true. Although the question was probably obvious in the context of the class, the answer has always bugged me.
In some senses this is obviously true. Luke understands much more than he can produce. In fact, all I have to do is say "Luke!" in a warning tone, and he will look at me and either drop what he is holding or start running away from me, which seems like an extraordinary amount of meaning and understanding for one word. Whenever I say "Hi!" he'll wave. When I say "Hello!" he'll hold his hand up to his ear and talk on the phone. I can ask him to come here or do something, and he understands a great deal.
What he says is much more limited. Michael is convinced he says lots of things, I am less convinced just because the sounds he makes only rarely seem related to what he is referring to. Today, however, he was definitely saying "Mana" for Amanda. So comprehension precedes production.
On the other hand, I heard about a friend's two-year-old, who has begun saying, "N-O! No!" He has no idea what he is producing, but he does have 2 older brothers. So in this case, production (spelling) seems to precede comprehension.
In some senses this is obviously true. Luke understands much more than he can produce. In fact, all I have to do is say "Luke!" in a warning tone, and he will look at me and either drop what he is holding or start running away from me, which seems like an extraordinary amount of meaning and understanding for one word. Whenever I say "Hi!" he'll wave. When I say "Hello!" he'll hold his hand up to his ear and talk on the phone. I can ask him to come here or do something, and he understands a great deal.
What he says is much more limited. Michael is convinced he says lots of things, I am less convinced just because the sounds he makes only rarely seem related to what he is referring to. Today, however, he was definitely saying "Mana" for Amanda. So comprehension precedes production.
On the other hand, I heard about a friend's two-year-old, who has begun saying, "N-O! No!" He has no idea what he is producing, but he does have 2 older brothers. So in this case, production (spelling) seems to precede comprehension.
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