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Chapter One
The Effects of Socio-economic
Status on Children's Language
Acquisition and Use
JANE GINSBORG
Royal Northern College of Music
INTRODUCTION
OUTLINE OF CHAPTER
In the first part of this chapter, social disadvantage is defined in terms of socio-economic
status (SES). Evidence that children from low-SES backgrounds are more
likely to experience language delay than children from high-SES backgrounds will
be presented. Environmental explanations, suggesting that children from high- and
low-SES backgrounds experience different kinds of language environment, which
influence both the rate of language acquisition and language competence on starting
school, will be discussed. The second part of the chapter considers the extent to
which the differences that have been found represent deficits. Given the importance
of oracy and literacy in education, and the links between them, it is clear that children
from low-SES backgrounds are more likely to be disadvantaged academically than
those from high-SES backgrounds, thus renewing the cycle of so ... read full excerpt from Language and Social Disadvantage: Theory into Practice ebook
