Television and Its Role in Language Development in Children - Literature review Example

Television and Its Role in Language Development in Children: A Literature Review This paper reviews some existing literature on the association between television viewing and language development in children. Television can be a facilitator or impediment on television viewing based on factors such as television content, age, amount of television viewing, and parental coviewing. Television can affect many facets of language development such as vocabulary, reading skills, and listening skills. Excessive early exposure to general audience television programs impedes language development. Educational programs have a positive impact on early language when parents are coviewers and television time is limited. 1. Introduction Extensive literature exists on the impact of television on language development in children. However, views on the role of television in child language development vary (Evra, 2004). While some consider the television an impediment, many others believe that this medium can enhance and enrich language development in children. Researchers have explored many variables such as age, quantity of television time, television content, and parental response in their studies. Among the language skills affected are vocabulary, listening skills, and reading skills. Specific programs developed to educate children through the medium of television also warrant discussion in any study on the effect of television on children’s development. This paper aims at reviewing the hypothesis that television viewing is detrimental to early language development. Some existing literature on the impact of television on children’s language development was reviewed. Only online sources were used. Both primary and secondary research materials were selected from ERIC and Google. Appendix 1 has annotated citations of primary sources used. 2. Television as an Impediment and Facilitator of Language Development Researchers who view television as an impediment to language development in children point to the medium’s focus on action, quick pace, short sequence, and dependence on visual stimuli, suggests Evra (2004). She cites Doerken’s (1983, as cited in Evra, 2004) observations that the language changes incorporated in television programs such as narrowing word use and replacing thoughts with jingles may curb rational capacity in young children attempting to internalize language. Another aspect negatively affected by many years of watching television is the aptitude to develop verbal skills suggests Winn (1985, as cited in Evra, 2004). According to Winn (1985, as cited in Evra, 2004), television is a hindrance to language development in children because this medium focuses on expression of language rather than acquisition of language. Milkovich, Miller, Bettinghaus, & Atkin (1975) suggest that television viewers have few opportunities to talk to others or to gain feedback on the appropriateness of their language. Close (2004) attributes the negative effect of television on early language development to language-poor content, high auditory and visual stimuli that are ineffective (Krcmar, Grela, & Lin, 2004, as cited in Close, 2004), and to the use of complex narratives beyond children’s understanding (Noble, 1975, as cited in Close, 2004). Many researchers advocate television to improve language development in children. Young children benefit from programs with simple dialogue, visual salience, redundancy, and repetitions, suggests one study (Rice, 1983 as cited in Evra, 2004). Preschoolers can pick up words from television because of their incidental learning abilities, says Rice (1983 as cited in Evra, 2004). Children may exhibit their knowledge from television programs they watch during other activities, thus stimulating their language (Lemish and Rice, 1986 as cited in Evra, 2004). These discordant views on television viewing and early language development imply that one cannot judge the role of television in language development without considering some variables such as television content, age, quantity of viewing, and parental response. 2.1 Television content Close (2004) observed that general audience programs impede language and contribute to low language ability. Content designed for general adult audience and age-inappropriate cartoons may affect vocabulary, language sophistication, expressive language, academic achievement, and school readiness (Bickham, Wright, & Huston, 2001; Rice, Huston, Truglio, & Wright, 1990; Arraf, 1990; Selnow & Bettinghaus, 1982; as cited in Close, 2004). On the other hand, most of the literature used in this paper emphasizes the benefits of television content designed especially for children. Educational programs designed for young children are both entertaining and educating (Close, 2004). Close (2004) observed that high-quality education programs help in many facets of language development, especially among preschoolers. These programs portray meanings visually and explicitly, while delivering content in a format similar to mothers’ interaction with their children (Rice, 1983 & 1984, as cited in Evra, 2004). Therefore, children can comprehend these programs better. This comprehension improves their receptive vocabulary, while encouraging children to choose programs, to search for content they understand, and to absorb information (Lemish & Rice, 1986; Rice, Huston, and Wright, 1982; as cited in Close, 2004). One such children’s educational program is Sesame Street. Almost all literature used in this paper mentioned Sesame Street, one of the most viewed children’s education series. In the United States, 50-60% of preschoolers between ages two and five view Sesame Street four or more times a week (Comstock & Scharrer, 1999 as cited in Evra, 2004). A 1990-study by Rice, Huston, Truglio, & Wright (1990 as cited in Evra, 2004) proved that regular exposure to this program has a positive effect on language development, including increased vocabulary, in the age group of 3-5 years. The study attributed this success to its format and techniques that focus children’s attention, elicit their involvement, employ visual and verbal redundancies, and mimic mother-child interactions. An earlier study (Rice, 1984 as cited in Close 2004) found that the stress on some words in sentences help children to distinguish and learn new words. Five-year-olds who viewed this program at ages two and three are likely to score higher in language, math, and school readiness (Bickham, Wright, & Huston, 2001 as cited in Close, 2004). According to this study, the positive effects are long term. Children who viewed this series with parent(s) showed better results than those who viewed alone (Lesser, 1974; Salomon, 1977; as cited in St. Peters, Huston, & Wright, 1989). 2.2 Age Close (2004) observed that individual factors such as age and linguistic maturity determine a child’s acquisition of knowledge from television. Young children can learn new words from age-appropriate television programs, with five-year-olds doing better than two-year-olds, according to Rice and Woodsmall (1988 as cited in Evra, 2004). For children below two, interaction with adults was more beneficial than watching television, although children exposed to high quality education programs for small intervals showed some positive response (Close, 2004). Infants in the age group of 8-16 months who were exposed to educational DVDs showed lower vocabulary, according to a study conducted by Zimmerman, Christakis, & Meltzoff (2007). 2.3 Amount of viewing time Many studies suggest that excessive exposure to television may impede cognitive development in children. In preschool children, language performance and viewing time showed an inverse relationship (Selnow & Bettinghaus, 1982 as cited in Evra, 2004). Preschoolers exposed to television for longer periods may miss social and oral interactions, which may undermine confidence in their linguistic abilities (Close, 2004). 2.4 Parental response While many children view television along with their parents, this happens often for prime time programs rather than for children’s programs (A.C. Nielson, 1975 as cited in St. Peters, Huston, & Wright, 1989). These general audience programs may have a negative impact on children’s language development. Moreover, parents may be preoccupied with the television and devote less time to their children (Arraf, 1990; Bickham, Wright, & Huston, 2001; as cited in Close 2004). St. Peters, Huston, & Wright (1989) found that such programs negatively affected children’s attention and comprehension. On the other hand, parents who view educational programs along with their children can reinforce children’s acquired knowledge by encouraging them to talk about the programs (St. Peters, Huston, & Wright, 1989). Often, co-viewing interactions focus on language skills such as naming and identifying objects, repeating new terms, asking questions, and correlating content to real world (Lemish and Rice, 1986 as cited in St. Peters, Huston, & Wright, 1989). However, few parents coview educational programs, and children are likely to miss some benefits of the programs (St. Peters, Huston, & Wright, 1989). 3. Language Skills Affected by Television Research suggests that television exposure has an impact on many aspects of language development. In this paper, we consider three aspects of language development – vocabulary, listening skills, and reading skills. 3.1 Vocabulary Close’s (2004) research findings indicate an increase in receptive vocabulary or comprehension of spoken words among preschoolers exposed to high quality educational software. Close cites a study by Naigles and Mayeux (2001 as cited in Close 2004), who proved that young viewers of educational programs such as Sesame Street learn new words and extend their understanding of familiar words. Another finding of this study was improved lexical ability in early viewers of such educational programs. 3.2 Listening Skills Views on the impact of early television exposure on listening skills vary. Evra (2004) cites a study by Doerken (1983), who concluded that television impairs listening skills because children learn to talk over television as background noise, a trait that makes them inattentive in school. On the other hand, a study by Mangieri and Arthur (1978) proved that training young television viewers in listening skills and guided television viewing aids overall language development. 3.3 Reading Skills Many researchers suggest that early exposure to television has a negative effect on the development of reading skills. Perkins (1996) observed that children in the age group of 5-6 years were more familiar with videos of their favorite stories rather than books. When asked about the text version of the stories, many said they prefer videos. Perkins aptly quotes one student’s reply: When you watch a video the pictures change for you and you don’t have to make them for yourself. When you watch a video it’s quicker and it does for you; you don’t have to waste your voice. When you read a book you have to think a lot. (1996) Children exposed to television develop strategies to process content, which they extend to activities such as reading (Salomon, 1981 as cited in Evra, 2004). Quick attention shifts, partial concentration, and coordination between visual and auditory attention, all of which work fine for television viewing, have adverse effects when applied to reading (Evra, 2004). Excessive exposure to television may have a displacement effect on children – the time they could spend on development activities goes to television (Evra, 2004). This often causes a decrease in reading time among heavy television viewers. On the other hand, some others argue that educational television can help cultivate interest in new topics, while stimulating classroom discussions and providing background content for school projects (Evra, 2004). 4. Conclusions Television can be a help or hindrance to language development in young viewers. Many variables such as television content, age, amount of viewing time, and parental response have a role to play. General audience adult content and age inappropriate cartoons, viewed heavily alone or with parents, have a negative impact on language development in young children. Children’s educational programs such as Sesame Street are more beneficial to language development, especially vocabulary. Excessive exposure to television has a negative impact on of some aspects of language development such as listening skills and reading skills. Training in listening skills and guided viewing of educational television can help improve early viewers’ listening skills. References A.C. Nielson Co. (1975). NTI/NAC Audience Demographics Report. Chicago: A.C. Nielson Co. Arraf, S . (1990). An analysis of the effects of television viewing patterns, IQ, SES and gender on receptive and expressive language development of pre-school children. (Doctoral dissertation, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, 1990). Unpublished. Bickham, D., Wright, J., & Huston, A. (2001). Attention, comprehension, and the educational influences of television. In Handbook of Children and the Media (D. Singer and J. Singer Ed.). London: Sage Publications. Close, R. (2004). Television and Language Development in the Early Years: A Review of the Literature. UK: National Literacy Trust. Retrieved from http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/research/tv.html Comstock, G., & Scharrer, E. (1999). Television: Whats on, Whos Watching, and What It Means. San Diego, CA, US: Academic Press. Doerken, M. (1983). Classroom combat. Teaching and television. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications. Evra, J.V. (2004). Television and Child Development (3rd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Available from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=bvaheiRp-iQC Krcmar, M., Grela, B.G., & Lin, Y.J. (2004). Learning Vocabulary from Television: Toddlers, Teletubbies and Attention. Manuscript submitted for publication. Lemish, D., & Rice, M. L. (1986). Television as a talking picture book: A prop for language acquisition. Journal of Child Language, 13. Lesser, G.S. (1974). Children and Television: Lessons from Sesame Street. New York: Random House. Mangieri, J. N., & Arthur, S. V. (1978). Listen to Television. SC: University of South Carolina. Retrieved from ERIC Web Portal (ED172240). Milkovich, M., Miller, M., Bettinghaus, E., & Atkin, C. (1975). The Effects of Television Advertising on Children. Report No. 3: Exploring the Relationship Between Television Viewing and Language Development. Final Report. Washington, DC: Office of Child Development. Retrieved from ERIC Web Portal (ED116785). Naigles, L., & Mayeux, L. (2001) Television as incidental language teacher. In Handbook of Children and the Media (D. Singer and J. Singer Ed.). London: Sage Publications. Noble, G. (1975). Children in Front of the Small Screen. London: Sage Publications. Perkins, M. (1996). Never Mind the Book, I’ve Seen the Video. Proceedings from the Annual Conference of the International Association of School Librarianship, July 17-21, Worcester, UK. Retrieved from ERIC Web Portal (ED400837). Rice, M. (1983). The role of television in language acquisition. Developmental Review, 3. Rice, M. (1984). Television language and child language. In The Future of Childrens Television (J.P. Murray and G. Salomon Ed.). Boys Town, NE: Father Flanagans Boys Home. Rice, M., Huston, A.C., & Wright, J.C. (1982). The forms and codes of television: effects on children’s attention, comprehension, and social behavior. In Television and Behavior: Ten Years of Scientific Progress and Implications for the Eighties. (Pearl D. Ed.). Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office. Rice, M., Huston, A.C., Truglio, R.T., & Wright, J.C. (1990). Words from Sesame Street: learning vocabulary while viewing. Developmental Psychology, 26(3). Rice, M., & Woodsmall, L. (1988). Lessons from television: children’s word learning when viewing. Child Development, 59. Salomon, G. (1977). Effects of encouraging Israeli mothers to co-observe Sesame Street with their five-year-olds. Child Development, 48. Salomon, G. (1981). Introducing AIME: The assessment of childrens mental involvement with television. Viewing Children Through Television (H. Kelly and H. Gardner Ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass. Selnow, G., & Bettinghaus, E. (1982). Television exposure and language development. Journal of Broadcasting, 26(1). St Peters, M., Huston, A., & Wright, J. (1989). Television and Families: Parental Coviewing and Young Children’s Language Development, Social Behavior, and Television Processing. Proceedings of the Society for Research in Child Development, 1989, Kansas. Retrieved from ERIC Web Portal (ED312040). Winn, M. (1985). The Plug-in Drug. New York: Penguin Books. Zimmerman, F. J., Christakis, D. A., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2007) Associations between media viewing and language development in children under age 2 years. The Journal of Pediatrics, pp. 364-368. Available from http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(07)00447-7 Appendix 1: Annotated Citation of Sources Used Close, R. (2004). Television and Language Development in the Early Years: A Review of the Literature. UK: National Literacy Trust. Retrieved from http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/research/tv.html This secondary research was obtained from Google using the keywords “Television”, “Language Development”, and “Children”. In this independent research submitted to National Literacy Trust, UK, Dr. Close investigates the connection between television and development of language in children below five by reviewing existing literature. Many aspects of language such as attention and comprehension, vocabulary, expressive language, grammar, and other pre-literacy skills are influenced by television viewing. Variables such as television content, age of children, adult supervision, and the effects of familiar content vs. new content are considered. Excessive television viewing was found to cause more harm than good. Activities that maximize the positive effects are advocated. Evra, J.V. (2004). Television and Child Development (3rd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Available from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=bvaheiRp-iQC This secondary research was accessed from Google Books using the keywords “Television”, “Language Development”, and “Children”. Evra’s comprehensive book covers the effect of television in every aspect of child development. An entire chapter titled “Language, Reading, and Academic Achievement” is devoted to the study of the relationship between language development and early television viewing. The variables of television time, age, and use of educational software such as Sesame Street are studied in relation to characteristics such as language acquisition, vocabulary, listening skills, reading and writing skills, academic performance. Mangieri, J. N., & Arthur, S. V. (1978). Listen to Television. SC: University of South Carolina. Retrieved from ERIC Web Portal (ED172240). This primary research was obtained from ERIC database using the keywords “Television”, “Listening Skills”, and “Children”. In this study of three groups of students, one was the control group and the second trained in listening skills. The third group received guidance from teachers who asked questions that aroused interest in the viewed programs. While pretest scores on listening showed no difference among the groups, the posttest results were astounding. The group exposed to guided television viewing scored highest in vocabulary and posttest paragraph. The group trained in listening skills ranked second but their score was much higher than that of the control group. Milkovich, M., Miller, M., Bettinghaus, E., & Atkin, C. (1975). The Effects of Television Advertising on Children. Report No. 3: Exploring the Relationship Between Television Viewing and Language Development. Final Report. Washington, DC: Office of Child Development. Retrieved from ERIC Web Portal (ED116785). This primary research was obtained from ERIC database using the keywords “Television”, “Language Development”, and “Children”. This report is the third in a series of six that study the effect of television advertising on young children. This study on a group of students from kindergarten to sixth grade exposed to different genres of television content found an inverse relationship between television time and language development. Perkins, M. (1996). Never Mind the Book, I’ve Seen the Video. Proceedings from the Annual Conference of the International Association of School Librarianship, July 17-21, Worcester, UK. Retrieved from ERIC Web Portal (ED400837). This primary research was obtained from ERIC database using the keywords “Television”, “Reading Skills”, and “Children”. In this study, the author found that children in the age group 5-6 years were more familiar with video versions of their favorite stories in comparison with books. In her informal training studies, she found that students either had a negative attitude towards reading from books or had no experience of reading from books. St Peters, M., Huston, A., & Wright, J. (1989). Television and Families: Parental Coviewing and Young Children’s Language Development, Social Behavior, and Television Processing. Proceedings of the Society for Research in Child Development, 1989, Kansas. Retrieved from ERIC Web Portal (ED312040). This primary research was obtained from ERIC database using the keywords “Television”, “Language Development”, “Children”, and “Parental Coviewing”. This study of 271 children between three and seven years focused on television coviewing patterns of the children and their effects on language development, social behavior, and cognitive processing. Coviewing with parents occurred for general television programs, which showed a negative relationship with language development and reading skills. Although few children watched educational programs with their parents, such children showed enhanced attention and comprehension, preference for reading, and better social behavior. Zimmerman, F. J., Christakis, D. A., & Meltzoff, A. N. (2007) Associations between media viewing and language development in children under age 2 years. The Journal of Pediatrics, pp. 364-368. Available from http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(07)00447-7 This primary research was obtained from Google using the keywords “Television”, “Language Development”, “Children”, and “Age”. In an attempt to study the effect of media viewing on children less than 2 years, the authors conducted a telephonic survey of nearly thousand parents with children in that age group. Language acquisition and television viewing time showed inverse relationship in children in the age group of 8-16 months. At this age, parental coviewing did not have show a positive effect on early language development. Read More