Recasting and Related Conversational Techniques for Triggering Syntactic Advances by Young Children

In "recast" replies in conversation, a first utterance is recast or redisplayed in a changed sentence structure that still refers to the central meanings of the first sentence. Two intervention studies were conducted to explore the effects of recasting on children's language acquisition. The 2 Ss in experiment 1 were aged 3:5 & 3:10 with mean length of utterances (MLUs) of 4.81 & 4.23. The 6 Ss in experiment 2 ranged in age from 2:6 to 3:2 with MLUs of 3.07 to 4.17. Syntactic forms targeted for input intervention using recasts & related replies were the passive transformation, relative clauses, & nonused auxiliaries. All but 1 child acquired use of at least 2 targeted forms, with some producing more. In addition, the children used the passive with complexity & semantic variability comparable to passive use by children much older than themselves. It is argued that recasting is a powerful conversational means for enhancing the young child's attention to & analysis of to-be-acquired syntactic structures. Moreover, it is concluded that most children aged 3:6-4:0 may be cognitively ready to acquire passives & many other complex structures, but that success in analyzing & producing these structures hinges upon the availability in input of at least a small number of the target forms embedded in salient ways (eg, as recasts) in discourse. 9 Tables, 38 References. HA