Strategy Spotlight: Repetition

Definition: Repetition is an indirect or informal language stimulation technique where a targeted sound, word, phrase or sentence is said more than one time (Weybright, 1984). (Fickenscher, S., & Gaffney, E. (2016). Auditory verbal strategies to build listening and spoken language skills. Retrieved from http://www.auditory-verbal-mentoring.com/contact/contact.php) *can also be retrieved from this website using the navigation at the top of the page*

There are two ways to use Repetition:

• an adult repeats back what a child has said, but models correct articulation, vocabulary usage or grammatical structure

  • child: Da bear go in da cabe

  • parent: Yes, the bear goes in the cave
    (using acoustic highlighting to emphasize age appropriate target- da/the, go/goes, cabe/cave)

• an adult simply repeats the command or statement for a second time after appropriate wait time, in an effort to give the child another chance to hear and respond

  • adult: What do you want for a snack?

  • child: What?

  • adult: (pauses- sometimes kids answer correctly even though they act like they didn’t understand) What do you want for a snack?

Both methods of utilizing repetition give opportunity for the auditory feedback loop to assist the child in matching the language model or to have another opportunity to listen to the intended message.

Jim Trelease (The Read Aloud Handbook, 2006) says “Grammar is more caught than taught, and the way you catch it is the same way you catch the flu: you’re exposed to it.” (p.40). A very untimely reference, but a clear illustration of how it can take multiple exposure or opportunities for a child to listen to language targets before they start to use the targets independently. What are some times when we can utilize Repetition without there being a correction or breakdown to remedy?

Infants have multiple diaper changes, nap routines, and feedings.

Toddlers have…diaper changes, nap routines, and meals and snacks.

Young children have…toileting, nap routines (or just bedtime), and meals and snacks.

Then there are the types of playing, singing, cooking, physical activity, pet care, grooming, and shopping that a family engages in and around their community. Each of these routines provides an opportunity for multiple, rich exposures to language.

When children are young and in the early stages of language development, parents naturally use repetition often as a part of Parentese (child-directed speech) or as Self-Talk/Parallel-Talk, with their child to encourage communication. These repetitions serve to confirm, model, prompt and often to correct (Hart & Risley, 1995). Our brains make connections through repetitions. The knock at the door followed by the dog barking (like a maniac) has come to mean to me that the mail has been delivered. Eventually my brain also comes to learn that an absence of a routine means something as well.

A word of caution about the overuse of Repetition. We can quickly repeat a message for a child without pausing first and analyzing if the repetition is necessary or if a different strategy would be a better fit. When we repeat excessively, a child might start to think that they do not need to listen to the message the first time because surely it will be repeated. Be mindful to pause and consider background noise, distance, and complexity of language before giving a repetition. This thought process will take time to develop so be patient with yourself and know that your ability to decide on Repetition will grow into your “gut” with time and practice.

Strategy Spotlight: Motherese/Parentese

Motherese is the singsong voice that parents naturally use when speaking to very young babies. (Fickenscher, S., & Gaffney, E. (2016). Auditory verbal strategies to build listening and spoken language skills. Retrieved from http://www.auditory-verbal-mentoring.com/contact/contact.php) *can also be retrieved from this website using the navigation at the top of the page*

Motherese can also be described as parentese, baby talk, or child directed speech. It doesn’t have to be done by a mother or only an adult even! Older siblings also natural engage with babies and younger children using this change in tone and prosody. They seem to intuitively understand from an adult’s model that language needs to be simplified when speaking to babies and young children.

When using child directed speech, we often use shorter sentences, repetition, and a slower rate of speech. We raise the pitch of our voices, sometimes an entire octave higher. Babies LOVE this sound. They respond in their body movement and facial expressions, matching their movements with the intonation of the speaker (Gopnik, Meltzoff, Kuhl 1999). The exaggerated intonation becomes what we often describe as “sing song” because we vary our suprasegmentals of speech (duration, pitch, and intensity).

What does the use of Motherese look like for a child who is deaf or hard of hearing? Some research describes that parents of children who are DHH use less Motherese than parents of children who are hearing. Children who are DHH can receive less auditory experience and less richness of language in early infant and childhood when this is the case.

>HOWEVER< it is important to know, that one of the aspects of motherese is the elongation of vowel sounds within words.

“Hiiiiiii babyyyyyy, look at youuuuuu! You are soooooooo big! Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle baaaabyyyy!”

Vowel sounds carry the majority of acoustic energy in speech and they are typically the most audible sounds for children who are amplified. Regardless of the child’s access, Motherese should be encouraged for every child, even until (if not beyond) their first birthday when Motherese typically declines.

So if we are trying to create more opportunities for Motherese, where do we start?

• repetitive books with rich intonation (sing song rhythm) such as Brown Bear, Brown Bear by Eric Carle

• nursery rhymes

• traditional songs

What else can you think of that would help increase the use of Motherese?