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The development of definitional skill*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 February 2009

Catherine E. Snow
Catherine E. Snow*
Affiliation:
Harvard Graduate School of Education
*
Harvard Graduate School of Education, Larsen 7, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
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Abstract

Giving good definitions requires controlling both word meaning and definitional form. Definitions from 137 second to fifth graders (i.e. aged seven to eleven) were scored to reflect conformity to the classic Aristotelian form and quality of information provided. Comparisons among children with different backgrounds indicated that school exposure to English was strongly related to per cent formal definitions given and their quality. 63 children were also tested in French, their foreign language. Performance in French was lower than in English; exposure to French at home related to the amount of information the children provided in informal definitions, not to quality of formal definitions. The results suggest that performance on definitions is most strongly affected by opportunities to practise the required form.

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 17 , Issue 3 , October 1990, pp. 697 - 710
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1990

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Footnotes

*

I would like to express my appreciation to the Spencer Foundation, which funded collection and initial analysis of these data, to the Center for Language Education and Research, which provided further support for analysis and writing, to Herlinda Cancino, Susan Kline, and Paulina Gonzalez for their help in data collection, and to Loriana Novoa and Sara Schley for their help in statistical analysis.

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