Vasha Singh – Week Three
Shura gathered her kids together and made the long trip back
to India when Vasha was 8 months old. Vasha spent the next two years in the
caring arms of her extended family, and her mother was able to grieve. Vasha was now almost 3 years old, and she
was, by all accounts, a happy, healthy little girl. She was speaking Hindi with
ease, and her mother and relatives were amazed at her ability to pick up new
words and her ability with language in general.
Life seemed to be going well in India, and Shura did not know whether
she would return to the United States. Then news came that her oldest had been
admitted to a prestigious university in the U.S. It seemed like a good time to return
to the U.S. after all. After saying goodbye to her extended family, Shura once
again made the long trip across the ocean.
* What are the major developmental milestones for a 32-month
old child?
* What challenges might Vasha encounter as she returns to
the United States? How easy do you think it will be for Vasha to learn English
after having been exposed to Hindi exclusively? You should find information
regarding language acquisition in children of this age.
* What else is important for you to know about Vasha’s
family at this point? (Hint: Think about all that you don’t currently know
about the family that could be helpful for you with regard to demographic
information.)
1. What are the major developmental milestones for a 32 month old child?
ReplyDeletea. Mastered skills: recites own name; draws a circle
b. Emerging skills: puts on a t-shirt, balances on each foot for a second; recognizes ABCs, brushes teeth by herself
c. Advanced skills: uses 2 adjectives; draws a cross; points to objects described by use
BabyCenter Medical Advisory Board.
Retrieved September, 22, 2011 from:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_milestone-chart-31-to-36-months_1496595.bc
Vasha will definitely encounter some language learning challenges as she returns to the United States. After already being exposed to Hindi, it will be harder for Vasha to learn English. Vasha will probably exhibit early lags in language development because by 3 years of age language acquisition decreases. However, since Vasha is still young, she will be more likely to achieve native-like fluency than she would if she was an adult; it might just take her a little longer. Most toddlers who are the same age as Vasha already have good language skills. They will suppress most common phonological processes and pronounce about 80% of all words intelligibly. At this age, 25% of all utterances consist of single nouns and 25% consist of single verbs. By 32 months of age, toddlers can comprehend approximately 900 words and produce approximately 500 words. They also will be able to ask simple questions and can request clarification during conversation. By three years of age, four-element sentences are used and independent clauses continue to emerge. Since Vasha will have to start learning English at 3 years old she will be behind her same aged peers in language developmental milestones.
ReplyDeletePence Turnbull, K. L., & Justice, L. M. (2008). Language development from theory to practice. (Second ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
3. What else is important for you to know about Vasha’s family at this point? (Hint: think about all that you don’t currently know about the family that could be helpful for you with regard to demographic info)?
ReplyDeleteDemographic info about the entire family’s age, gender, income, and education would be important to know at this point. We do not know much about Vasha’s family’s current socioeconomic status. Especially since Shura’s husband, Arup, has passed away, there is no income coming in the way it used to. Also, the oldest son has been accepted to a prestigious university in the US, which will definitely cost them a good amount of money. We do not know what kind of living conditions the family will be moving into once they arrive in the US. There are ten children to feed and clothe on a daily basis. We do not know how old Shura is or the other ten children. Arup died of a heart attack, we did not know how old he was, so who knows how old Shura could be, she could possibly become ill. We also do not know the level of education of any of the children except for the oldest son.
Questions from group 7:
ReplyDelete1) Will there be relationship for Vasha in the future because of no attachment with the mother?
2) How will Vasha adjust to the United States since she grew up in India speaking Hindi?
3) Did the mother ever express signs of depression while grieving the loss of her husband and how did it effect the children?