Young Children’s Language in Context

This book explores how young children’s language development is intricately connected to the context in which it takes place. The term ’context’ not only specifies a geographical location, but also encompasses notions of culture, community and activity.

Sheila Degotardi is Professor of early childhood education and the Director of the Centre for Research in Early Childhood Education at Macquarie University, Sydney Australia. Her research specialises in infant-toddler pedagogies, with a focus on language, social interactions and inter-personal relatedness.

Shelley Stagg Peterson is Professor of literacy education in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto (Canada). Her current project, Northern Oral language and Writing through Play (NOW Play), uses collaborative action research with teachers and early childhood educators to examine ways in which play and experiential learning can support young children’s language and literacy.

Jiangbo Hu is Professor at Hangzhou College of Child Development and Education, Zhejiang Normal University (China), and an honorary research fellow at Macquarie School of Education, Macquarie University (Australia). Her research focuses on monolingual and bilingual children’s early language experiences across different cultural settings.