Past Experiments

This video is very similar to my experiment. From this though, I see that I need to make sure that the difference between the two stories is really obvious and quite extreme. The two stories here are fairly similar. I reckon there should be minimal adjectives in the first story and they should be much clearer. Also, I plan to tell the stories on a one-to-one basis with the children.

Popular Children's Books

According to a search on Amazon.co.uk, these books are very popular with children between 5-11;


The Tiger Who Came to Tea- By Judith Kerr
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tiger-Who-Came-Tea/dp/0007215991/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411558209&sr=1-3


The Gruffalo- By Julia Donaldson
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Gruffalo-Julia-Donaldson/dp/0333710932/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1411558353&sr=1-4


The Very Hungry Caterpillar- By Eric Carle
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Very-Hungry-Caterpillar-Eric-Carle/dp/0140569324/ref=pd_rhf_se_s_cp_5_P3HC?ie=UTF8&refRID=0EPRHMY3HZ9AK3FM7XV6


Elmer- By David McKee
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Elmer-David-McKee/dp/1842707310/ref=pd_sim_b_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PFCJMFCVR1W7YWA7R4K


There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly- By Pam Adams
http://www.amazon.co.uk/There-Swallowed-Classic-Books-Holes/dp/0859537277/ref=pd_rhf_se_s_cp_1_0RCW?ie=UTF8&refRID=0CAHEKY5NRMY8SMAN04

Farmer Duck- By Martin Waddell
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Farmer-Duck-Martin-Waddell/dp/074453660X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1411727671&sr=8-1&keywords=farmer+duck


I focussed more specifically on picture style books with a very definite storyline. They are relatively short and rely on features such as repetition, alliteration and imagery to make the stories gripping. These are the example I am going to base my preliminary research and devised stories on.

Coursework Question

How is descriptive language used in children's stories and how does it affect the child's listening experience?

-I will analyse a selection of children's stories from the past decade and make a note of the descriptive language (eg. alliteration, onomatopoeia, metaphors, similes etc) used most often.
-From there, I will write two stories with the exact same plot but one will be full of the descriptive language that is frequently used and the other will not. I am going to write the story myself because I don't want the children to recognise the story as one they read/are read as this may effect their answers based on their familiarity with the story and its language.
-I will take this to a group of children aged between 7 and 9, prepared to take it to other, possibly younger or older, children should I not get the responses I need.
-First, I will read them the story without the descriptive language and then the one with it. I will then ask them which story they preferred and why, what was it about the stories that they particularly like?
- This will be done on a one on one basis so that the children do not change their language based on the replies of the others they are with. They could copy answers from each other or change their opinions based on what their friends say.
-I will then support my results with scientific proof from theorists and papers etc. or compare their results to mine should they differ.

Possible Questions

1. Gender

How gender affects the topic of conversation from LaurenOram

2. CLA

 

Child language acquisition from LaurenOram

 I decided not to do either of these questions as they both were too focused on the more psychological side rather than the linguistics. I have taken the ideas I have explored here and developed them to form my new question.