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Chapter 1
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adolescence
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The period between childhood and adulthood
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adolescent egocentrism
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The tendency in adolescence to assume that others share one’s thoughts and feelings
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axon
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The long ‘arm’ of a neuron that carries messages to other cells by means of electrical impulses
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cerebral cortex
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The outer layer of the brain, which is responsible for human intelligence.
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child-directed speech
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A type of speech directed to young children, characterised by high pitch, short and well-spaced sentences, simple vocabulary and exaggerated intonation
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dendrites
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Branch-like protrusions from a neuron that receive messages from other cells
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educational psychology
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A branch of psychology concerned with studying how people learn and the implications for teaching
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emergent literacy
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Understandings about and attitudes towards reading and writing, which are the precursors of acquiring those skills
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expansion
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Parents’ tendency to respond to young children’s utterances by restating them in a more elaborate form
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fine motor skills
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Movement skills using small muscle groups
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gross motor skills
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Movement skills using large muscle groups
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joint attention
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When carer and child together attend to a stimulus, such as when reading books or playing peekaboo games
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lateralisation
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The specialisation of functions in the two hemispheres of the cerebral cortex.
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literacy
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The ability to read and use written information, and to write appropriately in a range of contexts
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mentor
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An expert practitioner inducting a novice into their profession
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metalinguistic awareness
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Awareness of and understandings about language
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morphology
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The combination of units of meaning in words; for example, listen + ed = past tense of ‘listen’
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multiliteracies
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The variety of types of language we need to master to be literate in our society
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myelination
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The process whereby axons are insulated with a sheath of fatty cells, which improves the speed and efficiency of message transmission
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neuron
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A nerve cell
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neurotransmitter
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A chemical substance that carries messages between neurons across the synapse
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numeracy
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The ability to use mathematics effectively and with confidence in a range of contexts
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overextension
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Inappropriate use of a word for a class of things rather than for one particular thing
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overregularisation
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Application of a grammatical rule, ignoring its exceptions
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phonology
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The sound system of language
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pragmatics
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Rules for the appropriate use of language in social contexts
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puberty
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The biological changes associated with sexual maturity
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recasting
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Parents’ tendency to respond to children’s utterances by restating them in the correct grammatical form
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relationship
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An exchange between two or more people, resulting from several interactions and taking on emotional significance
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semantics
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The system of meanings associated with language
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synapse
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The gap between the axon and dendrites of two neurons
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syntax
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The grammatical system that orders the construction of sentences
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telegraphic speech
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Communication using two-word sentences, leaving out smaller words
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underextension
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Inappropriate use of a word for one thing rather than for a class of things
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