儿童如何学习语言？
母语先行？双语并行？
如何对儿童的语言进行研究？
儿童语言研究的目的和任务是什么？
如何指导儿童的语言学习？
……
本书作者以精深的学术素养，通俗易懂的语言，翔实的语言学习案例，全面阐释了儿童语言研究的两大基本派别和最新研究成果。

Preface: How to use this book
Acknowledgements
1 What do children bring to the language acquisition task?
Chapter summary
Introduction
Two different approaches
Competence versus performance
Some recurring questions
Some premises
Questions for discussion
An activity
Further reading
2 How do children communicate before they can use language?
Chapter summary
Clues for understanding
Facial expressions
Cries, coos and grunts
Infant speech perception
Babbling
The transition to language
First words
Gestures
Language and gesture
Discussion of in-text exercises
Questions for discussion
Some activities
Solutions to and comments on discussion questions and activities
Further reading
3 When does language development start?
Chapter summary
What's in a word?
Meaning through word and context
Early vocabulary
Semantic descriptions of early utterances
Arguments for a richer account of early utterances
To be or not to be a language
Discussion of in-text exercises
Questions for discussion
Some activities
Solutions to and comments on discussion questions and activities
Further reading
4 How do young children think language works?
Chapter summary
Looking at children's language
Analysing children's language
Discussion of in-text exercises
Questions for discussion
Some activities
Solutions to and comments on discussion questions and activities
Further reading
What influences language development?
Chapter summary
What is input and how much is enough?
Input at the right time: the 'critical period'
Is active communication necessary?
The nature of Baby Talk
The value of Baby Talk
Universal Grammar
Words are more cunning than they let on
Discussion of in-text exercises
Questions for discussion
An activity
Solutions to and comments on discussion questions and activity
Further reading
6 Do all children learn language the same way?
Chapter summary
Types of variation
Different endpoints
Differences in path of development
Differences in rate of development
Discussion of in-text exercises
Questions for discussion
Some activities
Solutions to and comments on discussion questions
Further reading
7 Does it matter which language(s) you learn?
Chapter summary
Introduction
So what's so very different, anyway?
A parameter theory of language acquisition
How do children become bilingual?
Discussion of in-text exercises
Questions for discussion
Some activities
Solutions to and comments on discussion questions and activities
Further reading
8 When does language development stop?
Chapter summary
Later oral language development
Pragmatic aspects of later language development
Basic steps in learning to read
Basic steps in learning to write
Metalinguistic development
Discussion of in-text exercises
Questions for discussion
Some activities
Solutions to and comments on discussion questions and activities
Further reading
Appendix 1 Tools for studying children's language
Transcription
Mean Length of Utterance calculations
T-unit calculations
Some dos and don'ts of research design
Finding data
Bulletin boards
Journals in child language
Associations
Conferences
Further reading
Appendix 2 Phonetic symbols
Consonants
Vowels
Other symbols
Bibliography
Index