The impact of COVID-19 restrictions on linguistic development in children as seen in educational settings, with a specific focus on the mask mandate and nation-wide lockdowns

Abstract

Child language acquisition is a multimodal process aided by several factors. These include interlocutor variability, exposure to new environments, and the opportunity for children to be exposed to as much speech as possible. School offers a linguistically stimulating environment where children are provided with the necessary tools for linguistic development. However, this changed when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, resulting in the implementation of various restrictions and remote education. This research seeks to explore if restrictions like social distancing, distant learning, and the mask mandate resulted in any regressions when it comes to child language acquisition. The following research questions will be examined within this study: (i) How was children’s linguistic development affected by COVID-19 restrictions? (ii) Do teachers believe that mask-wearing created a more difficult environment for children to learn and progress linguistically in the classroom? A qualitative approach was employed by means of semi-structured interviews to seek to address the set research questions. Through the chosen research instrument, it was established that COVID-19 restrictions had critical effects on students’ language development within classroom settings. Vocabulary development, bilingualism, pronunciation, and written language regressed during the pandemic, with some difficulties still being prevalent after restrictions were lifted.