Comprehension of Spoken Language by Normal Children as a Function of Speaking Rate, Sentence Difficulty, and Listener Age and Sex

Abstract

NELSON, NICKOLA W. Comprehension of Spoken Language by Normal Children as a Function of Speaking Rate, Sentence Difficulty, and Listener Age and Sex. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1976, 47, 299-303. Sentence comprehension was measured for 360 normal children between the ages of 5-6 and 9-6 with a picture identification task. 4 matched groups of 8 sentence types representing 2 difficulty levels were presented via tape recordings at 4 electromechanically altered speaking rates. Results indicate that comprehension of spoken language was facilitated by increased age, reduced sentence difficulty, and reduced speaking rate. Interactions of age with sex, age with sentence difficulty, and rate with both difficulty and age also occurred. Possible changes in language processing skills with age are discussed.