Children's Language Competence Research Articles

The production of relative clauses in Italian-speaking children with DLD

Children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) have been shown to struggle with the acquisition of complex structures requiring structural embedding and movement of a sentential element from its original position. This study examines the production of subject and object relative clauses (RCs) by Italian children, investigating whether: i) seven-year-old children with DLD are impaired in embedding or movement operations; ii) specific factors, such as animacy of the arguments, affect the production of sentences with movement and embedding, iii) the linguistic profile of children with DLD is qualitatively different from that of typically developing (TD) children. We elicited the production of RCs with animate and inanimate arguments in 12 Italian-speaking children with DLD (mean age = 7;2) and in two TD control groups: age matched (AM) and language matched (LM). Children with DLD produced fewer RCs than either control group and made different errors, showing a slightly different developmental path. Animacy mismatch did not improve RC production in any group. Results suggest that seven-year-old children with DLD are in a transitional stage: they can use embedding but still have difficulties with movement operations, especially in object RCs. This indicates that the language competence of children with DLD improves with age, but long-distance dependencies continue to be challenging.

Configurations of mother-child and father-child attachment relationships as predictors of child language competence: An individual participant data meta-analysis.

An individual participant data meta-analysis was conducted to test pre-registered hypotheses about how the configuration of attachment relationships to mothers and fathers predicts children's language competence. Data from seven studies (published between 1985 and 2014) including 719 children (Mage : 19.84 months; 51% female; 87% White) were included in the linear mixed effects analyses. Mean language competence scores exceeded the population average across children with different attachment configurations. Children with two secure attachment relationships had higher language competence scores compared to those with one or no secure attachment relationships (d = .26). Children with two organized attachment relationships had higher language competence scores compared to those with one organized attachment relationship (d = .23), and this difference was observed in older versus younger children in exploratory analyses. Mother-child and father-child attachment quality did not differentially predict language competence, supporting the comparable importance of attachment to both parents in predicting developmental outcomes.

Вербалізація спонукальної модальності в прозових творах для дітей: семантика і прагматика

Introduction. Children's literature is a special type of literature that combines aesthetic, didactic, and educational functions. The language of works for children is as closely related as possible to the implementation of these functions, which are aimed at the formation of a complete, independent, empathic personality. Imperative sentences play an important role at all stages of the development of a child's language competence. Purpose. The article aims to investigate the peculiarities of the verbalization of the imperative modality in prose for children, to determine which (non)specialized syntactic means for expressing the imperative modality are emphasized in prose works for children, the conditions of their actualization, which modifiers of the semantic-syntactic structure are used. Methods. Descriptive and interpretive methods were used to achieve the goal, and partly quantitative methods were used. Results. The Ukrainian language has developed a set of specialized and non-specialized means of verbalizing the imperative modality. The current importance of this or that syntactic means of verbalization of motivational modality in prose language for children depends on the age of the child. The most used one in the language of prose for children is the semantic-syntactic structure with a verbal predicate expressed in the imperative form. Prose works for children also use imperative nominative, vocative sentences and imperative sentences with a non-verbalized predicate of the adverbial and object type, but numerically, their use is infrequent. Besides, the use of simple imperative sentences with homogeneous members and the use of composite imperative sentences are also infrequent. Sporadic use of complex sentences or with different types of linking help to gradually develop the child's cognitive and evaluative abilities. Personal pronominal noun, modifiers (filler words, particles, addressing personally, exclamations) in imperative sentences strengthen / weaken its variant meaning, add additional shades of meaning to the main meaning of the statement or a separate component. The results of the research will be useful for editors of prose works for preschoolers and children of primary school age. Conclusion. In the language of prose for children, only specialized means of verbalization of the imperative modality are used, among which the semantic-syntactic structure with a verbalized predicate expressed in the imperative form is the most used. Imperative nominative, vocative sentences and imperative sentences with non-verbalized predicate of adverbial and object type, simple imperative sentences with homogeneous members, composite imperative sentences are sporadically used. We see the prospects for further scientific research in the following: to investigate the verbalization of the imperative modality on a wider empirical material, to trace the dynamics of the actualization of specialized and non-specialized means of verbalization of the imperative modality in prose works for children of different ages and in spontaneous children's speech, to propose a classification of children's expressions of the imperative modality.

Specific parenting behaviors link maternal education to toddlers' language and social competence.

Maternal sensitive parenting behavior has been shown to account, at least partially, for the relation between family background and children's language and behavioral outcomes. Yet, as previous studies often used a rather global or domain-general measure of maternal sensitivity, it remains an open question whether different domains of child development are influenced by the different facets of maternal sensitivity. Thus, this study investigated whether specific parenting behaviors differentially mediated the association between maternal education and children's language and social competence. Drawing on 2,478 mother-child dyads from the German National Educational Panel Study, we distinguished mothers' sensitive parenting behavior as cognitive-verbally stimulating and socioemotionally supportive parenting behaviors. These two observed specific parenting behaviors at 26 months were modeled as separate pathways linking maternal education and children's language outcomes at 26 months as well as children's social competence at 38 months. All analyses controlled for family net income, single parenthood, migration background, mother's depressive feelings, and child's negative affectivity. The results indicated that the mother's cognitive-verbally stimulating parenting behavior was specifically related to the children's language skills, whereas mother's socioemotionally supportive parenting behavior specifically predicted children's later social competence. Furthermore, these two separable parenting behaviors differentially mediated the association between maternal education and toddler's language and social competence. Most notably, children's language additionally mediated the relation between maternal education and children's social competence. The findings suggest that domain-specific intervention programs have the potential to promote early language and social development efficiently. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Examining moderators of vocabulary acquisition from kindergarten through elementary school using local structural equation modeling

Parental socio-economic status (SES) is often found to be associated with children's language competence in the first decade of life. To examine the effect of SES on children's vocabulary development, as well as potential compensatory effects of schooling and learning-related activities, we examined the joint and unique effects of parental education, occupational status, and learning environment at home on children's receptive vocabulary competence and growth in early childhood. We used latent growth curve models to assess pre-school receptive vocabulary and growth across primary school. Analyses were based on data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), a large-scale longitudinal study assessing vocabulary competence and family background from Kindergarten to the 3rd grade of elementary school. To examine the moderating effects of parental education, occupational status, and learning environment at home, we used local structural equation modeling. Results revealed a moderate to strong positive association between parental education and children's receptive vocabulary competence, which fully explained the effect of occupational status on this language skill. With the exception of the activity of reading aloud, we found no effect of learning environment at home. Initially lower performing children showed steeper growth trajectories across school, but rank-orders were relatively stable across time. In summary, the results suggest large initial differences in receptive vocabulary between children from different educational backgrounds, which are reduced, but not fully overcome across elementary school.

Evaluación y descripción del desarrollo del discurso narrativo en español

Background and objectivesThe skills involved in narrative production are a good indicator of children's current language competence and predict future linguistic performance. It is important in speech and language therapy and education research to have specific assessments of developing narrative abilities. To date, however, there are few tests that assess the development of narratives in Spanish. This research has a double objective: first, to adapt the Test of Narrative Production to Spanish; and second, to describe the development of narrative skills using the adapted test. MethodA total of 146 children aged 4-11 years with Spanish as their mother tongue were evaluated by the Test of Narrative Production adapted to Spanish, and were assessed for their narrative skills at the level of both macrostructure and microstructure. ResultsA strong significant correlation between age and narrative performance was observed at the macrostructural and microstructural levels. However, although both levels showed a stabilization at age 9 years, at the microstructural level cohesive devices continued developing until age 11 years. ConclusionsThe test can be considered a valid evaluation of narrative development in Spanish. The results are consistent with research in English-speaking children, where it has been shown that they acquire a similar level of narrative performance to that of adults at 9 years of age at the macrostructural level, but they continue to develop and refine the microstructural level until adolescence.

The Role of Language Competence in Building Peer Relationships in Early Childhood: A Social Network Perspective

Engaging in positive relationships with peers is highly important for children's learning and development. In the present study, social network analyses were used to investigate how children's language competence affects their peer relationships in the context of early childhood classrooms. A total of 13 classrooms (N = 248 children) participated. Children's language competence was measured using tests for oral communicative competence and receptive vocabulary knowledge. Furthermore, a sociometric method was used to obtain network data. Outcomes of social network analyses showed that children are more likely to form relationships with children with high and similar levels of receptive vocabulary knowledge. In addition, weak support was found for the hypothesis that children form relationships with children with high levels of oral communicative competence.

ПСИХОЛОГО-ПЕДАГОГИЧЕСКИЕ ОСНОВЫ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ ИНФОРМАЦИОННО-ЯЗЫКОВОЙ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТИ У ДЕТЕЙ ДОШКОЛЬНОГО И МЛАДШЕГО ШКОЛЬНОГО ВОЗРАСТА В УСЛОВИЯХ ЭМОЦИОГЕННОЙ НЕСТАБИЛЬНОСТИ ОБЩЕСТВА

The article is devoted to the study of the formation of information and language competence in preschool and primary school age. Children of the modern world are immersed in the information space, where they manage a variety of information stored and transmitted by the culture of society. At the same time, they must be aware of the value of information, which is the Foundation of motivation to learn, be able to find and analyze information, critically evaluate information content, be able to build meaningful statements and participate in new communication situations. This article includes a theoretical analysis and description of the organization of an experimental study of the process of formation of information and language competence in children of senior preschool and primary school age. Presents the research methods, criteria and indicators characterizing the level of development of information and language competence identified and approved a complex of psycho-pedagogical conditions providing efficiency of formation at pupils and students of information and language competence. Necessary and sufficient conditions of formation of information and language competency are the use of project activity in educational process of preschool and primary General education; development and conducting series of lessons aimed at the formation of information language competence, and orientation preschool and primary school children for language tolerance in direct communication and interaction in the virtual information-educational space. The observed changes in indicators for all components of information and language competence (cognitive, motivational, value-based, reflexive-evaluative and activity-based) convincingly prove the feasibility of using these conditions. Also, the formation of information and language competence is revealed as the prevention of asocial behaviors and intolerant signs of speech aggression at a younger age.

Knowledge, Attitude and Practice about Hearing Impairment among the parents of children posted for Cochlear Implantation

Audition is essential for communication, and it is vital for the normal cognitive development of children. Hence, if a child has a hearing impairment, it would significantly impact the child's speech and language development, competence, and emotional wellness. Most children with hearing impairment are advised to go for amplification devices or cochlear implantations for communication through oral modality. There are numerous factors upon which the rehabilitation programs' outcomes depend; one critical aspect that influences habilitation/rehabilitation is parents' knowledge regarding hearing impairment, their attitude towards it, and their practice. Therefore, it needed to assess the parental knowledge, attitude, and practice among parents of children with hearing impairment. The study used a cross-sectional study design and a convenient sampling method to recruit the participants. It was a timebound study; all the cases were recruited as participants during the study period. The developed questionnaire has good reliability and validity. The questionnaire was administered to 38 parents to assess their knowledge, attitude, and practice towards their children's hearing impairment. The study's finding revealed that the overall parental knowledge, attitude, and practice towards their children's hearing impairment was found to be good. The developed questionnaires in Hindi have good reliability and validity to assess parental knowledge, attitude, and practice about hearing impairment among parents of children with hearing impairment.

In utero exposure to analgesic opioids and language development in 5‐year old children

An increasing consumption of opioids has been reported. The primary aim of the present study was follow-up of neurocognitive development in children exposed to analgesic opioids during pregnancy, using three different validated instruments to assess language and communication development at 5 years. The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) prospectively included pregnant women 1999 to 2008. Participants reported medication use at pregnancy week 17/18 and 30, and 6 months after birth. Children's language competence and communication skills at 5 years were reported by mothers on three different validated scales; The Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), The Speech and Language Assessment Scale (SLAS) and The Twenty Statements about Language-Related Difficulties list (Language20Q). A total of 27 428 women with 33 407 singleton pregnancies were included. Use of analgesic opioids was reported in 584 pregnancies (1.7%). No associations between opioid use and lower language competence or communication skills were found. For ASQ, the OR of being in the lowest category vs the group with maximum mean score was 0.82 (95%CI 0.57, 1.17), for SLAS the OR of scoring worse than typical for age vs better than typical for age was 0.84 (0.61, 1.17) in children exposed to opioids in utero. For Language20Q using the best performance category as reference, the OR of scoring in the lower performance category was 0.57 (0.35, 0.91) with exposure to opioids. Use of analgesic opioids in pregnant women does not seem to negatively affect language development or communication skills in children at 5 years.

Continuity and change in the home environment: Associations with school readiness

The quality of the home environment is linked to children's development and learning. In early childhood, the ways that parents construct the home environment has been linked to school readiness outcomes, yet limited research has investigated the extent to which the quality of the home environment is stable or changes across the transition to school or whether this stability or change is related to children's outcomes. The current study examined the continuity and change in the level of the quality of the home environment across ages 3–and 5 and its association with school readiness outcomes (i.e., attention regulation, language skills, social–emotional skills) at age 5. Data for this study came from four waves (baseline, age 3, 5 and 9) of the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing study, which includes 4898 children (52.4% male) and their primary caregivers. Twenty one percent of the mothers for the total sample were White, 47% were Black, 27% were Hispanic, and 4% identified as other. Sixty five percent of mothers had an education level of high school or less, 24% completed some college, 11% had a college degree or higher. Results indicated that there was not stability in the quality of the home environment between the ages of 3 and 5. In addition, higher quality home environments at age 3 and change in the quality of the home environment predicted greater gains in children's attention regulation, language, and social emotional competence. The importance of early environments for children's school readiness and potential implications for future research, policy, and interventions designed to promote healthy development in early childhood are discussed.

Effects of language experience and task demands on talker recognition by children and adults.

Talker recognition is a language-dependent process, with listeners recognizing talkers better when the talkers speak a familiar versus an unfamiliar language. This language familiarity effect (LFE) is firmly established in adults, but its developmental trajectory in children is not well understood. Some evidence suggests that the effect already exists in infancy, but little is known about how it unfolds in childhood. The present study explored whether the strength of the LFE increases in early childhood. Adults and children were tested in their native language and a foreign language using a "same-different" talker discrimination task and a "voice line-up" talker recognition task. Results showed that adults and 6-year-olds, but not 5-year-olds, exhibit a robust LFE, suggesting that the effect strengthens as children's language competence increases. For both adults and older children, the emergence of an LFE moreover appeared to be task-dependent. This study contributes to a better understanding of how children develop mature talker recognition abilities and when children's processing of indexical and linguistic information in speech approaches adult-like levels. Furthermore, the findings reported here contribute to the debates regarding the origins of the LFE-a hallmark of adult talker recognition.

The Contribution of Grammar, Vocabulary and Theory of Mind in Pragmatic Language Competence in Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders.

The first author wants thank support from Grant GV/2015/092 by Conselleria de Educacion, Cultura y Deporte of Generalitat Valenciana (Spain), Grant UJI-A2016-12 funded by Universitat Jaume I de Castello, and the second author wants to thank support from AHRC (AH/N004671/1) and a British Academy Small Research Grant (SG-47135).

Gender Differences in Early Literacy and Mathematics Achievement and Self-regulatory Behaviours in the First Year of School: An Australian Study

THIS PAPER PRESENTS ANALYSES of gender differences in classroom behaviours (e.g. attentiveness and task persistence) and early academic outcomes. Data is drawn from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian children (LSAC). In these analyses, data from Wave 1 data collection (2004) and Wave 2 data collection (2006) for the Kindergarten Cohort are used. A sample of 2315 children who were in Year 1 of school at Wave 2 data collection are the focus for the analyses reported. The analyses draw on teacher ratings of children's literacy and language competence and mathematical thinking in Year 1 of school; as well as ratings of children's self-regulatory behaviour in the classroom and level of problem behaviours. Girls were rated by their teachers as having better literacy and language outcomes that were predicted by more positive classroom behaviours. Results are discussed with respect to the influence of children's classroom behaviours on academic learning at the beginning of formal schooling.

Language competence and communication skills in 3-year-old children after prenatal exposure to analgesic opioids.

An increasing consumption of opioids in the general population has been reported in several countries also among pregnant women. Limited information is available regarding the effect of prenatal exposure to analgesic opioids on long-term neurocognitive function in children. The primary aim of the study was to determine the association between prenatal exposure to analgesic opioids and language competence and communication skills at 3years of age. The Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) prospectively included pregnant women during the period from 1999 to 2008. Participants reported medication use at pregnancy weeks 17-18 and 30, and 6months after birth. Children's language competence and communication skills were reported by mothers on validated scales. A total of 45211 women with 51679 singleton pregnancies were included. The use of analgesic opioids was reported in 892 pregnancies (1.7%). In adjusted analyses, no association between opioid use and reduced language competence or communication skills was found, OR=1.04 (95%CI: 0.89-1.22) and OR=1.10 (95%CI: 0.95-1.27), respectively. Both pain and use of paracetamol were associated with a small reduction in communication skills. No such association was found for language competence. The use of analgesic opioids in pregnant women does not seem to affect language development or communication skills in children at 3years of age. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Prenatal Exposure to Folic Acid and Antidepressants and Language Development: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

The aim of the study was to determine the effect of simultaneous use of folic acid supplements and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) by pregnant women on language development in their offspring at the age of 3 years. We conducted a cohort study of 45,266 women with 51,747 singleton pregnancies in the population-based Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study (1999-2008). The association between the use of SSRIs with and without concomitant folic acid and language competence in the offspring was investigated using multinomial logistic regression. Self-reported use of folic acid supplements and SSRIs was prospectively collected in 4-week intervals during pregnancy and validated with prescription data and plasma concentrations, respectively. The children's language competence was measured by a validated language grammar rating scale and classified into 3 categories. Women reported the use of folic acid in 44,417 (85.8%) and SSRI in 372 (0.7%) of the pregnancies, 260 used the 2 simultaneously. Compared with women who used folic acid and no SSRIs, the adjusted relative risk ratio of lower language competence rose with the increased duration of simultaneous use of folic acid and SSRIs. After simultaneous use at 4 to 8 four-week intervals, the relative risk ratio reached 4.5 (95% confidence interval, 2.5-8.0) and 5.7 (2.5-13.0) for the intermediate and most delayed category, respectively, using the best language competence category as the reference. The use of SSRIs without folic acid was not significantly associated with an increased risk. We detected a significant association between long-term use of SSRIs during pregnancy and delayed language competence in the offspring only when folic acid supplementation was used concomitantly. This surprising result warrants further studies.

The Relationship Between Child Nurturing Pattern, Family Support, and Language Competence in Children Aged 5-6 Years with Auditory Disorder

Background: Hearing is one of the important senses for human that functions as a communication tool and education. Lack of hearing ability in children may hinder development and lead to problem in language and speaking ability. In turn it may affect academic achievement. Hearing disorder therefore needs to be detected early. This study aimed to determine the relationship between child nurturing pattern, family support, and language competence in children aged 5-6 years with auditory disorder. Subjects and Method: This was an analytic and observational study with cross sectional design. It was carried out at “Jala Puspa” Children Observation Garden (Taman Observasi Anak “Jala Puspa”) Dr. Ramelan Navy Hospital, Surabaya, East Java. A total sample of 40 children aged 5-6 years with their parents were selected for this study by simple random sampling. The dependent variable was language competence. The independent variables were child nurturing pattern and family support. The data were collected by a set of questionnaire, and were analyzed by logistic regression. Results: There were positive relationship between nurturing pattern (OR= 10.05; 95% CI= 1.85-54.73; p= 0.008), family support (OR= 6.76; 95% CI= 1.36-33.51; p= 0.019), and language competence. Conclusion: Nurturing pattern and family support have positive relationship with language competence. Keywords: child nurturing pattern, family support, language competence, auditory disorder Correspondence: Dewi Tirtawati. School of Health Polytechnics, Surakarta. Email: tirta.dewi@yahoo.co.id Journal of Maternal and Child Health (2016), 1(3): 188-194 https://doi.org/10.26911/thejmch.2016.01.03.06

Narrative language competence in children and adolescents with Down syndrome.

This study was designed to examine the narrative language abilities of children and adolescents with Down syndrome (DS) in comparison to same-age peers with fragile X syndrome (FXS) and younger typically developing (TD) children matched by nonverbal cognitive ability levels. Participants produced narrative retells from a wordless picture book. Narratives were analyzed at the macrostructural (i.e., their internal episodic structure) and the microstructural (i.e., rate of use of specific word categories) levels. Mean length of utterance (MLU), a microstructural metric of syntactic complexity, was used as a control variable. Participants with DS produced fewer episodic elements in their narratives (i.e., their narratives were less fully realized) than the TD participants, although MLU differences accounted for the macrostructural differences between participant groups. At the microstructural level, participants with DS displayed a lower rate of verb use than the groups with FXS and typical development, even after accounting for MLU. These findings reflect both similarities and differences between individuals with DS or FXS and contribute to our understanding of the language phenotype of DS. Implications for interventions to promote language development and academic achievement are discussed.

Associations among Head Start fathers’ involvement with their preschoolers and child language skills

ABSTRACTThis study examined the associations among child language competence during father–child play interactions, fathers’ time spent volunteering in their preschool-age child's Head Start classroom over the course of one school year, amount of father play and reading to the child at home, and fathers’ positive control during play. The sample of 68 primarily African-American and Hispanic low-income fathers were videotaped interacting normally with their children during two equal length activities: a free play situation with farm toys and a more ‘academic-like’ situation with wordless picture books and puzzles. These videotaped language samples were obtained at the beginning and end of the school year. The findings showed a significant positive association between child language competence at the end of the school year and fathers’ reading to the child. Fathers’ positive control behaviour during play was negatively associated with child language.

Time in Early Childhood Education and Care and language competence in Norwegian four-year-old girls and boys

There is considerable evidence that high-quality Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) is associated with children's language competence. Yet, studies in contexts of universal access to quality-regulated ECEC are rarer, exacerbating concerns over selection bias endemic to non-experimental work on the topic. Extending the cumulative knowledge on this topic, we tested a dose-response hypothesis, examining associations between time spent in ECEC during the child's first four years, and language competences in four-year-old girls and boys, in a context with universal access to quality regulated center care. A sample (N = 1157) from a Norwegian longitudinal study was utilized with propensity weights accounting for selection. Following this adjustment, there was a tendency for a dose-response relation between years that children attended ECEC and their language competence at four years, but only for boys. Implications of ECEC in the contemporary context of gender differences in achievement and life chances are discussed.