Language Development Of Preschoolers Research Articles

Oral Communication – A Fundamental Means of Language Development in Preschoolers

Oral Communication – A Fundamental Means of Language Development in Preschoolers

Infant mismatch responses to speech-sound changes predict language development in preschoolers at risk for dyslexia

ObjectiveWe investigated how infant mismatch responses (MMRs), which have the potential for providing information on auditory discrimination abilities, could predict subsequent development of pre-reading skills and the risk for familial dyslexia. MethodsWe recorded MMRs to vowel, duration, and frequency deviants in pseudo-words at birth and 28 months in a sample over-represented by infants with dyslexia risk. We examined MMRs’ associations with pre-reading skills at 28 months and 4–5 years and compared the results in subgroups with vs. without dyslexia risk. ResultsLarger positive MMR (P-MMR) at birth was found to be associated with better serial naming. In addition, increased mismatch negativity (MMN) and late discriminative negativity (LDN), and decreased P-MMR at 28 months overall, were shown to be related to better pre-reading skills. The associations were influenced by dyslexia risk, which was also linked to poor pre-reading skills. ConclusionsInfant MMRs, providing information about the maturity of the auditory system, are associated with the development of pre-reading skills. Speech-processing deficits may contribute to deficits in language acquisition observed in dyslexia. SignificanceInfant MMRs could work as predictive markers of atypical linguistic development during early childhood. Results may help in planning preventive and rehabilitation interventions in children at risk of learning impairments.

Evaluation strategies of emotional hearing and the level of language development in preschoolers with hearing disabilities

Emotions and feelings are manifested in language through suprasegmental elements: timbre, rhythm, tempo, and intonation of the voice in the form of pauses, raising and lowering of the voice. Perceiving a person’s emotional information by voice under normal conditions is possible due to emotional hearing. To date, this important aspect in the assessment of emotional hearing and impressive and expressive language of hearing-impaired children remains understudied. Knowing the structural content and determining effective strategies for evaluating emotional hearing and impressive and expressive language will later serve as scientific-methodological support in the sense of establishing a comprehensive approach to the development of emotional hearing and verbal language (the lexical-semantic side). The article summarizes the results of the experimental research carried out in 2022–2023 regarding the evaluation of emotional hearing and the level of language development in preschoolers with hearing disabilities and presents significant data in comparison with the control group (preschoolers with typical development).

Hubungan Antara Interaksi Orang Tua Dan Anak Dengan Perkembangan Bahasa Pada Anak Usia Pra-sekolah (4-6 Tahun) Di TK Annachrowi Desa Muara Kabupaten Lebak

Introduction: The golden age period, at the age of 4-6 years or preschool age, is a period when the child's potential develops very rapidly. One of the most important child developments developed in early childhood is language development. However, out of a total of 12.6 million children aged 4-5 years, around 384,800 children (3,05%) have delays in language development (BPS 2010). At the age of 0-4 years, a child's brain enters a period of development, and in their development, the role of parents is very influential. The active role of parents and the environment is the right effort to optimally develop children's potential (Wintara 2017). The results of a preliminary study conducted by researchers in May 2022 at An-Nachrowi Muara Kindergarten found 10 children with delayed language development and 5 children with sufficient cognitive development. Methods: Analysis with a cross-sectional approach with a sample of 35 respondents. The analysis technique used is the chi-square Test. Results: Of the 80 respondents, the highest percentage of parent-child interaction was in the good category is as much as 70 children (87.23%); and the presentation of language development in preschoolers was 74 children (92.5%); indicating good language development in children. Through Bivariate analysis using the chi-square analysis test, there is a significant relationship between the interaction of parents and children with the language development of children aged 4-6 years. With a risk number of 276; which means that if the interaction between parents and children is good then there will be 275 times the chance for normal child language development compared to parent-child interaction that is lacking. Discussion: Midwives and health workers can play a role in helping the school to provide facilitation and motivation related to parental knowledge in supporting the growth and development of children, and hope that the school, parents, and families will realize that children's development needs to be properly stimulated.

Examining pragmatic language development in preschoolers with and without neurodevelopmental disorders: A cross-sectional study

This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between gender, age, and pragmatic language development in n = 77 Italian preschool children (49–84 months) with and without neurodevelopmental disorders. The sample included 62 children without psychiatric history (n = 34 females, n = 27 males) and n = 15 children with psychiatric history (2 females, n = 13 males). Eight cases (n = 6 males, n = 2 females, 59–75 months) were matched for age and gender. The neurodevelopmental disorder group used the Targeted Observation of Pragmatics in Children’s Conversations (TOPICC) tool. Pragmatic language skills were assessed with the Pragmatic Language Abilities (APL), Children’s Communication Checklist-Version 2 (CCC-2), and TOPICC scales. Results showed no significant relationship between gender and pragmatic language development subscales, except for a marginally significant relationship with figurative metaphor scores. Age was positively correlated with verbal metaphor, metaphor, implied meaning, and overall pragmatic language skills, but not with figurative metaphor or situations scores. Paired samples t-tests and Wilcoxon tests compared matched groups, revealing significant differences between children with and without neurodevelopmental disorders on the TOPICC, APL, and CCC-2 tools. The findings highlight the importance of early identification and intervention for children with pragmatic language impairment (PLI) and the need for further research with larger samples.

A Comparison of Morpho-Syntactic Development in monolingual and bilingual Preschoolers

The present study aims to compare the language development of normal Persian and Persian-Turkish preschoolers using PDSS as a morpho-syntactic measure and determine if bilingualism has any effects on language development. Subjects included 30 Persian and 30 Persian- Turkish preschoolers from the middle social class in the three age groups of 37-46, 47-56, and 57-66 months old. Language background and ASQ II questionnaires were completed by the children’s parents in order to match the subjects in terms of their language background and some abilities like problem-solving, communication, and personal-social skills. Picture description and storytelling was used as a way to collect the language samples of the subjects. Intragroup and intergroup comparisons were done by ANOVA and independent t-test, respectively. The correlation between the age and PDSS scores of both language groups indicates the PDSS score sensitivity to age. Moreover, results show that monolinguals outperform their bilingual peers in the PDSS procedure only at the age of 57-66 months old. In sum, no evidence was found in support of the positive effect of bilingualism on the language development of preschoolers.

Characterisation of ASD traits among a cohort of children with isolated fetal ventriculomegaly

Fetal ventriculomegaly is the most common antenatally-diagnosed brain abnormality. Imaging studies in antenatal isolated ventriculomegaly demonstrate enlarged ventricles and cortical overgrowth which are also present in children with autism-spectrum disorder/condition (ASD). We investigate the presence of ASD traits in a cohort of children (n = 24 [20 males/4 females]) with isolated fetal ventriculomegaly, compared with 10 controls (n = 10 [6 males/4 females]). Neurodevelopmental outcome at school age included IQ, ASD traits (ADOS-2), sustained attention, neurological functioning, behaviour, executive function, sensory processing, co-ordination, and adaptive behaviours. Pre-school language development was assessed at 2 years. 37.5% of children, all male, in the ventriculomegaly cohort scored above threshold for autism/ASD classification. Pre-school language delay predicted an ADOS-2 autism/ASD classification with 73.3% specificity/66.7% sensitivity. Greater pre-school language delay was associated with more ASD symptoms. In this study, the neurodevelopment of children with isolated fetal ventriculomegaly, associated with altered cortical development, includes ASD traits, difficulties in sustained attention, working memory and sensation-seeking behaviours.

Arabic Validation of the Pragmatic Language Skills Inventory to Assess Pragmatic Language Development in Preschoolers with and without Pragmatic Language Impairment.

Objective: An individual’s articulation of pragmatic language development (PLD) signifies successful social interaction with others. Therefore, it is important to detect early pragmatic language impairment (PLI), whether as a primary disorder or as a symptom of other neurodevelopmental disorders. This study reports on validating the Arabic version of the Pragmatic Language Skills Inventory (A-PLSI). Methods: The PLSI was subjected to various validation stages before the A-PLSI was created. To assess PLD in preschoolers with and without psychiatric histories, 264 preschoolers were assessed in several cities in Saudi Arabia by their teachers and speech–language pathologists. Results: The results of this study included three key findings. First, the established psychometric features, including construct validity, criterion-related validity, and (confirmatory) factor analysis, all reported a high level of measurability to consider the A-PLSI a valid instrument for assessing PLD in school settings and diagnosing PLI in clinical settings. Second, the A-PLSI provided empirical evidence by identifying children with and without PLI, documenting their progress on pragmatic language ability, and distinguishing between preschool children in school and clinical settings. In addition, the A-PLSI approved the typical norm that the older the children, the higher their level of PLD: the data showed higher performance for children aged 6–7 compared to the lower PLD level of children aged 4–5. Conclusion: The present study contributes to the existing literature on PLD assessment in a school setting and PLI diagnosis in a clinical setting. More importantly, it adds a new validated tool to the few available instruments in Arabic to assess PLD and diagnose PLI in Arabian contexts.

Early cognitive intervention using mediated learning for preschoolers with developmental delay: A randomized controlled trial.

BackgroundThe use of mediated learning in cognitive training has been shown to be effective in enhancing students’ cognitive development. Nonetheless, its effects on language development are less explored.AimsThis study examined the effects of an early cognitive intervention (Think Bright program) in enhancing the cognitive and language development of Hong Kong preschoolers with developmental delay.MethodSixty‐eight children (48 boys and 20 girls; mean age = 58 months) with developmental delay were recruited from preschool rehabilitation centres and randomized to two groups (Think Bright training vs. active control). Each child in the Think Bright group received 12 sessions of 1‐hr individual training on thinking skills over 6 months. The control group received the same amount of training based on the regular training regimen adopted at the rehabilitation centres.ResultsAfter a 6‐month intervention, the Think Bright group significantly outperformed the control group in language, general cognition, analogical thinking, sequential thinking, and logical reasoning. The Think Bright teachers’ mediation skills significantly improved during the course of intervention and correlated moderately with the improvement in students’ language abilities.ConclusionThis study has shown promising results on the effectiveness of using mediated learning in early cognitive intervention in enhancing both the cognitive and language development of preschoolers with developmental delay.

Cognitive and language development in preschoolers is related to maternal cognitive performance: A study of young mothers in an urban area of a city in Southern Brazil

To evaluate the relationship between maternal cognitive performance and language and cognitive development of children between 24 and 36 months old of mothers who became pregnant in adolescence, in the city of Pelotas, Southern Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study nested in a cohort study with adolescent mothers who received prenatal care in the city’s public health system. To assess maternal cognitive performance, the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) was used and Bayley Scales of Infant Development III (BSID-III) are used to assess children's language and cognition development. Data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 22.0) software. Pearson correlation, t-test, ANOVA and linear regression were performed. We evaluated 496 mother-child dyads. In the adjusted analysis, we found that children's language remained associated with maternal cognitive performance (p = .027, CI [0.0, 0.6]) and child’s gender (p < .001, CI [−7.2, −2.4]). Besides that children cognitive development remained associated with maternal cognitive performance (p = .008, CI [0.1, 0.6]) and child’s gender (p = .030, CI [−4.5, −0.2]). Our results suggest that poor maternal cognitive performance is associated with lower levels of children's language and cognitive development. The results contributing to early identification and intervention in children of mothers with poor cognitive performance at higher risk of negative developmental outcomes.

Identifying Levers for Improvement: Examining Proximal Processes and Contextual Influences on Preschool Language Development

ABSTRACT Research Findings: The present study investigates both the proximal processes and contextual influences on children’s oral language development in preschool. We examine whether teacher language practices vary across activity settings and program type, which teacher language practices predict children’s oral language skills, and potential differences in children’s language learning trajectories. The instructional time in a diverse sample of 15 preschool classrooms was recorded and coded for teacher language practices hypothesized to support children’s language development, including conceptual and interactive talk. Children (n = 99) were assessed at the beginning and end of the school year with a comprehensive measure of oral language development. Results indicated that there was substantial variation across activity settings and program type, with more beneficial language practices used more often in large group settings and in preschools with extensive professional development and coaching support. The specific teacher language practices of vocabulary talk and elicitation practices were positively related to children’s language, controlling for pretest scores, child age, and program type. Practice or Policy: Findings indicate several leverage points for intervention, such as balancing time spent in different activity settings, maximizing the potential of small group time through elicitation strategies, and building in additional supports for interactive language during centers time.

The relationship between the time spent in family environment and preschool language development

The goal of this study was to identify and to assess the characteristic aspects regarding the preschool language and communication development depending on the quality and quantity of the allocated parental time, as well as on the characteristics of the family environment. The sample included 155 children aged 36 – 71 months old (M = 52.61, SD = 10.40) and their parents. The results of present research suggest that an increased level of parental involvement in structured activities predicts an increased level of language development, an increased level of time spent in familial environment predicts an increased level of language development, at the same time, the relationship between parental involvement in family learning activities is moderated by the chronological age of preschool children in the sense that at an early age, the effect of parental involvement in structured activities and time spent by parents with children on language development and the parents involvement in structured activities and the time spent by parents with children on extraverbal features is stronger compared to that related to older ages. Findings highlight the unique contributions of parental implication and the quality time on preschool language development.

How to Improve Language Development of Preschoolers in Home Care.

Background/Aim:The home environment is important for early childhood neurodevelopment. The objective of this cross-sectional survey was to research the association between family characteristics and language development in healthy preschoolers under isolated home care. Methods:This cross-sectional study included 115 children aged 5-60 months in isolated home care. The preschool language scale (PLS) assessed the receptive and expressive language scores of children. The scores of PLS were graded into 3 levels: high for the top 20-30%, low for the bottom 20-30%, and moderate for the children in between.Results:When the covariates including parental education, age of the enrolled child, gender, number of children, and household size were adjusted, multiple logistic regression analysis (Model 1) revealed that excessive paternal screen usage (≥4 hours) had elevated odds ratios for both low receptive and low expressive PLS than counterparts, whereas early initiation (<12 months of age) of book reading significantly declined low expressive PLS compared to late initiation of book reading. Preschoolers having grandparents’ social support have a lower odds ratio for low receptive PLS than those having no support. Additionally, after controlling for covariates, all the predictors, including paternal heavy screen usage, late initiation of book reading, and absence of grandparent support (Model 2), increased risks for low expressive language level. Conclusion:Poor language scores in a child might be the outcome of late initiation of book reading in a child, absence of the grandparents’ social support for the mother in child-rearing, and excessive paternal television viewing.

Preschool Language Development of Children Born to Women with an Opioid Use Disorder.

Increasing evidence suggests that prenatal exposure to opioids may affect brain development, but limited data exist on the effects of opioid-exposure on preschool language development. Our study aimed to characterize the nature and prevalence of language problems in children prenatally exposed to opioids, and the factors that support or hinder language acquisition. A sample of 100 children born to pregnant women in methadone maintenance treatment and 110 randomly identified non-exposed children were studied from birth to age 4.5 years. At 4.5 years, 89 opioid-exposed and 103 non-exposed children completed the preschool version of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF-P) as part of a comprehensive neurodevelopmental assessment. Children prenatally exposed to opioids had poorer receptive and expressive language outcomes at age 4.5 years compared to non-opioid exposed children. After adjustment for child sex, maternal education, other pregnancy substance use, maternal pregnancy nutrition and prenatal depression, opioid exposure remained a significant independent predictor of children’s total CELF-P language score. Examination of a range of potential intervening factors showed that a composite measure of the quality of parenting and home environment at age 18 months and early childhood education participation at 4.5 years were important positive mediators.

Preschool Communication: Early Identification of Concerns About Preschool Language Development and Social Participation.

Background: Adverse communication development in preschool children is a risk factor influencing child health and well-being with a negative impact on social participation. Language and social skills develop and maintain human adaptability over the life course. However, the accuracy of detecting language problems in asymptomatic children in primary care needs to be improved. Therefore, it is important to identify concerns about language development as a risk factor for child health. The association between parental and professional caregivers' concerns about language development and the level of preschool social participation was assessed, as well as the possible mediating/moderating effect of the perception of social competence. In addition, validity and predictive value of parental and professional caregivers' concerns about language development were tested.Methods: To identify emerging concerns about development and social participation, a community sample of 341 preschool children was systematically assessed with a comprehensive preventive child health care “toolkit” of instruments, including parent-completed tools like the Parents' Evaluation of Developmental Status (PEDS) and child competence Visual Analog Scales (VAS). At baseline, children were aged 3 years and at follow-up ~4 years.Results: There was a statistically significant association between parental and professional caregivers' concerns about language development and the level of preschool social participation, with a mediating effect of child social competence at the age of 3 years as well as 4 years. Negative predictive value of parental and professional caregiver language concerns at the age of 3 and 4 years were 99 and 97%, respectively. Furthermore, this article showed that while some preschool children grow out of language problems, others may develop them.Conclusion: Short but valid pediatric primary care tools like the PEDS and child competence VAS can support monitoring and early identification of concerns about language development and social competence as a risk factor for preschool social participation. Personalized health care requires continued communication between parents, professional caregivers and preventive child health care about parental and professional caregiver perceptions concerning preschool language development as well as the perception of a child's social competence.

Expressive and receptive vocabulary in preschool children and socioeconomic factors

ABSTRACT Purpose: to assess the expressive and receptive vocabulary of preschool children and trace the relationship with different socioeconomic factors. Methods: 108 children, aged between 4 and 6 years, were evaluated, 84 from a public preschool and 24 from a private preschool, using the following instruments: CMMS - Columbia Mental Maturity Scale; ABFW; Peabody Image Vocabulary Test (PPVT); CONFIAS - Phonological Awareness: Sequential Assessment Instrument; Rapid Automatic Naming Test (NAR); Questionnaires for the definition of economic classification, general health and family habits. For statistical analyses, the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test, Bonferroni post hoc corrections to check significant differences and Spearman correlation were used. Results: the results found showed a statistically significant relationship between factors such as salary range, mother's and father's education and performance on tests of receptive and expressive vocabulary and mental maturity. Conclusion: evidence showed the relationship of socioeconomic factors with language development in preschoolers.

Vocabulary Development Through Peer Interactions in Early Childhood: A Case Study of an Emergent Bilingual Child in Preschool

ABSTRACT Language development of preschoolers can be positively stimulated and enhanced by exposure to language of peers. Likewise, interactions of young learners with native-monolingual classmates may contribute to their L2 development. However, research on peer interaction effects in young learners’ domains of L2 development is meager. This qualitative study investigated incidental vocabulary learning of an immigrant emergent bilingual child through his interactions with monolingual classmates in a preschool classroom. The focal child was observed and videotaped across preschool year. Videotapes of 33 peer interaction episodes were analyzed with discourse analytic approach to document the patterns and processes of making vocabulary gains from peers. Results showed that interactions with monolingual peers contributed to vocabulary learning of the focal child and enriched his expressive word repertoire. Incidental peer-initiated vocabulary scaffolds provided language-mediating patterns that resulted in vocabulary gains. Conditions that facilitated or impeded vocabulary learning from peers, as well as gradual improvement in peer interaction skills, were documented. Informed by sociocultural theory and L2 expert-novice notion, this study emphasizes the significance of peer interactions to promote vocabulary learning of young children. Broadly interpreted, results suggest increased exposure to language of monolingual peers mediate L2 development of emergent bilingual children in early childhood classrooms.

Perbedaan Perkembangan Bahasa Anak Pra Sekolah yang Mengikuti dan Tidak Mengikuti PAUD

Background: Delay in language development can affect subsequent development in children. Research comparing language development of pre-school age children who participated and did not participated in PAUD had never been done before. The purpose of this study was to analyze differences in language development of pre-schoolers who attended Early Childhood Education (PAUD) and did not attend Early Childhood Education (PAUD).Methods: This research was a quantitative research with comparative descriptive method. The sampling technique was proportionate random sampling and involved of 82 children in Bulusan Village, Tembalang District, Semarang City. Data analysis used Kolmogorov-Smirnov test.Results: The results showed that the language development of pre-schoolers attending the early childhood was better than the non-attending pre-schoolers with p-value from non-parametric test Kolmogorov Smirnov (0.032) &lt;α (0.005).Conclusion: There are differences of preschool language development who attended and did not attend PAUD. Based on the results of the study, it is advisable for parents of children to provide stimulation appropriate to the stage of language development of children according to their age and to include children in PAUD.

CORRELATION OF PARENTING STYLES IN LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN PRESCHOOLER

Delayed  in language developmentis variously in the world. In Australia, parents were complained language skill and speech of their children. Data from Karyadi hospital showed new visitor complained delay in verbal of their children. Role model and behavior from parents is needed for children’s growth, because children are remodeling from their nearest environment. This research aimed was  to know the correlation parent parenting style’s with the children’s language development in preschooler. This research was quantitative research uses observational analytic method with case control approach. Population is preschooler 3-5 years old in Semarang. Simple random sampling technique was used for getting 176 sample. Parenting style questionnaire was used for measuring parenting style and Denver II for delay in language development. Bivariate correlation is analyzed using Cramer’s V test. Most of the research respondents were children aged 3 years 79 (44.9%) and 88 preschooler (50%) experienced normal language. While parents were 28 years old 76 (43.2%), 156 (88.6%) parents were high school education, and parenting democratic styles 106 (60.2%), authoritarian 66 (37.5%) and permissive 4 (2.3%). Bivariate analysis with Cramer's V shows p value &lt;0.001 and r value of 0.488. Bivariate Analysis using Cramer’s V showed p value &lt;0,001 and r value is 0,488. There are correlation between parenting style and language development in preschooler. The strength of correlation is medium correlation. It suggested that Nurses can increase promotion efforts to increase parental knowledge about the importance of parenting for the language development of preschoolers.

Born to Speak and Sing: Musical Predictors of Language Development in Pre-schoolers.

The relationship between musical and linguistic skills has received particular attention in infants and school-aged children. However, very little is known about pre-schoolers. This leaves a gap in our understanding of the concurrent development of these skills during development. Moreover, attention has been focused on the effects of formal musical training, while neglecting the influence of informal musical activities at home. To address these gaps, in Study 1, 3- and 4-year-old children (n = 40) performed novel musical tasks (perception and production) adapted for young children in order to examine the link between musical skills and the development of key language capacities, namely grammar and phonological awareness. In Study 2, we investigated the influence of informal musical experience at home on musical and linguistic skills of young pre-schoolers, using the same evaluation tools. We found systematic associations between distinct musical and linguistic skills. Rhythm perception and production were the best predictors of phonological awareness, while melody perception was the best predictor of grammar acquisition, a novel association not previously observed in developmental research. These associations could not be explained by variability in general cognitive functioning, such as verbal memory and non-verbal abilities. Thus, selective music-related auditory and motor skills are likely to underpin different aspects of language development and can be dissociated in pre-schoolers. We also found that informal musical experience at home contributes to the development of grammar. An effect of musical skills on both phonological awareness and language grammar is mediated by home musical experience. These findings pave the way for the development of dedicated musical activities for pre-schoolers to support specific areas of language development.