Pragmatic Language Development Research Articles

The Impact of Speech and Language Delays on the Early Grade Readers in Preschool Children at Karachi: lessons for the literacy instructors

This study investigates the impact of speech and language delays on early-grade reading abilities in preschool children in Karachi, Pakistan, considering variables such as screen time exposure, pragmatic language development, speech skills, language disorders/delays, social communication, language acquisition, and late talkers. It aims to provide a better understanding of the prevalence of these delays among children aged 3 to 7 years and assess the effectiveness of early identification and intervention strategies. The research addresses four key questions: the prevalence of speech and language delays, the efficacy of early detection for functional literacy, the short-term and long-term outcomes of universal screening, and the influence of socioeconomic factors on early-grade reading effectiveness. The study employs a cross-sectional design to evaluate prevalence and effectiveness. Participants include children from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, and data collection methods encompass adapted screening tools, interviews with parents and educators, socio-economic surveys, and follow-up assessments. ANOVA and Thematic analyses are used to determine the screening tools' prevalence, sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values, along with insights from stakeholder feedback.

Communication skills in preschool children with normal hearing and cochlear implant users

Pragmatic language development encompasses a range of skills that are necessary for communication to take place, such as initiating and maintaining communication, following rules and taking turns, but these skills can take time to develop in children with hearing loss. The aim of this study was to compare the communication skills of 5-6-year-old children with normal hearing and cochlear implant users. The study included 7 females and 14 males aged 60-72 months (M: 68.66±4.27) with cochlear implants and 8 females and 16 males aged 60-72 months (M: 68.41±4.65) with normal hearing. Responses to the 5-6 Years Communication Skills Scale, consisting of 4 subfactors and 46 items, were collected from the parents of all children. The mean scores of the 4 sub-dimensions of the scale, namely active communication, consideration, following rules and positive response, and the mean total score of the children with normal hearing were significantly higher than their peers with cochlear implants (p<0.05). In conclusion, it is important to evaluate hearing-impaired children not only for language development but also for development in all stages of communication, especially in the pragmatic aspect.

Assessment of Pragmatic Aspect of Language in Children Diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract Background Assessment of the pragmatic language development in the Arabic speaking societies was a competence in the previous years. Recently, an Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test was developed (EAPLT). The relation between ADHD and language is especially intuitive in young children. No previous study used the EAPLT to evaluate pragmatic aspect of language in children with ADHD. Aim This study aimed to assess the pragmatic aspect of language in children with ADHD. Methods A case control study design was used. Fifty patients with ADHD were enrolled randomly from 4 to 8 years old and a normal group of children with the same age and number randomly selected by systemic random sampling from classrooms of different schools in Cairo. Data regarding the child’s age, sex, IQ, mental age, the expressive and the receptive language ages by the Modified PLS4, the pragmatic language age range, percentile, the acquired and the delayed pragmatic language skills according to EAPLT were collected. Results Results showed that Language in general was affected in children diagnosed with ADHD, receptive and expressive language age was significantly different than the normal group (p value for receptive=0.017) (p value for expressive=0.024). In the ADHD group 25 children (50%) of the group showed delayed receptive language, and 28 children (56%) of them showed delayed expressive language. The pragmatics aspect of language assessment (p < 0.001) showed significant difference between ADHD and control groups in almost all aspect of pragmatics. Also in conversation skills the results (p < 0.001) showed significant difference between ADHD and control group. Conclusion This study showed that children with ADHD had a delayed language, pragmatics and conversational skills compared to normal controls within the same age and IQ.

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.

Pragmatic Language Development: Analysis of Mapping Knowledge Domains on How Infants and Children Become Pragmatically Competent.

New-borns are capable of recognising and producing sounds as they become phonologically competent. Following this, infants develop a system for connecting these sounds, which helps them become increasingly lexically competent over time. Their knowledge of these words grows as they develop, using words to form phrases, turning them into sentences, and ultimately becoming syntactically competent. By making sense of these linguistic elements, these three competencies are enhanced, and this is how infants become semantically competent. As infants continue to develop linguistic and non-linguistic communication behaviours, this miraculous language development becomes even more complex, enabling them to perfect their linguistic abilities while being pragmatically competent. In this study, a scientometric approach was used to examine past, present, and future trends in pragmatic language development (PLD). A total of 6455 documents were analysed from the Scopus, WOS, and Lens databases between 1950 and 2022. The analysis involved the visualisation and tabulation of eight bibliometric and eight scientometric indicators using CiteSpace 5.8.R3 and VOSviewer 1.6.18 software for data analysis. In this study, we highlight the major patterns and topics directing the research on PLD between 1950 and 2022. The themes and topics included (1) analysing PLD as a social behaviour through the lens of executive functions; (2) studying PLD as a social behaviour based on social understanding; (3) examining PLD as a social behaviour associated with autism spectrum disorder; (4) developing an understanding of PLD in academic settings through the examination of executive functions; (5) identifying pragmatic competence versus communicative competence as a social behaviour; (6) analysing pragmatic language skills in aphasic patients via epistemic stances (i.e., attitudes towards knowledge in interaction); (7) investigating PLD as a behavioural problem in the context of a foreign language; (8) assessing PLD as a behavioural problem in individuals with autism spectrum disorder; (9) assessing PLD in persons with traumatic brain injury and closed head injury as a behavioural problem; (10) identifying the role of the right hemisphere in executive functions as a cognitive substrate; (11) assessing the impact of pragmatic failure in speech acts on pragmatic competence; and (12) investigating the patterns of PLD among learning-disabled children.

Understanding of the Gricean maxims in children with autism spectrum disorder: Implications for pragmatic language development

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulties in communication with others, which may derive from limitations in their understanding of pragmatic language. In this study, we used the Conversational Violations Test (CVT) with children with ASD and typically developing (TD) children in order to examine their sensitivity to violations of the Gricean maxims: be relevant (maxim of Relation), be truthful (maxim of Quality), be informative (Quantity I), avoid redundancy (Quantity II), and be polite (maxim of Politeness). These maxims have an important role in communication. We found that TD children performed better than children with ASD on the CVT. We also found that children with ASD had higher total CVT scores with increasing chronological age. We discuss the developmental trajectories of pragmatic language understanding in children with ASD.

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.

A Study on the Relationship between Pragmatic Language Development and Socioeconomic Status in Arab Preschoolers with and without Pragmatic Language Impairment

The scope of this study is threefold. First, it examines socioeconomic status (SES) and pragmatic language development (PLD), hypothesizing that parental education and employment levels are mediators, where SES affects PLD mainly through its influence on parental education and employment levels. Second, we used quantitative (age) and qualitative (gender) variables as moderators, hypothesizing that gender and age moderate the relationship between classroom interaction (CI), social interaction (SI), and personal interaction (PI) skills and level of PLD. Third, characteristics of PLD in preschoolers with and without pragmatic language impairment (PLI) are compared. The Arabic Pragmatic Language Skills Inventory (A-PLSI) was administered by preschool teachers and speech-language pathologists in Saudi Arabia to 264 preschoolers with and without neurodevelopmental disorders to assess their PLD. Additionally, the SES of the parents of the same number of participants was surveyed. Results show that the more CI, SI, and PI a preschool child has, the greater the likelihood of typical PLD, regardless of the parents’ employment or education. Further, we obtained evidence that CI, SI, and PI all grow together with age. However, these three elements (namely, CI, SI, and PI) do not seem to be moderated or altered by gender. Typical PLD may be attainable when preschool children demonstrate typical mental and physical development, in contrast to children with psychiatric histories who display atypical PLD. These findings suggest that preschool children with more CI, SI, and PI will exhibit more typical PLD. The achievement of this goal results in a sustainable society for children.

Second language pragmatic development in study abroad contexts

Abstract This special issue illustrates current research on the development of second language (L2) pragmatic competence in study abroad (SA) contexts. In doing so, it accounts for the complexity entailed in learning the linguistic and sociocultural norms of interaction with people of diverse backgrounds while facing the multiple challenges involved in adapting to a new and unknown setting. This introduction to the special issue presents key topics and previous findings that frame such processes of L2 pragmatic development. These include (1) a description of study abroad as a context for L2 pragmatic development, (2) pragmatic targets that students learn during SA, (3) internal and external factors that are likely to play a role in the learning process, and (4) the role of instruction in helping students maximize their stays abroad in terms of pragmatic learning. Finally, an overview of the articles included in this special issue is provided, highlighting how they contribute to the key themes illustrated throughout this introductory section.

The Impact of the Age at the Cochlear Implantation on the Pragmatic Development of the Prelingual Hearing Impaired Egyptian Arabic Speaking Children

Abstract Background Hearing impaired children have delayed development of pragmatic skills as hearing impairment (HI) deprives them from exposure to natural communication interactions. The rehabilitation of children with HI aims to improve their listening skills for better language development and better communication and social interactions. Aim of this work to compare the pragmatic language development of the prelingual hearing impaired children who were cochlearly implanted before the age of 3 years and those who were cochlearly implanted after the age of 3 years. Methods Sixty Egyptian Arabic-speaking children with prelingual severe to profound sensory neural hearing loss, thirty children who were cochlearly implanted before the age of 3.0 years compared to thirty children who were cochlearly implanted after the age of 3.0 years. Language assessment was done by Modified Preschool Language Scale – 4th edition (PLS–4), the Arabic version and pragmatic development was assessed by Standardized Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test (EAPLT). Results The two study groups showed no significant differences regarding the receptive, expressive, and total language test scores by PLS-4. Group I showed a significant difference (improvement) regarding the pragmatic factors while there were no significant differences between the two study groups regarding the rest of the pragmatics scores by EAPLT. Conclusion The pragmatic language of cochlearly implanted children either who have been implanted before or after 3 years old is affected. This higher susceptibility to pragmatic impairment in prelingual cochlearly implanted children, as well as the importance of pragmatic skills for further social-communicative and academic careers, should be considered in their rehabilitative plan and advocate the importance for early incorporation of pragmatic behaviors into their intervention programs.

A Compromise between Global and Local: Glocal Identity and Its Effects on Pragmatic Development

ABSTRACT The concept of glocal identity has captured researchers’ imagination particularly in the last two decades and has been examined in relation with language learning. However, no study has yet touched upon pragmatic development in the target language under the effects of glocal identity. This longitudinal case study examined the development of glocal identity and its effects on students’ target language pragmatic development. The participants were ten international students receiving preparatory education at a Turkish Teaching Center. The data were collected through instructor’s and researcher’s unstructured observation notes, participants’ self-reflection notes and their answers to open-ended questions. The results of the conventional content analysis indicated that the participants experienced increasing awareness of their local identities, adapted to their global identities and formed a glocal identity during their language learning experience. They also went through a three-stage pragmatic development during which reflections of their glocal identities were observed.

The Assessment of Early Pragmatic Development: A Study of the Reliability and Validity of the Language Use Inventory-Italian.

Purpose Pragmatics is receiving much attention in both the fields of developmental and clinical psychology; however, there is a dearth of instruments to assess pragmatic abilities specifically among young toddler-age children. The aim of the current study was to test the psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Language Use Inventory (LUI), named the LUI-Italian, a parent report measure assessing pragmatic language development in children 18-47 months of age. Method Parents of Italian-speaking children who ranged in age between 18 and 47 months completed the LUI-Italian at T1 (N = 389) and 1 week later (N = 53). At T1, children were also administered the First Language Test (Test del Primo Linguaggio [TPL]), a direct measure of pragmatics, vocabulary, and syntax. Results Cronbach's alpha values were at or above acceptable levels. Factor analysis and test-retest confirmed the strong structure and reliability of the LUI-Italian. Some evidence for concurrent validity was found, as shown by associations between the LUI-Italian and the TPL. Conclusions The LUI-Italian demonstrated good psychometric properties relating to reliability, thus providing a sound basis for proceeding to a standardization study, and supporting cross-cultural comparison of pragmatic development and further exploration of profiles of pragmatic competence for children displaying language impairments or delay. Future studies need to further test concurrent, divergent, and predictive validity of the LUI-Italian.

Long-Term Effects of Cochlear Implant on the Pragmatic Skills and Speech Intelligibility in Persian-Speaking Children

Background Pragmatic skills of language are important for everyday life interactions. It has been proven that cochlear implantation age should be considered, as an important predictor of language skills in children with cochlear implantation (CI), but information about the benefits of early cochlear implantation on pragmatic language development in these children are very few. Thus, this study intends to compare pragmatic skills as well as speech intelligibility in prelingual deaf children who received cochlear implants before the age of 6 years and those who received cochlear implants after the age of 6 years with an 8-year follow-up. Materials and Methods: This Retrospective 8-year longitudinal study was conducted in a cochlear implant center in the city of Tehran, Iran, in 2021. Forty-five children were included in two groups: early cochlear implant (n = 17), and early cochlear implant (n = 28). The Persian version of the children's communication checklist (CCC) was used to assess the participants 'pragmatic skills and the Persian version of the Intelligibility Context Scale (ICS) was used to assess the participants' speech intelligibility. Results: The two study groups did not show a significant difference in terms of pragmatic scores (P>0.05) but had a significant difference in terms of ISC scores (p 0.05). Conclusion The long-term results of early and late cochlear implants were similar in terms of the development of pragmatic skills but very different in terms of speech intelligibility. The age of cochlear implantation had no effect on the pragmatic of language.

Communication skills predict social-emotional competencies

IntroductionStudies have shown that many children with early language difficulties also have delays in social-emotional competencies as well as social-emotional and behavioral problems. It is unclear if these conditions are causally related, if they share a common underlying etiology, or if there are bidirectional effects. Studies investigating these associations have mostly involved children who are already using words to communicate, but it is important to know whether delays in preverbal communication and language development have any effects on these associations. The aim of the present study was to examine associations between preverbal communication and early verbal skills in infancy and subsequent social-emotional competencies and ensuing social-emotional and behavioral problems in early toddlerhood. The role of background factors known to influence early language development was also examined. MethodsThe sample consisted of 395 children (51.6% boys) from the Finnish Steps Study cohort. Language was assessed at age 13 months (+ 1 month) with the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory for Infants (CDI-I), and the social-emotional domain was assessed at age < 17 months with the Brief Infant–Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA). ResultsInfants with lower preverbal gestural communication and receptive language skills had a higher risk of delays in social-emotional competencies in toddlerhood than children with better communication skills, but not of elevated social-emotional and behavioral problems. ConclusionsThe results indicate that lower early communication skills can predict delays in the development of social-emotional competencies, which has been found to be a risk factor for later development of social-emotional and behavioral problems. It is important to monitor early communication skills to provide guidance to parents in supporting early pragmatic communication and language development in infancy, if needed.

PROBLEMS OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN CHILDREN ATTENTION DEFICIT HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER (ADHD)

The purpose of this study is to provide an overview of language development in children with ADHD. Researchers use literature study research methods. The data that has been collected is then analyzed qualitatively with the Miles and Huberman model. Some of the problems in language development in children are ADHD, namely, not responding to questions or statements addressed to them, the focus of attention last for a short period, absence of eye contact when communicating, often answering in inappropriate context questions, and a lack of understanding of the explanation of the material that has been submitted by the teacher. In addition, phonological errors are also a problem experienced by ADHD children such as problems when pronouncing the last letter in words, pronouncing words, removing or changing phonemes, and removing phonemes when speaking. Language development in ADHD children also has disturbances in the delivery of speech intent, is less able to carry out conversations with a complete structure, does not pay attention to whether the interlocutor has the same knowledge or information as him, often makes ambiguous sentences, pragmatic language development in ADHD children has not yet developed well.

The effect of age at time of cochlear implantation on the pragmatic development of the prelingual hearing impaired children

BackgroundPragmatics is the social use of language that draws on understanding human interactions in specific contexts and requires engagement with a communicative partner or partners. The hearing-impaired children are known to have a pragmatic language delay as hearing impairment deprived of exposure to natural communication interactions, in addition to the language delay they have. Since the age of implantation has emerged as an important predictor of language, hearing, and speech in children who use cochlear implants (CI), question aroused about the benefits of early cochlear implantation on pragmatic language development in those children. Thus, this study aims to compare the pragmatic language development of the prelingual hearing impaired children who cochlear implanted before the age of 3 years and those who cochlear implanted after the age of 3 years.ResultsThe two study groups showed no significant differences regard their scores in the Egyptian Arabic Pragmatic Language Test (EAPLT). The two studied groups had pragmatic language scores below their 5th percentile. Among the studied groups, the scores of the EAPLT were positively correlated to the age of the children, the children’s language abilities, and the duration of the received language rehabilitation, with no significant correlation to the age of implantation.ConclusionsThe age of implantation has no impact on pragmatic language development in children with CI. The prelingual children with CI are susceptible to delays in the pragmatic language development that is primarily related to the age of those children and their language abilities, besides their experience in social interactions. These results should be considered in their rehabilitative plan and advocate the importance of early incorporation of pragmatic behaviors into their intervention programs.

Perkembangan Bahasa Pragmatik Pada Anak Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): Kajian Neurolinguistik

The purpose of this study is to describe the pragmatic development of ADHD childdren. Every child who was born, over time experiencing various development, such as motor development, cognitive development, emotional development, up to language development. Children who have Attention Deficit Hiperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have constraints in some of their development, one of them is pragmatic language development. This research utilizes neurolinguistics theory that explain about language and brain. The result that found in this study are ADHD children can’t survive in a conversation because their focus is easily broken, then they tends to make themselves as a center of a communication. ADHD children also have a difficult in formulating speech and tend to be impulsive and always in a hury. Brain disorder, although not in a language area, still affect the pragmatic language development of ADHD children. By knowing the problem about ADHD children’s pragmatic problem, we can knowing the solution for handle it.

What's That You Say? Communication Breakdowns and Their Repairs in Children Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

Conversational fluency is important to form meaningful connections and relationships with the people around us but is understudied in children who are deaf or hard of hearing (D/HH). Communication breakdowns reduce conversational fluency. They occur when a speaker says something that interrupts the flow of conversation requiring a request for clarification or confirmation from their listener to repair the misunderstanding. Young children who are D/HH are at risk of more frequent communication breakdowns and fewer successful repairs than children with typical hearing (The missing link in language development of deaf and hard of hearing children: Pragmatic language development. Seminars in Speech and Language, 33 (04), 297-309). About 14 children who were D/HH aged 7-12 year and 15 children with typical hearing were matched on chronological age. Comparisons of the number and duration of communication breakdowns, requests for repair, and responses to requests used by children in a 10-min conversation with an adult were completed. Results showed that while children who were D/HH demonstrated some differences, they were more similar to their typically hearing peers in communication breakdowns and repairs than previously reported in the literature.

Parental behaviors associated with the level of pragmatic language ability among 42-month-old neglected children

BackgroundExposure to neglect can severely compromise children’s pragmatic skills (social language use). The disruptions of parent-child interactions that typically occur in context of neglect may compromise several parental behaviors which are known to foster language skills such as pragmatics. Objectives1- Compare the behaviors of neglectful and non-neglectful parents in four domains which are of interest for pragmatic language development, namely, responsive, supportive, affective, and control behaviors, and 2- Identify parental behaviors associated with the levels of pragmatic ability of 42-month-old neglected children. ParticipantsStudy sample consisted of 21 neglected children living in their biological family, recruited in four Youth Centers in the province of Québec (Canada) and 95 non-neglected children recruited in child-care centers. MethodParental behaviors were video recorded in context of free-play with the child at the participants’ homes between 2015 and 2017, and subsequently analyzed using the Coding Observations of Parent-Child Interactions (COPI), developed to observe ten parental behaviors associated with early language development. The level of pragmatic ability of children was established using the Language Use Inventory: French, a standardized questionnaire completed with parents of both groups. ResultsParents in situation of neglect scored lower than parents in the control group on eight of the ten behaviors (p < .001). Parental reciprocity was associated with the level of pragmatic ability of 42-month-old neglected children (p = .04). ConclusionsThe results of this exploratory study provide insight on the associations between parental behaviors and the level of pragmatic language skills of children experiencing neglect.

Longitudinal benefits of pre-departure pragmatics instruction for study abroad

Whilst the study of second language pragmatic development in study abroad (SA) contexts has gained momentum in recent years, research on L2 Chinese pragmatics, in general, remains in its infancy and is therefore limited. Longitudinal studies on the effects of instruction before, during and after SA remain scant. Following a short pre-SA pragmatics intervention on formulaic expressions with a group of UK undergraduate learners of Chinese, qualitative data in three phases (before, during, and after a year abroad in China) were collected and analysed to shed light on the perceived benefits of the treatment. The findings show that in all three phases, learners highly valued the instruction provided, but they seemed to benefit from the sociopragmatic input the most, particularly in the pre-departure stage and after completion of the SA period. The findings will be discussed in relation to the learners' accounts of their SA experiences and the implications for pre-SA instruction.