Low Language Ability Research Articles

Language and reading in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder+developmental language disorder.

The current study sought to examine whether psycholinguistic assessments could discriminate children and adolescents with developmental language disorder (DLD) from those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; combined or inattentive subtype) and comorbid DLD+ADHD. The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Screening Test (CELFST; Wiig etal., 2013), the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (nonword repetition subtest; Wagner etal., 2013), and the Test of Word Reading Efficiency (sight word and phonemic decoding subtests; Torgesen etal., 2012) were examined in 441 children and adolescents between 6 and 16years of age. The presence of a language disorder (with or without ADHD) predicted poor performance across tasks. Children and adolescents with ADHD (combined vs. inattentive) only significantly differed in sight word reading, in favor of those with combined type. Measures of reading efficiency could distinguish between the two types of ADHD, but not between other groups. Interestingly, scores on the standard language screener were no worse for children with ADHD+DLD than children with DLD only. The combination of comorbid ADHD+DLD did not appear to be associated with lower language abilities, sight word reading, or phonemic decoding relative to DLD alone. Reading efficiency was effective in discriminating between ADHD subtypes. These findings offer valuable insights into differential diagnosis and the identification of comorbidity.

Inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder in preschool: Investigation of adult–child interactions in two inclusive classes over one school year

AbstractBased on a complex dynamic system approach, this study examined the dynamic of interactions between adults (a teacher and teaching assistant) and two children with ASD. We observed two preschool classrooms, each containing one child with contrasting ASD characteristics. Child engagement and adult participation during welcome time activities were observed once a month for 9 months; dramatic differences in interaction dynamics between the two classes were revealed. In the class including an autistic child with high support needs and low language ability, the active participation of adults associated with active child engagement gradually increased over the year. In the class including an autistic child with a high level of challenging behaviours (but with low support needs and typical language skills), increased variability resulted in a deep change in the landscape of attractors. Whereas the child was mostly engaged with adult participation during the first trimester, he was actively engaged without adult participation in the final trimester.

Prenatal current-use pesticide exposure and children's neurodevelopment at one year of age in the Infants' Environmental Health (ISA) birth cohort, Costa Rica

BackgroundPesticide exposure may affect young children's neurodevelopment, but only few cohort studies have addressed possible effects of non-organophosphate pesticides. ObjectiveWe evaluated associations between prenatal current-use pesticide exposure and neurodevelopmental outcomes among 1-year-old children from the Infants’ Environmental Health (ISA) birth cohort. MethodsTo determine prenatal pesticide exposure, we measured biomarkers of pyrimethanil, chlorpyrifos, synthetic pyrethroids, and 2,4-D in urine samples among 355 women, 1–3 times during pregnancy. One-year post-partum, we evaluated children's neurodevelopment with the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development 3rd edition (BSID-III). We assessed associations between exposures and neurodevelopmental outcomes (composite and z-scores) using single-chemical linear regression models adjusted for possible confounders (maternal education, parity, sex, gestational age at birth, child age, HOME-score, location of assessment, biomarkers of mancozeb), and studied effect-modification by sex. We evaluated non-linear associations of multiple pesticide exposures with Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR). ResultsWe found higher prenatal urinary 2,4-D concentrations were associated with lower language (βper ten-fold increase = −2.0, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = −3.5, −0.5) and motor (βper ten-fold increase = −2.2, 95 %CI = −4.2, −0.1) composite scores among all children. Also, higher chlorpyrifos exposure [measured as urinary 3,5,6-trichloro-2-pyridinol (TCPy)] was associated with lower cognitive composite scores (βper ten-fold increase = −1.9, 95 %CI = −4.7, 0.8), and lower motor composite scores among boys (βper ten-fold increase = −3.8, 95 % CI = −7.7, 0.1) but not girls (βper ten-fold increase = 2.3, 95 %CI = −1.6, 6.3, pINT = 0.11). Finally, higher pyrimethanil was associated with lower language abilities among girls, but not boys. Pyrethroid metabolite concentrations did not explain variability in BSID-III composite scores. Associations were similar for BSID-III z-scores, and we found no evidence for non-linear associations or mixture effects. DiscussionPrenatal exposure to common-use pesticides may affect children's neurodevelopment at 1-year of age, some effects may be sex-specific.

Audiovisual integration in children with cochlear implants revealed through EEG and fNIRS

Sensory deprivation can offset the balance of audio versus visual information in multimodal processing. Such a phenomenon could persist for children born deaf, even after they receive cochlear implants (CIs), and could potentially explain why one modality is given priority over the other. Here, we recorded cortical responses to a single speaker uttering two syllables, presented in audio-only (A), visual-only (V), and audio-visual (AV) modes. Electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) were successively recorded in seventy-five school-aged children. Twenty-five were children with normal hearing (NH) and fifty wore CIs, among whom 26 had relatively high language abilities (HL) comparable to those of NH children, while 24 others had low language abilities (LL). In EEG data, visual-evoked potentials were captured in occipital regions, in response to V and AV stimuli, and they were accentuated in the HL group compared to the LL group (the NH group being intermediate). Close to the vertex, auditory-evoked potentials were captured in response to A and AV stimuli and reflected a differential treatment of the two syllables but only in the NH group. None of the EEG metrics revealed any interaction between group and modality. In fNIRS data, each modality induced a corresponding activity in visual or auditory regions, but no group difference was observed in A, V, or AV stimulation. The present study did not reveal any sign of abnormal AV integration in children with CI. An efficient multimodal integrative network (at least for rudimentary speech materials) is clearly not a sufficient condition to exhibit good language and literacy.

Piloting building early sentences therapy for pre-school children with low language abilities: An examination of efficacy and the role of sign as an active ingredient.

Early intervention is recommended for pre-school children with low language. However, few robustly evaluated language interventions for young children exist. Furthermore, in many interventions the theoretical underpinnings are underspecified and the 'active ingredients' of the interventions not tested. This paper presents a quasi-experimental study to test the efficacy and examine the active ingredients of Building Early Sentences Therapy (BEST): an intervention based on usage-based theory designed to support young children to understand and produce two-, three- and four-clause element sentences. BEST manipulates the input children hear to support them to harness the cognitive mechanisms hypothesized in usage-based theories to promote the development of abstract linguistic representations. One such input manipulation is the use of signing alongside verbal input signalling both content and morphology of target sentences. To examine whether (1) BEST is more efficacious than treatment as usual (TAU); and (2) signing of content and morphology is an active ingredient of the intervention. A quasi-experimental study recruited children aged 3;5-4;5 years from 13 schools. Schools were assigned to receive either BEST with sign, BEST without sign or TAU. The TAU group received their usual classroom provision. Across arms schools were matched with respect to classroom oral language environment and indices of deprivation. Participants were 48 children (28 boys) with expressive and/or receptive language abilities ≤ 16th centile measured using the New Reynell Developmental Language Scales (NRDLS). Outcomes gathered by researchers blind to treatment arm were NRDLS production and comprehension standard scores and measures of production of targeted sentence structures. Primary outcomes indicate that BEST with sign was significantly more efficacious than TAU with respect to NRDLS production standard score, but not comprehension. The advantage for production was maintained at follow-up. BEST without sign was significantly more efficacious than TAU on measures of targeted vocabulary, sentence structure and morphology. The results from this quasi-experimental study provide evidence for the efficacy of a usage-based intervention on expressive language outcomes for preschool children with low language abilities. There is also evidence to support the inclusion of sign as an active ingredient, and so efforts to train interventionists in its use are worthwhile. Patterns of findings across outcomes suggest signing of content and morphology may support the development of abstract linguistic representations and accelerate language learning. Given these positive results and the scale of this study, a fully powered randomized controlled trial is warranted. What is already known on the subject Robust language skills are crucial for positive social, emotional, academic and economic outcomes across the lifespan. There is a paucity of robustly evaluated interventions for preschool children with language difficulties. The development of such interventions is crucial for ameliorating language difficulties and promoting positive educational and psychosocial outcomes. What this study adds to the existing knowledge This paper evaluates BEST, a novel usage-based language intervention targeting children with language difficulties in the early years. Findings indicate that a usage-based intervention is efficacious for treating language difficulties. In particular, BEST benefited expressive language development, bringing benefits to both treated and untreated language structures and improving standard scores. The role of sign as an active ingredient is also supported. Further evaluation is warranted. What are the practical and clinical implications of this work? Findings suggest that BEST may be effective for targeting children who have been identified as having language difficulties. In particular, expressive language may be improved when the intervention is delivered as it was originally manualized, including a signing system to represent content and grammatical morphology. More broadly, these findings also provide preliminary evidence that the use of a signing system does not hinder oral language development in children with language difficulties and may conversely support their expressive language. Future research exploring the role and underpinning mechanisms of sign in language intervention is warranted.

The development and productivity of a measure for identifying low language abilities in children aged 24–36 months

BackgroundAccurate early identification of children with low language ability is important but existing measures generally have low sensitivity. This remains an area of concern for preventive and public health services. This study aimed to create and evaluate a measure of child language, communication and related risks which can be used by community health nurses to accurately identify children with low language aged 24–30 months.MethodsThe Early Language Identification Measure (ELIM) was developed and comprised five measurement sections, each measuring different aspects of development combined into a single measure. This was tested blind against a reference standard language measure, the Preschool Language Scale-5 (PLS-5), at the universal 24–30-month health visitor review in England. The threshold for likely low language was the tenth centile or below on the PLS-5. The aim was to ascertain the performance of the five individual sections in the scale, and consider the optimum combination of sections, for predicting low language ability. Specificity, sensitivity, and positive and negative predictive values were reported for each of the five sections of the ELIM alone and in conjunction with each other. The performance for children from monolingual English-speaking families and those who spoke languages other than English were also considered separately.ResultsThree hundred and seventy-six children were assessed on both the ELIM identification measure and the PLS-5 with 362 providing complete data. While each section of the ELIM predicted low language ability, the optimal combination for predicting language outcome was the parent reported vocabulary checklist coupled with the practitioner observation of the child’s communication and related behaviours. This gave a sensitivity of 0·98 with a specificity of 0·63.ConclusionsA novel measure has been developed which accurately identifies children at risk of low language, allowing clinicians to target resources efficiently and intervene early.

Developmental language disorder – a comprehensive study of more than 46,000 individuals

Developmental language disorder (DLD) is characterized by enduring low language abilities with a significant functional impact, in the absence of biomedical conditions in which language impairment is part of a complex of impairments. There is a lack of awareness of DLD even among healthcare professionals. Here we estimated the prevalence of DLD and its links to reading and learning difficulties and physical and mental health in the Danish Blood Donor Study (N = 46,547), where DLD-related information is based on questionnaires (self-report). We compared the questionnaire-derived DLD status with the relevant language-related diagnoses from hospital registers. We also investigated the genetic architecture of DLD in a subset of the cohort (N = 18,380). DLD was significantly associated with reading and learning difficulties and poorer mental and physical health. DLD prevalence was 3.36%–3.70% based on questionnaires, compared with 0.04% in hospital registers. Our genetic analyses identified one genome-wide significant locus, but not a significant heritability estimate. Our study shows that DLD has health-related implications that may last into adulthood, and that DLD may be undiagnosed in general healthcare. Furthermore, DLD is likely more genetically heterogeneous than narrower developmental language phenotypes. Our results emphasize the need to raise awareness of DLD and consider criteria for molecular studies of DLD to reduce case heterogeneity.

Auditory evoked response to an oddball paradigm in children wearing cochlear implants

ObjectiveAlthough children with cochlear implants (CI) achieve remarkable success with their device, considerable variability remains in individual outcomes. Here, we explored whether auditory evoked potentials recorded during an oddball paradigm could provide useful markers of auditory processing in this pediatric population. MethodsHigh-density electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded in 75 children listening to standard and odd noise stimuli: 25 had normal hearing (NH) and 50 wore a CI, divided between high language (HL) and low language (LL) abilities. Three metrics were extracted: the first negative and second positive components of the standard waveform (N1-P2 complex) close to the vertex, the mismatch negativity (MMN) around Fz and the late positive component (P3) around Pz of the difference waveform. ResultsWhile children with CIs generally exhibited a well-formed N1-P2 complex, those with language delays typically lacked reliable MMN and P3 components. But many children with CIs with age-appropriate skills showed MMN and P3 responses similar to those of NH children. Moreover, larger and earlier P3 (but not MMN) was linked to better literacy skills. ConclusionsAuditory evoked responses differentiated children with CIs based on their good or poor skills with language and literacy. SignificanceThis short paradigm could eventually serve as a clinical tool for tracking the developmental outcomes of implanted children.

Profiles and correlates of language and social communication differences among young autistic children.

Delays in early language development are characteristic of young autistic children, and one of the most recognizable first concerns that motivate parents to seek a diagnostic evaluation for their child. Although early language abilities are one of the strongest predictors of long-term outcomes, there is still much to be understood about the role of language impairment in the heterogeneous phenotypic presentation of autism. Using a person-centered, Latent Profile Analysis, we first aimed to identify distinct patterns of language and social communication ability in a clinic-based sample of 498 autistic children, ranging in age from 18 to 60 months (M = 33 mo, SD = 12 mo). Next, a multinomial logistic regression analysis was implemented to examine sociodemographic and child-based developmental differences among the identified language and social communication profiles. Three clinically meaningful profiles were identified from parent-rated and clinician-administered measures: Profile 1 (48% of the sample) “Relatively Low Language and Social Communication Abilities,” Profile 2 (34% of the sample) “Relatively Elevated Language and Social Communication Abilities,” and Profile 3 (18% of the sample) “Informant Discrepant Language and Relatively Elevated Social Communication Abilities.” Overall, young autistic children from the lowest-resource households exhibited the lowest language and social communication abilities, and the lowest non-verbal problem-solving and fine-motor skills, along with more features of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and atypical auditory processing. These findings highlight the need for effective community-based implementation strategies for young autistic children from low-resource households and underrepresented communities to improve access to individualized quality care.

Predictors of school concern across the transition to secondary school with developmental language disorder and low language ability: A longitudinal developmental cascade analysis.

Developmental language disorder (DLD) has clear functional ramifications in the areas of social competency, emotion recognition, emotional well-being and literacy skill, which have been found to persist from childhood to adolescence. These domains are important factors during the transition from primary to secondary school in typical development (TD). Nevertheless, there is a paucity of research on the transition from primary to secondary school for adolescents with DLD and low language (LL) ability. To investigate the association between psychosocial domains, literacy skill and concerns about school during the transition to secondary school for adolescents with DLD, LL and their TD peers. The first research question examined whether levels of social competency, emotion recognition, emotional well-being and literacy skill predicted school concern for the three groups. The second research question explored the longitudinal relationship between school concern and psychosocial and literacy indicators over the transition. Participants (aged 10-11 years) with DLD (n = 30), LL ((n = 29) and TD (n = 42) were recruited for this longitudinal study from eight UK primary schools. Standardized language and psychosocial assessments were administered in the spring and summer terms of the final year of primary school, and the autumn and summer terms of the first year in secondary school. Regression analyses showed pre-transition school concern to be predicted by emotion recognition for the DLD group, by social competence and emotional well-being for the LL group, and by social competence for the TD group. Post-transition concern was predicted by emotional well-being for the LL group; with no significant predictors for the DLD/TD groups. Path analyses revealed an association between literacy skill and emotion recognition for the DLD group. A developmental cascade illustrated a relationship between social competence and emotional well-being for the TD group. This study concludes that transition interventions must be differentiated according to language ability; support for DLD adolescents should focus on emotion recognition skill, provision for LL adolescents should centre on emotional well-being, and TD participants should be particularly supported in the domain of social competence in advance of the move to secondary school. Additionally, this study emphasizes the importance of the inclusion of a LL group, as their outcomes cannot be predicted using DLD/TD research. What is already known on the subject There is limited research exploring the transition from primary school to secondary for adolescents with DLD or LL ability. Research on TD has highlighted vulnerable domains at this time. As these key areas are evidenced spheres of difficulty in DLD and LL, there was a strong impetus for this study. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This study reveals differences between language ability groups in the predictors of school concern both pre- and post-transition. Concerns of adolescents with DLD were predicted by emotion recognition, those of adolescents with LL were predicted by emotional well-being, and a longitudinal link between social competence and emotional well-being was evidenced for TD adolescents. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? This study has implications for researchers and clinicians, as a need has been identified for a new clinical group. It also has practical implications for transition support planning for educational practitioners, families and adolescents.

JURNAL TEORI BERMAIN DAN PERMAINAN ALAT MUSIK ANAK USIA DINI

The problem of this research was children low language ability development. The objective of this research was to find out the correlation between role playing and children language ability in group B. Research used quantitative correlational methode. This research was conducted in Al-Hidayah kindergarten school in Kalirejo Lampung with population of 81 children. The 30 respondent were taken by using purposive sampling technique. Data were collected by observations and documentations and analyzed by using Spearman’s Rank correlation technique. The result showed that there was a correlation between role playing and children language ability development.

Improving student academic emotions and learning satisfaction in lectures in a foreign language with speech-enabled language translation technology

Some students are unable to fully comprehend lecture content delivered in English as a medium of instruction (EMI) because of their low linguistic competence. This negatively impacts their academic emotions and learning satisfaction. Speech-enabled language translation (SELT) technology was applied in this study to simultaneously translate lecture content from English into native language of students and show translated text to students. This study investigated the effectiveness of a SELT application on perceived academic emotions and learning satisfaction of students attending lectures in EMI. Thirty-three university students participated, and perceived academic emotions and learning satisfaction were measured and compared across two groups of students: low language ability (LLA), and high language ability (HLA). The level of perceived academic emotions of LLA students was low before lectures but high during and after lectures. HLA students perceived high levels of academic emotions before lectures and low during and after lectures. LLA students’ level of learning satisfaction was much better in comparison to HLA students. The results suggest that SELT technology is beneficial for learning for LLA students. Therefore, educators and researchers may apply SELT technology to EMI lectures in order to facilitate LLA students levels of perceived academic emotions and learning satisfaction. Implications for practice or policy: SELT technology is beneficial for learning of the low linguistic competency students. Educators and researcher may apply SELT technology to EMI lectures in order to facilitate positive academic emotions and learning satisfaction of the low linguistic competency students.

Parental Acculturation and Children's Bilingual Abilities: A Study With Chinese American and Mexican American Preschool DLLs.

Previous studies support the link of parental acculturation to their children’s academic achievement, identity, and family relations. Prior research also suggests that parental language proficiency is associated with children’s vocabulary knowledge. However, few studies have examined the links of parental acculturation to young children’s oral language abilities. As preschool oral language skills have been shown to predict future academic achievement, it is critical to understand the relations between parental acculturation and bilingual abilities with young immigrant children. Furthermore, few studies have examined the links between parental acculturation and children’s bilingual ability among different immigrant groups who live in the same areas to understand possible similarities and differences. To address these gaps, this study examines these relations in two of the largest and fastest-growing immigrant populations in the United States, Chinese American and Mexican American families. A total of 119 dual language learners (DLLs; 64 Chinese Americans and 55 Mexican Americans) enrolled in Head Start programs in Northern California were recruited. DLLs were assessed on oral language measures in both their heritage language (HL) and English. Parental interviews were conducted to obtain parental acculturation and language proficiency. Results showed no significant group differences between Chinese American and Mexican American parents on the majority of their acculturation dimensions. Furthermore, there were no significant group differences in the bilingual abilities between Chinese American and Mexican American DLLs. Cluster analysis identified four groups of DLLs based on their bilingual ability: high language ability in both English and HL, low language ability in both, English-dominant, and HL-dominant. Results suggest that parental acculturation levels are more similar than different among the four groups. On average, parents in all four groups had stronger ties to their heritage culture and HL than to the American culture. Results also showed links between parental cultural identities and children’s language dominance. Parents of English-dominant children had significantly higher levels of American identity than the parents of children with high ability in both languages. Implications are discussed.

Universal language development screening: comparative performance of two questionnaires.

Background and objectiveLow language ability in early childhood is a strong predictor of later psychopathology as well as reduced school readiness, lower educational attainment, employment problems and involvement with the criminal justice system. Assessment of early language development is universally offered in many countries, but there has been little evaluation of assessment tools. We planned to compare the screening performance of two commonly used language assessment instruments.MethodsA pragmatic diagnostic accuracy study was carried out in five areas of England comparing the performance of two screening tools (Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) and Sure Start Language Measure (SSLM)) against a reference test (Preschool Language Scale, 5th edition).ResultsResults were available for 357 children aged 23–30 months. The ASQ Communication Scale using optimal cut-off values had a sensitivity of 0.55, a specificity of 0.95 and positive and negative predictive values of 0.53 and 0.95, respectively. The SSLM had corresponding values of 0.83, 0.81, 0.33 and 0.98, respectively. Both screening tools performed relatively poorly in families not using English exclusively in the home.ConclusionThe very widely used ASQ Communication Scale performs poorly as a language screening tool, missing over one-third of cases of low language ability. The SSLM performed better as a screening tool.

Predictors of behavioural and emotional outcomes in toddlers with congenital heart disease.

Children with congenital heart disease (CHD) are at risk for psychological challenges, including internalising (e.g., depression, anxiety) and externalising (e.g., aggression, inattention) problems. The present study aimed to investigate the development of psychological concerns in early childhood by identifying predictors of behavioural and emotional problems in toddlers with CHD. Children with CHD who were seen for neurodevelopmental (ND) evaluation at 12 ± 3 months of age, who completed the Bayley Scales of Infant Development-III (BSID-III) and whose parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), a standardised measure of emotional/behavioural problems at age 24-36 months, were included in the study (n = 144). CBCL scores were compared to test norms and classified as normal or abnormal. A classification tree was used to assess the association between CBCL scores and demographic and clinical variables. Multi-variable tree analyses revealed lower BSID-III language composite scores at age 9-15 months predicted clinical CBCL internalising (p < 0.001), externalising (p = 0.004) and total scores (p < 0.001) at age 24-36 months. Lower maternal education levels also predicted clinical CBCL internalising (p < 0.0001), externalising (p < 0.001) and total scores (p < 0.0001). Lower language abilities and lower maternal education predict increased behavioural and emotional problems in toddlers with CHD. These risk factors should be considered during routine ND evaluations to allow for earlier identification of children with CHD and their families who may benefit from psychological support.

Consistency of Parental and Self-Reported Adolescent Wellbeing: Evidence From Developmental Language Disorder.

Research on adolescent wellbeing in Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) has previously been examined through measures of parent (proxy) or self-reported wellbeing, but never has a study included both and enabled comparison between the two. The current study reports parent and self rated wellbeing of adolescents with DLD and Low Language (LL) ability, as well as their typically developing (TD) peers. It also examines consistency between raters and factors influencing correspondence. Adolescents aged 10–11 with DLD (n = 30), LL (n = 29) or TD (n = 48) were recruited from eight UK primary schools. A battery of standardized language, psychosocial and wellbeing assessments, including the KIDSCREEN-27 were administered. Adolescent ratings of wellbeing were similar across groups on three of the five wellbeing dimensions, but those with DLD had lower self-reported Autonomy and Parental Relations than their TD peers, and both the DLD and LL group had lower School Environment scores than their TD peers. By parental report, the DLD and LL group were considered to have lower wellbeing on all five wellbeing dimensions relative to their TD peers. Paired sample t-test analyses indicated a high level of variance between parent and adolescent reported wellbeing for multiple wellbeing domains, especially Psychological Wellbeing. Importantly, predictors of the level of agreement between parent and adolescent reported psychological wellbeing differed between groups: cognitive reappraisal and sociability predicted this level of agreement for adolescents with LL, while social competence predicted agreement in DLD and TD. This study emphasizes the necessity of allowing adolescents of all language abilities to report their own wellbeing, as their perspective does not align with that of their parents. It also highlights the importance of including the full spectrum of need when investigating the impact of language ability on consistency between proxy and self-reported wellbeing.

The role of negative emotionality in the development of child executive function and language abilities from toddlerhood to first grade: An adoption study.

Understanding the role of negative emotionality in the development of executive functioning (EF) and language skills can help identify developmental windows that may provide promising opportunities for intervention. In addition, because EF and language skills are, in part, genetically influenced, intergenerational transmission patterns are important to consider. The prospective parent-offspring adoption design used in this study provides a unique opportunity to examine the intergenerational transmission of EF and language skills. Participants were 561 children adopted around the time of birth. Accounting for birth mother EF and language contributions, we examined the role of child negative emotionality in toddlerhood (age 9 to 27 months) and childhood (age 4.5 to 7 years) on child EF and language skills in first grade (age 7 years). There was continuity in EF from age 27 months to 7 years, and in language ability from age 27 months to 7 years, with no cross-lagged effects between child EF and language ability. Negative emotionality at age 9 months predicted lower EF and lower language abilities at age 7 years, and growth in negative emotionality from age 4.5 to 7 years predicted lower child EF at age 7 years. Overall, findings suggested that lower negative emotionality at age 9 months was associated with higher toddler and child EF and language skills and that preventing growth in negative emotionality from age 4.5 to 7 years may lead to improvements in child EF. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Predictors in Infancy for Language and Academic Outcomes at 11 Years.

To examine the contribution of early life factors and preschool- and school-aged language abilities to children's 11-year language and academic outcomes. Participants (N = 839) were from a prospective community cohort study of 1910 infants recruited at 8 to 10 months of age. Early life factors included a combination of child (prematurity, birth weight), family (socioeconomic disadvantage, family history of language difficulties), and maternal factors (education, vocabulary, and age). Language (standardized assessment of receptive and expressive skills) and academic (national assessment) outcomes at 11 years were predicted by using a series of multivariable regression models. Early life factors explained 11% to 12% of variance in language scores at 11 years. The variance explained increased to 47% to 64% when language scores from 2 to 7 years were included. The largest increase in variance explained was with 4-year language scores. The same early life factors explained 13% to 14% of academic scores at 11 years, with increases to 43% to 54% when language scores from 2 to 11 years were included. Early life factors adequately discriminated between children with typical and low language scores but were much better discriminators of children with typical and low academic scores. When earlier language scores were added to models then the area under the curve increased to 0.9 and above. Children's language outcomes at 11 years are accurately predicted by their 4-year language ability and their academic outcomes at 11 years are predicted by early family and home environment factors. Children with low language abilities at 11 years consistently performed more poorly on national assessments of literacy and numeracy.

Trajectories of pure and co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems from early childhood to adolescence: Associations with early childhood individual and contextual antecedents.

As internalizing and externalizing problems often co-occur, the current study utilized a longitudinal dataset of 784 at-risk children (predominantly from low-income families and academically at-risk; 52.6% male) followed yearly from Grade 1 to Grade 12 to: (a) explore the heterogeneity in the codevelopment patterns of internalizing and externalizing problems by using a person-centered approach, and (b) investigate early childhood antecedents that might explain differentiated codevelopmental patterns. The antecedents consisted of individual (i.e., ego-resilient personality, intelligence, language ability, gender, and ethnicity) and contextual factors (i.e., maternal support and responsiveness, family socioeconomic adversity, teacher-child relationship conflict, and peer rejection). We identified 4 distinct codevelopment patterns including a chronic co-occurring group (30.1%), a moderate co-occurring group (28.5%), a pure-externalizing group (18.6%), and a low-risk group (22.8%). While children who belonged to any of the 3 higher risk groups exhibited more adverse early childhood antecedents compared with the low-risk group, the chronic co-occurring group displayed the most severe profiles of early childhood antecedents compared with the moderate co-occurring and the pure-externalizing groups. Common antecedents for the 3 higher risk groups were lower ego-resilient personality, higher teacher-child relationship conflict, being male, and being African American. Low language ability and peer rejection were identified as unique antecedents for the chronic co-occurring group. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Enhancing Comprehension of Lecture Content in a Foreign Language as the Medium of Instruction: Comparing Speech-to-Text Recognition With Speech-Enabled Language Translation

Scholars suggest that not every student completely comprehends the content of a lecture in a foreign language as the medium of instruction, especially in the case of those with low language ability. To facilitate comprehension of lectures in a foreign language, learning content was presented to students in multiple modalities; that is, in addition to verbal (speech of the instructor) and visual (lecture slides) content, texts generated by speech-to-text recognition (STR) or speech-enabled language translation (SELT) were shown to the students. The goal was to compare how these two additional content modalities (i.e., STR-texts vs. SELT-texts) facilitate student comprehension of lecture content. Because processing multimodal content requires additional cognitive resources, another goal was to explore whether STR-texts versus SELT-texts impose any cognitive load on the students. To this end, two groups of students were recruited, where they attended two lectures at the intermediate and advanced levels. STR-texts were shown to a control group, and SELT-texts were shown to an experimental group. The posttest results and the cognitive load of the students in both groups after each lecture were compared. Four main findings were obtained: (a) The experimental group outperformed the control group on both posttests. However, when student language ability was considered, the difference was statistically significant for low ability students only; (b) there was not a significant between-group difference in cognitive load; however, if student language ability was considered, a significant between-group difference existed during the more difficult lecture; (c) between-group differences in self-efficacy were statistically insignificant; and (d) associations among some research variables were found. Based on these results, several implications were drawn for the teaching and research community.