A Discourse Approach to Language Disorders: Investigating Complex Sentence Production

1991 ◽  
pp. 283-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Skarakis-Doyle ◽  
Michelle Mentis
Keyword(s):  
Language Disorders ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
Complex Sentence

scholarly journals Does the Use of Complex Sentences Differentiate Between Bilinguals With and Without DLD? Evidence From Conversation and Narrative Tasks

2022 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanne Paradis ◽  
Tamara Sorenson Duncan ◽  
Stephanie Thomlinson ◽  
Brian Rusk
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Adverbial Clauses

Over-identification of language disorder among bilingual children with typical development (TD) is a risk factor in assessment. One strategy for improving assessment accuracy with bilingual children is to determine which linguistic sub-domains differentiate bilingual children with TD from bilingual children with developmental language disorder (DLD). To date, little research on sequential bilinguals with TD and DLD has focussed on complex (multi-clausal) sentences in naturalistic production, even though this is a noted domain of weakness for school-age monolinguals with DLD. Accordingly, we sought to determine if there were differences in the use of complex sentences in conversational and narrative tasks between school-age sequential bilinguals with TD and with DLD at the early stages of L2 acquisition. We administered a conversation and a narrative task to 63 English L2 children with TD and DLD, aged 5–7 years with 2 years of exposure to the L2. Children had diverse first language backgrounds. The L2-TD and L2-DLD groups were matched for age, length of L2 exposure and general L2 proficiency (receptive vocabulary size). Language samples from both tasks were coded and analyzed for the use of complex versus simple sentences, for the distribution of complex sentence types, for clausal density and mean length of utterance (MLU). Complex sentences included coordinated clauses, sentential complement clauses, adverbial clauses and relative clauses. Using regression modelling and PERMANOVA, we found that the L2-TD group produced more complex sentences than the L2-DLD group, with coordinated clauses, adverbial clauses and relative clauses differing the most between the groups. Furthermore, the two groups differed for mean clausal density, but not for MLU, indicating that clausal density and MLU did not estimate identical morphosyntactic abilities. Individual variation in complex sentence production for L2-TD was predicted by longer L2 exposure and task; by contrast, for L2-DLD, it was predicted by older age. This study indicates that complex sentence production is an area of weakness for bilingual children with DLD, as it is for monolinguals with DLD. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Linguistic Trade-Offs in School-Age Children With and Without Language Disorders

1992 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 1064-1075 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie J. Masterson ◽  
Alan G. Kamhi
Keyword(s):  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Reading Disabilities ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
School Age Children ◽  
School Age ◽  
Language Learning Disabilities ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Trade Offs

Factors influencing the occurrence of trade-off effects among linguistic components were examined. Several linguistic measures were used to represent syntactic and phonological production in order to determine whether interrelationship patterns would vary across measures. Linguistic interactions present in imitated speech were compared to those from spontaneous speech. Group effects were explored by comparing data from children with language-learning disabilities, children with reading disabilities, and normally developing children. Results indicated trade-offs between some linguistic measures and positive relationships among others. More trade-offs were present in imitated speech than in spontaneous utterances. In general, interrelationship patterns were similar across groups. Interpretation of these results in reference to current models of sentence production is offered.

scholarly journals A "Core Skills" Approach to the Assessment of Acquired Language Disorders: Exploration and Cross-Validation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Victoria Lee
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Classical Model ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
Language Function ◽  
Production Task ◽  
Clinical Tool ◽  
Post Stroke ◽  
The Core

<p>The majority of diagnostic assessments of aphasia—an acquired language disorder that commonly occurs after stroke or brain injury—are based upon the classical model of language. A major limitation of these diagnostic assessments is that they are based upon a very simple neuroanatomical model of language function. In the decades since the classical model, cognitive theories of language function have developed considerably, which provides a much richer framework for the assessment of acquired language disorders. On the basis of this framework, Faulkner, Wilshire, Parker, and Cunningham (2015) developed the Brief Language Assessment for Surgical Tumours (BLAST) for the assessment of language function in brain tumour patients, based upon the notion that language can be decomposed into core cognitive skills. In the current thesis, we evaluate the efficacy of the BLAST in individuals with chronic post-stroke aphasia, cross-validate the core cognitive skills identified by the BLAST with independent measures argued to index the same theoretical construct, and evaluate whether an individual’s linguistic profile on the BLAST is predictive of performance on a more naturalistic sentence production task. The results from the current research can be divided into three primary findings. First, we found that the BLAST could be administered to individuals with post-stroke aphasia, and that the linguistic profiles provided by the BLAST extend far beyond the predictions derived from neural localization and classical diagnostic assessments. Second, we found support for the validity of five of the core cognitive skills. Third, we found some support for the notion that performance on the BLAST may be predictive of performance on a more naturalistic sentence production task. In short, the current findings suggest that the BLAST holds potential as a clinical tool for the assessment of language function in a range of different neurological populations.</p>

Assessment of Complex Sentence Production in a Narrative Context

1999 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dawn M. Gummersall ◽  
Carol J. Strong
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairments ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
Sentence Structure ◽  
Complex Sentence ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Story Retelling ◽  
Assessment Protocol ◽  
Normal Limits ◽  
Syntactic Skills ◽  
Meaningful Context

This study focused on eliciting and assessing complex sentence structure in a meaningful discourse context. The effect of clinician support (modeling of specific structures and practice with the structures) on the subsequent use of complex sentence structures in story retelling was studied. Experiment 1 was conducted with students demonstrating language abilities within normal limits. Because these initial results were promising, Experiment 2 was conducted with students demonstrating language impairments. The results of these experiments indicated, first, that amount of exposure to the stimulus is a critical variable affecting length and syntactic complexity in story retelling. Evidence further supported the use of modeling and practice of specific structures when assessing students’ syntactic skills. The assessment protocol used in these experiments was found to be useful for eliciting a large number and variety of complex syntactic structures in a meaningful context from children with and without language impairments.

scholarly journals A "Core Skills" Approach to the Assessment of Acquired Language Disorders: Exploration and Cross-Validation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Victoria Lee
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Classical Model ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Sentence Production ◽  
Language Function ◽  
Production Task ◽  
Clinical Tool ◽  
Post Stroke ◽  
The Core

<p>The majority of diagnostic assessments of aphasia—an acquired language disorder that commonly occurs after stroke or brain injury—are based upon the classical model of language. A major limitation of these diagnostic assessments is that they are based upon a very simple neuroanatomical model of language function. In the decades since the classical model, cognitive theories of language function have developed considerably, which provides a much richer framework for the assessment of acquired language disorders. On the basis of this framework, Faulkner, Wilshire, Parker, and Cunningham (2015) developed the Brief Language Assessment for Surgical Tumours (BLAST) for the assessment of language function in brain tumour patients, based upon the notion that language can be decomposed into core cognitive skills. In the current thesis, we evaluate the efficacy of the BLAST in individuals with chronic post-stroke aphasia, cross-validate the core cognitive skills identified by the BLAST with independent measures argued to index the same theoretical construct, and evaluate whether an individual’s linguistic profile on the BLAST is predictive of performance on a more naturalistic sentence production task. The results from the current research can be divided into three primary findings. First, we found that the BLAST could be administered to individuals with post-stroke aphasia, and that the linguistic profiles provided by the BLAST extend far beyond the predictions derived from neural localization and classical diagnostic assessments. Second, we found support for the validity of five of the core cognitive skills. Third, we found some support for the notion that performance on the BLAST may be predictive of performance on a more naturalistic sentence production task. In short, the current findings suggest that the BLAST holds potential as a clinical tool for the assessment of language function in a range of different neurological populations.</p>

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