scholarly journals The Morphosyntactic Abilities of Bilingual Malay Preschool Children Based on the Malay and English Sentence Repetition Tasks

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zur Hanis Hamim ◽  
Rogayah Abdul Razak ◽  
Badrulzaman Abdul Hamid
Keyword(s):  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Function Words ◽  
English Sentence ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Language Difficulties ◽  
Age Factor ◽  
And Function ◽  
Repetition Task

Sentence repetition task has been proven to be a tool that can detect language difficulties and is indicative of abnormal language. In Malaysia, studies on the language abilities of bilingual children in sentence repetition (SR) tasks are sparse. Therefore, this study is aimed at examining the morphosyntactic abilities of 60 bilingual Malay children aged 4;0 to 6;11 based on SR tasks in Malay (L1) and English (L2). In the SR task, participants were asked to listen carefully to sentences being read out and then repeat verbatim the sentences heard. Their responses were scored based on accuracy, syntax, grammar, and word categories. The findings demonstrated a significant difference between the two languages in terms of accuracy [df= 118, t=1.990, p= .049]; the Malay language had statistically higher scores compared to English scores. There was also a significant difference on the performance based on age factor, [Malay (df5,54=3.561, p= .007); English (df5,54=2.894, p= .022)]. The results also revealed that the omission of both content and function words was more prominent compared to other error types. A triangulation of the quantitative and qualitative data was done. The findings highlighted the morphosyntactic abilities of the bilingual children in both languages and error patterns produced.

scholarly journals The acquisition of relative clauses in Russian and Polish in monolingual and bilingual children

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 216-248
Author(s):  
Alla V. Peeters-Podgaevskaja ◽  
Bibi E. Janssen ◽  
Anne E. Baker
Keyword(s):  
Relative Clause ◽  
Relative Clauses ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Case Marking ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Subject And Object ◽  
Repetition Task

Abstract In this paper, we present the results on (re)production of relative clauses in a sentence repetition task by Russian and Polish monolingual and bilingual children (3;6–6;6 years). Russian and Polish both involve overt case marking in the relative clause formation, but the case marking in Polish is more regular and transparent. Our results suggest that, when case marking is the only disambiguating cue, its transparency and regularity contributes to a significantly better performance. This explains why the Polish children, both monolingual and bilingual, were more successful in reproduction of subject and object relatives compared to their Russian peers.

scholarly journals Sentence Repetition as a Clinical Marker of Developmental Language Disorder: Evidence From Arabic

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Juhayna Taha ◽  
Vesna Stojanovik ◽  
Emma Pagnamenta
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Language Disorder ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Scoring Methods ◽  
Developmental Language Disorder ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Palestinian Arabic ◽  
Arabic Speaking ◽  
Repetition Task

Purpose: Research on the typical and impaired grammatical acquisition of Arabic is limited. This study systematically examined the morphosyntactic abilities of Arabic-speaking children with and without developmental language disorder (DLD) using a novel sentence repetition task. The usefulness of the task as an indicator of DLD in Arabic was determined. Method: A LITMUS (Language Impairment Testing in Multilingual Settings) sentence repetition task was developed in Palestinian Arabic (LITMUS-SR-PA-72) and administered to 30 children with DLD ( M = 61.50 months, SD = 11.27) and 60 age-matched typically developing (TD) children ( M = 63.85 months, SD = 10.16). The task targeted grammatical structures known to be problematic for Arabic-speaking children with DLD (language specific) and children with DLD across languages (language independent). Responses were scored using binary, error, and structural scoring methods. Results: Children with DLD scored below TD children on the LITMUS-SR-PA-72, in general, and in the repetition of language-specific and language-independent structures. The frequency of morphosyntactic errors was higher in the DLD group relative to the TD group. Despite the large similarity of the type of morphosyntactic errors between the two groups, some atypical errors were exclusively produced by the DLD group. The three scoring methods showed good diagnostic power in the discrimination between children with DLD and children without DLD. Conclusions: Sentence repetition was an area of difficulty for Palestinian Arabic–speaking children with DLD. The DLD group demonstrated difficulties with language-specific and language-independent structures, particularly complex sentences with noncanonical word order. Most grammatical errors made by the DLD group resembled those of the TD group and were mostly omissions or substitutions of grammatical affixes or omissions of function words. SR appears to hold promise as a good indicator for the presence or absence of DLD in Arabic. Further validation of these findings using population-based studies is warranted. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16968043

scholarly journals Neuropsychological and Syntactic Deficits in HIV Seropositive Males

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-118
Author(s):  
Maria Kambanaros ◽  
Lambros Messinis ◽  
Mina Psichogiou ◽  
Lydia Leonidou ◽  
Charalambos A. Gogos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Care ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Language Deficits ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Neurocognitive Measures ◽  
Hiv Seropositive ◽  
Repetition Task

Objective: Given the underlying frontal-basal ganglia circuit neuropathogenesis of HIV-infected individuals, it is surprising that little is reported about potential language deficits as part of their higher cognitive dysfunctional profile. This study aims to elucidate whether HIV-positive individuals have linguistic impairments that may originate from or be intensified by deficits in cognitive functions. The research questions address (i) quantitative differences in sentence repetition abilities involving complex syntactic phenomena between adults with HIV and non-HIV healthy controls (ii) correlations of sentence repetition scores with neurocognitive measures and (iii) correlation of sentence repetition performance with duration and severity of HIV. Methods: A battery of neuropsychological tests were administered to 40 HIV - seropositive males and 40 demographically matched healthy controls to assess verbal learning/episodic memory, psychomotor speed, executive functions and visuospatial abilities. Language abilities were evaluated using a repetition task that screened specific complex syntactic operations at the sentence-level. Results: A significant difference was noted between the two groups regarding correct repetition of the sentence repetition task with the control group outperforming the HIV-seropositive group. For the HIV group, significant correlations were found for correct sentence repetition with years of education, duration of illness, Mini-Mental State Examination, semantic and phonemic fluency, symbol digit modality test scores, and the Trail Making Test (parts A and B). Conclusion: Speech-language pathologists and neuropsychologists should screen for language deficits associated with the different clinical syndromes in HIV patients as part of their routine clinical care.

scholarly journals Theory of Mind, Executive Functions, and Syntax in Bilingual Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Languages ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 67
Author(s):  
Maria Andreou ◽  
Ianthi Maria Tsimpli ◽  
Stephanie Durrleman ◽  
Eleni Peristeri
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Children With Asd ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Adverbial Clause ◽  
Repetition Task

Impairments in Theory of Mind (ToM) are a core feature of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ToM may be enhanced by various factors, including bilingualism, executive functions (EF), and complex syntax. This work investigates the language-cognition interface in ASD by exploring whether ToM can be enhanced by bilingualism, whether such ToM boosts would be due to EF or syntax, and whether routes to mentalizing would differ between bilinguals and monolinguals on the spectrum. Twenty-seven monolingual Greek-speaking and twenty-nine bilingual Albanian-Greek children with ASD were tested on ToM reasoning in verbal and low-verbal ToM tasks, an executive function 2-back task, and a sentence repetition task. Results revealed that bilingual children with ASD performed better than monolinguals with ASD in the low-verbal ToM and the 2-back tasks. In the sentence repetition task, bilinguals scored higher than monolinguals in complex sentences, and specifically in adverbials and relatives. Regarding the relations between ToM, EF, and sentence repetition, the monolingual group’s performance in the verbal ToM tasks was associated with complement syntax, whereas, for the bilingual children with ASD, performance in both verbal and low-verbal ToM tasks was associated with EF and adverbial clause repetition. The overall pattern of results suggests that mentalizing may follow distinct pathways across the two groups.

Language performance of sequential bilinguals on an Irish and English sentence repetition task

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 359-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanislava Antonijevic ◽  
Ruth Durham ◽  
Íde Ní Chonghaile
Keyword(s):  
School Age Children ◽  
Educational Setting ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Language Performance ◽  
English Sentence ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Language Assessments ◽  
Test Languages ◽  
Bilingual School ◽  
Repetition Task

Abstract Currently there are no standardized language assessments for English-Irish bilingual school age children that would test languages in a comparable way. There are also no standardized language assessments of Irish for this age group. The current study aimed to design comparable language assessments in both languages targeting structures known to be challenging for children with language impairments. A sentence repetition (SRep) task equivalent to the English SRep task (Marinis, Chiat, Armon-Lotem, Piper, & Roy, 2011) was designed for Irish. Twenty-four typically developing, sequential bilingual children immersed in Irish in the educational setting performed better on the English SRep task than on the Irish SRep task. Different patterns were observed in language performance across sentence types with performance on relative clauses being particularly poor in Irish. Similarly, differences were observed in error patterns with the highest number of errors of omission in Irish, and the highest number of substitution errors in English.

Acoustic Scanning and Syntactic Processing Three Reading Experiments — First and Second Language Learners

1974 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 275-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Evelyn Hatch ◽  
Pam Polin ◽  
Susan Part
Keyword(s):  
Language Learners ◽  
Foreign Students ◽  
Second Language Learners ◽  
Syntactic Processing ◽  
Function Word ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Word Position ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Relationship

To test the acoustic scanning hypothesis for reading, three experiments were conducted with monolingual and bilingual subjects. Ss performed a crossout task, cancelling letters in a text as they read it for comprehension. Letters remaining uncancelled were then analyzed. In Experiment 1, letters were frequently unmarked in function words, words which are highly predictable since they serve primarily to mark case relationships between content words. Changing passage difficulty did not effect the ratio of letters marked in content and function words. No significant difference was found between monolingual and highly-proficient bilinguals. In Experiments 2 and 3, Anglos marked letters in content words and especially in syllables receiving primary or secondary stress, leaving uncancelled those in unstressed function word position. Less proficient foreign students marked almost equal numbers of letters in function and content words and in stressed and unstressed positions. They also marked letters in digraphs as frequently as in single grapheme to phoneme correspondences. In the experiments, Anglos used acoustic scanning along with prediction of syntax for the task; less proficient bilinguals did not. The relationship between acoustic scanning and syntactic processing is discussed and suggestions for classroom application of the findings are included.

scholarly journals A verbális mondatemlékezet sajátosságai középiskolás korban

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mária Laczkó
Keyword(s):  
Verbal Memory ◽  
Memory Capacity ◽  
Test Material ◽  
School Type ◽  
Grammar School ◽  
Grammatical Structure ◽  
Technical School ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Age Factor ◽  
Repetition Task

The aim of present research is to analyse the verbal memory of teenagers on the basis of their sentence repetition task. We try to answer the question whether the age and the school type how can characterize their sentence repetition. Our hypothesis was, that the age and the school type can influance on their sentence repetition but the  influance of the school type is stronger than the age factor. We also thought that the structure of the sentences and the number of the syllables of the words whic construct the sentences can influance the punctuality of their sentence repetition results. In order to discuss the hypothesis the series of experiment was carried out with the participation of teenagers (16 and 18 years, from the secondary grammar and secondary technical school). The test material consisted of 20 sentences, the students task was to repeat them after they had heard them. The analysis was in terms of punctuality, and we also analysed the length and the grammatical structure of the sentences in tems of the punctuality, furthermore the unfilled pauses occurring during the repetiton task and the time of the pauses, even the the types of errors in the incorrect sentences. The statistical anlysis was also done. The results showed that the elder students reached better achievement especielly those who are studying in the grammar school The repetition of shorter sentences was also better. The analysis of mistakes showed different results in terms of the school type and proved the memory capacity problems of the students studying in different school type.

Sentence repetition as a marker of language skills in children with dyslexia

2013 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 203-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
KRISTINA MOLL ◽  
CHARLES HULME ◽  
SONALI NAG ◽  
MARGARET J. SNOWLING
Keyword(s):  
Oral Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Group Effect ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Complex Sentences ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Error Analyses ◽  
Language Difficulties ◽  
Independent Effects

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the role of length and complexity on sentence repetition in children with dyslexia and typical readers. Length and complexity each had independent effects on sentence repetition, and children with dyslexia performed more poorly than typical readers. This group effect was attributable to individual differences in language rather than memory skills. Error analyses revealed that content words (specifically adjectives) were more likely to be omitted in longer than in shorter sentences independent of complexity. In complex sentences, function words (specifically prepositions) were the most vulnerable to errors, particularly for a subgroup of children with dyslexia who had oral language difficulties. It is proposed that deficits in sentence repetition are indicative of language difficulties in children with dyslexia.

Can a novel word repetition task be a language-neutral assessment tool? Evidence from Welsh–English bilingual children

2013 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn M Sharp ◽  
Virginia C Mueller Gathercole
Keyword(s):  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Speech And Language ◽  
Language Abilities ◽  
Word Repetition ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Specific Assessment ◽  
Atypical Development ◽  
Repetition Task ◽  
At Home

In recent years, there has been growing recognition of a need for a general, non-language-specific assessment tool that could be used to evaluate general speech and language abilities in children, especially to assist in identifying atypical development in bilingual children who speak a language unfamiliar to the assessor. It has been suggested that a non-word repetition task (NWRT) may be a suitable candidate to fill this role, as it does not rely on knowledge of particular words for performance, and it may be possible to devise non-words that are not specific to any given language. The current study reports performance on a Welsh non-word repetition task by typically developing Welsh–English bilingual children with varying levels of exposure to Welsh in the home (Only Welsh at Home, Only English at Home, or Welsh and English at Home). The focus of the study was on repetition of initial consonants and consonant clusters in novel words. Both quantitative and qualitative differences were found across groups, according to level of exposure to Welsh, on sounds unique to Welsh, but not on sounds shared by Welsh and English. The data suggest that level of knowledge of the language tested has an important impact on children’s performance on non-word repetition and that the use of the NWRT as a universal speech and language assessment tool should be adopted with caution.

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