Sample records for preschool language development
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Language development and assessment in the preschool period.
Conti-Ramsden, Gina; Durkin, Kevin
2012-12-01
Most young children make significant progress in learning language during the first 4 years of life. Delays or differences in patterns of language acquisition are sensitive indicators of developmental problems. The dynamic, complex nature of language and the variability in the timing of its acquisition poses a number of challenges for the assessment of young children. This paper summarises the key developmental milestones of language development in the preschool years, providing a backdrop for understanding difficulties with language learning. Children with specific language impairment (SLI) are characterised illustrating the types of language difficulties they exhibit. Genetic evidence for language impairment suggests complex interactions among multiple genes of small effect. There are few consistent neurobiological abnormalities and currently there is no identified neurobiological signature for language difficulties. The assessment of young children's language skills thus focuses on the evaluation of their performances in comparison to typically developing peers. Assessment of language abilities in preschool children should involve an evaluation of both expressive and receptive skills and should include an evaluation of more than one dimension of language. The use of a single measure of a language component, such as vocabulary, is considered inadequate for determining whether preschool children have typical language or language impairment. Available evidence supports the inclusion of measures of phonological short-term memory in the assessment of the language abilities of preschool children. Further study of genetic, neurobiological and early behavioural correlates of language impairments in preschool children is needed.
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Supporting Children's Oral Language Development in the Preschool Classroom
Whorrall, Jennifer; Cabell, Sonia Q.
2016-01-01
Supporting children's oral language development during the preschool years is critical for later reading success. Research shows that preschool teachers may be missing opportunities to engage children in the kinds of conversations that foster the development of rich oral language skills. Teachers hoping to support these skills can provide children…
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Preschool Teachers' Language Use in Sociodramatic Play
Meacham, Sohyun
2013-01-01
Preschool teachers' language use has been described in recent research, as preschoolers' language development is found to be an important preparation for later reading development. Based on existing research on teachers' language use in sociodramatic play, however, it is still unclear how teachers use their language specifically in sociodramatic…
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Cross-Language Associations in the Development of Preschoolers' Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary.
Maier, Michelle F; Bohlmann, Natalie L; Palacios, Natalia A
The increasing population of dual language learners (DLLs) entering preschool classrooms highlights a continued need for research on the development of dual language acquisition, and specifically vocabulary skills, in this age group. This study describes young DLL children's ( N = 177) vocabulary development in both English and Spanish simultaneously, and how vocabulary skills in each language relate to one another, during a contextual shift that places greater emphasis on the acquisition of academic English language skills. Findings demonstrated that DLL preschoolers made gains in vocabulary in both languages with more change evidenced in receptive, in comparison to expressive, vocabulary as well as in English in comparison to Spanish. When examining whether children's vocabulary scores in one language at the beginning of preschool interact with their vocabulary scores in the other language to predict vocabulary growth, no significant associations were found for receptive vocabulary. In contrast, the interaction between initial English and Spanish expressive vocabulary scores was negatively related to growth in English expressive vocabulary. This cross-language association suggests that children who have low expressive vocabulary skills in both languages tend to grow faster in their English expressive vocabulary. The study extends previous work on dual language development by examining growth in expressive and receptive vocabulary in both English and Spanish. It also provides suggestions for future work to inform a more comprehensive understanding of DLL children's development in both languages.
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Spoken language development in oral preschool children with permanent childhood deafness.
Sarant, Julia Z; Holt, Colleen M; Dowell, Richard C; Rickards, Field W; Blamey, Peter J
2009-01-01
This article documented spoken language outcomes for preschool children with hearing loss and examined the relationships between language abilities and characteristics of children such as degree of hearing loss, cognitive abilities, age at entry to early intervention, and parent involvement in children's intervention programs. Participants were evaluated using a combination of the Child Development Inventory, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and the Preschool Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals depending on their age at the time of assessment. Maternal education, cognitive ability, and family involvement were also measured. Over half of the children who participated in this study had poor language outcomes overall. No significant differences were found in language outcomes on any of the measures for children who were diagnosed early and those diagnosed later. Multiple regression analyses showed that family participation, degree of hearing loss, and cognitive ability significantly predicted language outcomes and together accounted for almost 60% of the variance in scores. This article highlights the importance of family participation in intervention programs to enable children to achieve optimal language outcomes. Further work may clarify the effects of early diagnosis on language outcomes for preschool children.
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Language Development in Preschool-Age Children Adopted from China.
Roberts, Jenny A.; Pollock, Karen E.; Krakow, Rena; Price, Johanna; Fulmer, Kathleen C.; Wang, Paul P.
2005-01-01
This study examined the language development of 55 preschool-age children adopted from China who had resided in their permanent homes for approximately 2 years or longer. Slightly over 5% of the children scored below average on 2 or more measures from a battery of standardized speech-language tests normed on monolingual English speakers. However,…
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Sawyer, Brook E.; Manz, Patricia H.; Martin, Kristin A.
2017-01-01
Guided by Bronfenbrenner's bio-ecological theory of human development and Moll's theory of funds of knowledge, the aim of this qualitative study was to examine the beliefs of parents and early childhood teachers on (a) the language development of Spanish-speaking preschool dual language learners (DLLs) and (b) how they can collaborate to support…
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Martini, Mary
The Preschool Language Assessment Instrument (PLAI) was designed as a diagnostic tool for 3- to 6-year-old children to assess children's abilities to use language to solve thinking problems typically posed by teachers. The PLAI was developed after observing middle-class teachers in preschool classrooms encourage children to use language in…
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Language development in preschool children born after asymmetrical intrauterine growth retardation.
Simić Klarić, Andrea; Kolundžić, Zdravko; Galić, Slavka; Mejaški Bošnjak, Vlatka
2012-03-01
After intrauterine growth retardation, many minor neurodevelopmental disorders may occur, especially in the motor skills domain, language and speech development, and cognitive functions. The assessment of language development and impact of postnatal head growth in preschool children born with asymmetrical intrauterine growth retardation. Examinees were born at term with birth weight below the 10th percentile for gestational age, parity and gender. Mean age at the time of study was six years and four months. The control group was matched according to chronological and gestational age, gender and maternal education with mean age six years and five months. There were 50 children with intrauterine growth retardation and 50 controls, 28 girls and 22 boys in each group. For the assessment of language development Reynell Developmental Language Scale, the Naming test and Mottier test were performed. There were statistically significant differences (p language comprehension, total expressive language (vocabulary, structure, content), naming skills and non-words repetition. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between relative growth of the head [(Actual head circumference - head circumference at birth)/(Body weight - birth weight)] and language outcome. Children with neonatal complications had lower results (p language comprehension and total expressive language. Intrauterine growth retardation has a negative impact on language development which is evident in preschool years. Slow postnatal head growth is correlated with poorer language outcome. Neonatal complications were negatively correlated with language comprehension and total expressive language. Copyright © 2011 European Paediatric Neurology Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Markova, Ivana
2017-01-01
This research compared the relative impact of different preschool activities on the development of bilingual students' English-language skills. The study investigated whether bilingual preschool children would engage more, and use more of their second language (English), during free-play (non-academic) versus teacher-structured (academic)…
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Language Learning in Outdoor Environments: Perspectives of preschool staff
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Martina Norling
2015-03-01
Full Text Available Language environment is highlighted as an important area in the early childhood education sector. The term language environment refers to language-promoting aspects of education, such as preschool staff’s use of verbal language in interacting with the children. There is a lack of research about language learning in outdoor environments; thus children’s language learning is mostly based on the indoor physical environment. The aim of this study is therefore to explore, analyse, and describe how preschool staff perceive language learning in outdoor environments. The data consists of focus-group interviews with 165 preschool staff members, conducted in three cities in Sweden. The study is meaningful, thus results contribute knowledge regarding preschool staffs’ understandings of language learning in outdoor environments and develop insights to help preschool staff stimulate children’s language learning in outdoor environments.
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Vocabulary of preschool children with typical language development and socioeducational variables.
Moretti, Thaís Cristina da Freiria; Kuroishi, Rita Cristina Sadako; Mandrá, Patrícia Pupin
2017-03-09
To investigate the correlation between age, socioeconomic status (SES), and performance on emissive and receptive vocabulary tests in children with typical language development. The study sample was composed of 60 preschool children of both genders, aged 3 years to 5 years 11 months, with typical language development divided into three groups: G I (mean age=3 years 6 months), G II (mean age=4 years 4 months) and G III (mean age=5 years 9 months). The ABFW Child Language Test - Vocabulary and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) for emissive and receptive language were applied to the preschoolers. The socioeconomic classification questionnaire of the Brazilian Association of Survey Companies (ABEP) was applied to the preschoolers' parents/legal guardians. Data were analyzed according to the criteria of the aforementioned instruments and were arranged in Excel spreadsheet for Windows XP®. A multiple linear regression model was used, adopting a statistical significance level of 5%, to analyze the correlation between age, SES, and performance on the receptive and emissive vocabulary tests. In the ABEP questionnaire, participants were classified mostly into social level C (63.3%), followed by levels B (26.6%) and D (10%). The preschoolers investigated presented emissive and receptive vocabulary adequate for the age groups. No statistically significant difference was found for the variables age and SES regarding emissive and receptive vocabulary. Higher test scores were observed with increased age and SES, for social levels "B" compared with "D" and for "C" with "D". The variables age and socioeconomic status influenced the performance on emissive and receptive vocabulary tests in the study group.
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Mother and preschool teacher as assessors of the child's language competence
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Urška Fekonja Peklaj
2008-04-01
Full Text Available Many researchers include child's parents as assessors of his/her language development as the results of many studies suggest their assessments to be valid and reliable measures of child's language competence. In the longitudinal study, presented in this paper, we examined whether child's mother and his/her preschool teacher can provide a valid estimation of child's language development. The sample included 80 Slovenian children from different preschool institutions, aged 3;1 years at first and 4;1 years at second assessment. Children's language competence was assessed individually, directly by the testators using Language Development Scale and Storytelling Test and indirectly by mothers and preschool teachers using the Child's Language Competence Questionnaire for Parents and Preschool Teachers. The achieved results showed that the estimates given by mothers and preschool teachers represent valid measures of child's language competence but not stable in time. The estimations given by mothers and preschool teachers explain a small share in variability of children's achievements on the Language Development Scale and Storytelling Test.
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V N Kartashova
2015-12-01
Full Text Available The article describes the conditions of intellectual development of preschool children during foreign language teaching in the developmental subject-spatial environment of a preschool educational institution. The creation of developing educational and subject-spatial environment gives the opportunity to implement different programs. When creating the developing educational environment a particular emphasis is given to the foreign language. Teaching a foreign language helps reach the goals not only of the formation of foreign language communicative skills of preschool children, of introduction to a foreign culture, but also solve challenges of his intellectual development. Several types of interaction of the child with objects of the surrounding world are identified. They are latent, real and mediated. The main ways to stimulate intellectual development of the preschool child are described (the creation of a favorable psychological environment; ensuring the opportunity to actively ask questions of divergent type due to the enrichment of meaningful context of a child’s life; the widespread use of questions relating to the most diverse areas with the aim of developing children’s observation. These methods can be considered as pedagogical conditions which will allow us to create the environment for the personal development of the child. The article presents the experience of their implementation. The main approach is integrative-game. This approach supposes the inclusion the integration of different types of children’s activities (visual, musical-rhythmic, theatrical for the joint execution of tasks focused on the development of the child in the process of foreign language teaching.
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Simon-Cereijido, Gabriela
2015-05-01
About a quarter of young children in the United States are dual language learners. The large majority are Latino children who are exposed to Spanish in their homes. The language needs of Latino dual language preschoolers are different from the needs of monolingual English-speaking children. As a group, they are likely to live in environments that put them at risk of delays in language development. This situation is direr for dual language preschoolers with language impairment. Recent findings from studies on interventions for Spanish-English preschoolers with language impairment suggest that a bilingual approach does not delay English vocabulary and oral language learning and promotes Spanish maintenance. Targets and strategies for different language domains are described. The effects of pullout versus push-in interventions for this population are preliminarily explored. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.
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Lindau, Tâmara Andrade; Rossi, Natalia Freitas; Giacheti, Celia Maria
2016-01-01
The objective was to test whether the Brazilian version of the Preschool Language Assessment Instrument - Second Edition (PLAI-2) has the potential to assess and identify differences in typical language development of Portuguese-speaking preschoolers. The study included 354 children of both genders with typical language development who were between the ages of 3 years and 5 years 11 months. The version of the PLAI-2 previously translated into Brazilian Portuguese was used to assess the communication skills of these preschool-age children. Statistically significant differences were found between the age groups, and the raw score tended to increase as a function of age. With nonstandardized assessments, the performances of the younger groups revealed behavioral profiles (e.g., nonresponsive, impulsive behavior) that directly influenced the evaluation. The findings of this study show that the PLAI-2 is effective in identifying differences in language development among Brazilian children of preschool age. Future research should include studies validating and standardizing these findings. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.
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Preschool literacy and second language learners
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Holm, Lars
in the literacy events they meet in their day-care centers and kindergartens? Examining these social practices in pre-schools might illuminate the interplay between language and literacy and the learning processes of second language learners and contribute to the discussion about the need for re...... intending to enhance children´s language and literacy learning. The poor results of the PISA-measurement have in Denmark, Norway and Sweden drawn much attention to literacy and language in day-care centers and kindergartens and resulted in the development of a considerable number of social technologies...... (programs and concepts) intended to improve pre-school children’s literacy and language skills. Seen in a knowledge-society perspective the development might be characterized as an expansion of a life-long-learning evidence-based strategy into early childhood. The importance of development of early...
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Winsler, A; Díaz, R M; Espinosa, L; Rodríguez, J L
1999-01-01
This article discusses two investigations which explored the bilingual language development outcomes of comparable groups of low-income, Spanish-speaking, Mexican American children who either did or did not attended a bilingual (Spanish/English) preschool. Study 1 is a replication of a study by Rodríguez, Díaz, Duran, and Espinosa, involving a new sample of 26 children who attended bilingual preschool for one year and 20 control children who remained at home. Study 2 represents a 1-year, longitudinal follow-up of Rodríguez et al.'s, sample of children during and after the children spent another year at home or in the preschool. In both investigations, standardized, objective measures of three components of children's language proficiency (productive language, receptive language, and language complexity) in English and Spanish were obtained at the beginning and end of the academic year. Contrary to fears that have been expressed by some that early exposure to English would lead to children's native language loss, the results of both studies offered no evidence of Spanish proficiency loss for children attending bilingual preschool. Children who attended bilingual preschool, compared to those who remained at home, showed significant and parallel gains in Spanish language development as well as significant and greater increases in English language proficiency over time. Results are discussed in terms of the need for more systematic research to be conducted in this area to inform policy and practice in the early education and development of language-minority children.
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Preschool Teachers' Language and Literacy Practices with Dual Language Learners.
Sawyer, Brook E; Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Cycyk, Lauren M; López, Lisa; Blair, Clancy; Sandilos, Lia; Komaroff, Eugene
The purposes of this study were to (a) examine the degree to which teachers used linguistically responsive practices to support the language and literacy development of Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learners (DLL) and (b) to investigate the associations between these practices and select teacher-level factors. The sample consisted of 72 preschool teachers. Observational data were collected on practices. Teachers self-reported on language and culture beliefs, Spanish speaking ability, and classroom composition. Results indicated that teachers, including those who spoke Spanish, used few linguistically responsive practices to support preschool DLLs. Only Spanish-speaking ability was related to practices. Implications for targeted professional development are discussed.
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The impact of reading on language development in the preschool children
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Ljubica Marjanovič Umek
2002-02-01
Full Text Available The importance of the role played by children's literature in the child's mental, social and linguistic development and in the development of his or her basic academic skills, such as reading andwriting, has been confirmed by numerous studies. A central issue in developmental psychology is what activities related to children's books exert an influence on the child's development and in what ways. Thisinterest in children's books and in child language development places our research into two scientific disciplines, viz. psychology and linguistics. The study explores the impact of systematic and regular readingof selected children's books in preschool institutions on the development of language competences in children aged four to six years, boys and girls. Other contributing factors whose relevance for languagedevelopment has been either postulated by theories or highlighted by empirical studies, are also observed - e.g. parents' education, number of books in the family, quality of education in the family (frequencyof conversations, visits to cultural events, reading books together, etc.. The children included in the study all attend a preschool institution with an educational program which is based on the national curriculumand which targets also the language area. The children in the experimental group are submitted to additional reading of selected children's literature. The development of children's linguistic competences isfollowed using two methods: analysis of answers on The Vane evaluation of language scale (The Vane-L and analysis of transcripts of story retelling after the child has been read H. Ch. Andersen's fairy taleThe Princess and the Pea. The results show, that the children who were systematically read selected children's books in their preschool groups, achieved significantly higher scores on the standardized Vanelanguage development scale and on the unstandardized test of retelling a story. Correlations between some of the
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Brannon, Diana; Dauksas, Linda
2014-01-01
The effectiveness of dialogic reading in increasing the literacy interactions between English language learning parents (ELL) and their preschool aged children and children's expressive language development were studied. Twenty-one ELL parents of preschool aged children received dialogic reading training every other week for a ten-week period.…
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Executive Functions, Oral Language and Writing in Preschool Children: Development and Correlations
Pazeto, Talita de Cassia Batista; Seabra, Alessandra Gotuzo; Dias, Natália Martins
2014-01-01
Executive functions (EF) and oral language (OL) are important for learning reading and writing (RW) and for the development of other skills in preschool. The study investigated the progression and the relationships between the performances in these competences in pre-schoolers. Participants were 90 children, mean age 4.91 years, students from Kindergarten years I and II of a private school in SP, assessed, individually, with a battery with nine instruments for EF, OL, and RW. There was increa...
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[Language Competence and Behavioural Problems in Preschool].
Rißling, J K; Melzer, J; Menke, B; Petermann, F; Daseking, M
2015-10-01
Children with language disorders are at increased risk of developing behavioural and emotional problems. The analysis focused on the question whether behavioural problems differ depending on the type of language deficit. The present study examines the behaviour of preschool children with different language impairments. The results of N=540 children aged between 4;0 and 5;11 years were analyzed. Language impairments were classified into phonetics/phonology (n=44), vocabulary (n=44), grammar (n=58), pragmatics (n=26) and multiple language impairments (n=171). In addition, a distinction was made between deficits in language production and comprehension. The children were compared with an unimpaired control group (n=197). The extent of emotional and behavioural problems were analyzed. The results indicate that emotional and behavioural problems differ depending on the type of language deficit already in preschoolers. Especially deficits in language comprehension, pragmatic impairments and multiple language impairments increase the risk of behavioural and emotional problems and hyperactivity. The relationship between language skills and emotional and behavioural problems should be emphasized in the developmental observation and documentation in preschool. In particular, the distinction between deficits in pragmatics and behavioural problems requires a differentiated examination to ensure an optimal intervention. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.
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Lebedeva T.V
2014-11-01
Full Text Available We discuss the possibilities of using a standardized method of psychological evaluation of the Russian language development in preschool children. We provide a rationale for the relevance of timely differentiation of children with language and speech difficulties in modern educational practice. We present the results of comparative analysis of language and speech development in the two groups of children 5-6 years old: normally developing (N=92 and with language and speech disorders (N=59. We describe the diagnostic potential of this research tool for clinical sample of children with speech and language disorders, reveal differences in the development of Russian language between the two groups of children. The data obtained can be used in solving the problems of differentiated correctional help to pre-school children with impaired language and speech development.
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Academic Language in Preschool: Research and Context
Michael Luna, Sara
2017-01-01
Developing and scaffolding academic language is an important job of preschool teachers. This Teaching Tip provides five strategies that extend the topic of academic language by integrating previous research and field-based data into classroom practice.
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Wong, Anita M-Y; Leung, Cynthia; Siu, Elaine K-L; Lam, Catherine C-C; Chan, Grace P-S
2011-01-01
This study reports on the development of the language subtest in the Preschool Developmental Assessment Scale (PDAS) for Cantonese-Chinese speaking children. A pilot pool of 158 items covering the two language modalities and the three language domains was developed. This initial item set was subsequently revised based on Rasch analyses of data from 324 multi-stage randomly selected children between 3 and 6 years of age. The revised 106-item set demonstrated adequate measurement properties, including targeting and uni-dimensionality. The revised 106-item set successfully discriminated preschool children in the three age groups, and between preschool children and their age peers with special education needs (SEN). Results from this study support the collection of normative data from a larger population sample of children to examine its accuracy in identifying language impairment in children with SEN. Test development procedures reported in this study provide insight for the development of language subtests in multi-domain developmental assessment tools for children speaking other varieties of Chinese. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Lonigan, Christopher J; Milburn, Trelani F
2017-08-16
Language is a multidimensional construct from prior to the beginning of formal schooling to near the end of elementary school. The primary goals of this study were to identify the dimensionality of language and to determine whether this dimensionality was consistent in children with typical language development from preschool through 5th grade. In a large sample of 1,895 children, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with 19-20 measures of language intended to represent 6 factors, including domains of vocabulary and syntax/grammar across modalities of expressive and receptive language, listening comprehension, and vocabulary depth. A 2-factor model with separate, highly correlated vocabulary and syntax factors provided the best fit to the data, and this model of language dimensionality was consistent from preschool through 5th grade. This study found that there are fewer dimensions than are often suggested or represented by the myriad subtests in commonly used standardized tests of language. The identified 2-dimensional (vocabulary and syntax) model of language has significant implications for the conceptualization and measurement of the language skills of children in the age range from preschool to 5th grade, including the study of typical and atypical language development, the study of the developmental and educational influences of language, and classification and intervention in clinical practice. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5154220.
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Volden, Joanne; Smith, Isabel M.; Szatmari, Peter; Bryson, Susan; Fombonne, Eric; Mirenda, Pat; Roberts, Wendy; Vaillancourt, Tracy; Waddell, Charlotte; Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie; Georgiades, Stelios; Duku, Eric; Thompson, Ann
2011-01-01
Purpose: The Preschool Language Scale, Fourth Edition (PLS-4; Zimmerman, Steiner, & Pond, 2002) was used to examine syntactic and semantic language skills in preschool children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to determine its suitability for use with this population. We expected that PLS-4 performance would be better in more…
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Schwartz, Mila
2014-01-01
The aim of this exploratory study was to examine the role of the "First Language First" model for preschool bilingual education in the development of vocabulary depth. The languages studied were Russian (L1) and Hebrew (L2) among bilingual children aged 4-5 years in Israel. According to this model, the children's first language of…
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Gosse, Carolyn S.; McGinty, Anita S.; Mashburn, Andrew J.; Hoffman, LaVae M.; Pianta, Robert C.
2014-01-01
The present study examined the extent to which preschool classroom supports--relational support (RS) and instructional support (IS)--are associated with children's language development and whether these associations vary as a function of children's language ability. The language skills of 360 children within 95 classrooms were assessed using an…
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Nash, Hannah M.; Hulme, Charles; Gooch, Debbie; Snowling, Margaret J.
2013-01-01
Background: Children at family risk of dyslexia have been reported to show phonological deficits as well as broader language delays in the preschool years. Method: The preschool language skills of 112 children at family risk of dyslexia (FR) at ages 3½ and 4½ were compared with those of children with SLI and typically developing (TD) controls.…
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Promoting Oral Language Skills in Preschool Children through Sociodramatic Play in the Classroom
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P.L.N. Randima Rajapaksha
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Children best learn language through playful learning experiences in the preschool classroom. The present study focused on developing oral language skills in preschool children through a sociodramatic play intervention. The study employed a case study design under qualitative approach. The researcher conducted a sociodramatic play intervention collaboratively with the class teacher for a group of 10 children selected utilizing purposive sampling method in a preschool classroom. The intervention was conducted in a preschool located in Colombo, Sri Lanka for 3 weeks. The observation, interview and reflective journal were the instrument used to collect data. The observation carried under two criteria namely, ability to initiate a conversation and ability to respond in a conversation revealed that the sociodramatic play intervention created many opportunities to develop oral language skills in the children than the regular classroom activities. The sociodramatic play activities enhanced children's oral language skills while creating a language rich playful learning experiences. Keywords: Language development, Early childhood education, Sociodramatic play
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Kindergarten Impacts of a Preschool Language-Focused Intervention
Johanson, Megan; Justice, Laura M.; Logan, Jessica
2016-01-01
Many preschool language-focused interventions attempt to boost language and literacy skills in young children at risk in these areas of development, though the long-term effects of such interventions are not well-established. This study investigated kindergarten language and reading skills, specifically the subcomponents of vocabulary, decoding,…
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Kindergarten Impacts of a Preschool Language Focused-Intervention
Johanson, Megan; Justice, Laura M.; Logan, Jessica
2016-01-01
Many preschool language-focused interventions attempt to boost language and literacy skills in young children at risk in these areas of development, though the long-term effects of such interventions are not well-established. This study investigated kindergarten language and reading skills, specifically the subcomponents of vocabulary, decoding,…
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Assessing Toddler Language Competence: Agreement of Parents' and Preschool Teachers' Assessments
Marjanovic-Umek, Ljubica; Fekonja, Urska; Podlesek, Anja; Kranjc, Simona
2011-01-01
According to the findings of several studies, parents' assessments of their toddler's language are valid and reliable evaluations of children's language competence, especially at early development stages. This study examined whether preschool teachers, who spend a relatively great deal of time with toddlers in various preschool activities and…
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Pragmatics in pre-schoolers with language impairments.
Geurts, Hilde; Embrechts, Mariëtte
2010-01-01
Pragmatic assessment methods are very diverse and differ in informant type. Some rely on parents, others on teachers/professionals and some directly test pragmatic abilities in the children themselves. A widely used pragmatic parent questionnaire is the Children's Communication Checklist--2 (CCC-2). However, it is not known how scores on the CCC-2 relate to direct measures of pragmatics. The aim of the current study is determine whether children's language patterns on pragmatics obtained with a parent questionnaire were converging with findings when the children were directly tested with a pragmatic test. The CCC-2 and the Nijmegen Pragmatics Test (NPT) were applied to 24 pre-schoolers (aged 4-7 years) with various language impairments and 33 age-matched typically developing pre-schoolers. Both pragmatic language instruments clearly differentiated between pre-schoolers with language impairments and those without language impairments. However, the obtained correlations between the different measures were low to moderate. The specificity of each of the instruments was sufficient, but the sensitivity was generally poor. The instruments were not always converging, but when the instruments did converge the obtained results were valid. However, the obtained high specificity and relatively low sensitivity values for each of the instruments showed that better cut-off scores are needed. When only one of the instruments indicated the absence or presence of language impairments, one needs to be careful in concluding whether or not there are indeed language impairments.
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Executive functions, oral language and writing in preschool children: Development and correlations
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Talita de Cassia Batista Pazeto
2014-05-01
Full Text Available Executive functions (EF and oral language (OL are important for learning reading and writing (RW and for the development of other skills in preschool. The study investigated the progression and the relationships between the performances in these competences in pre-schoolers. Participants were 90 children, mean age 4.91 years, students from Kindergarten years I and II of a private school in SP, assessed, individually, with a battery with nine instruments for EF, OL, and RW. There was increase of the performances as a result of educational level for all OL and RW measures, but only for attention in the field of EF. Significant correlations were found between the measurements assessing the same cognitive domain, as well as inter-domain, although portraying a different pattern. The results indicate that OL and RW seem to develop rapidly in the course of preschool, while the EF have slower development. The fields of OL and RW, EF and RW are more interdependent, and EF and OL are relatively independent.
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Developing Preschool Deaf Children's Language and Literacy Learning from an Educational Media Series
Golos, Debbie B.; Moses, Annie M.
2013-01-01
With the increase in research on multiliteracies comes greater interest in exploring multiple pathways of learning for deaf children. Educational media have been increasingly examined as a tool for facilitating the development of deaf children's language and literacy skills. The authors investigated whether preschool deaf children (N = 31)…
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Lonigan, Christopher J.; Milburn, Trelani F.
2017-01-01
Purpose: Language is a multidimensional construct from prior to the beginning of formal schooling to near the end of elementary school. The primary goals of this study were to identify the dimensionality of language and to determine whether this dimensionality was consistent in children with typical language development from preschool through 5th…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Nuryani Sidarta
2016-04-01
Full Text Available Prevalence rates for speech and language delay have been reported across wide ranges. Speech and language delay affects 5% to 8% of preschool children, often persisting into the school years. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 208 children aged 48-59 months to determine the validity and reliability of the Indonesian edition of the Preschool Language Scale version 4 (PLS4 as a screening tool for the identification of language development disorders. Construct validity was examined by using Pearson correlation coefficient. Internal consistency was tested and repeated measurements were taken to establish the stability coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC for test-retest reliability. For construct validity, the Pearson correlation coefficient ranged from 0.151-0.526, indicating that all questions in this instrument were valid for measuring auditory comprehension (AC and expressive communication skills (EC. Cronbach’s alpha level ranged from 0.81-0.95 with standard error of measurement (SEM ranging from 3.1-3.3. Stability coefficients ranged from 0.98-.0.99 with ICC coefficient ranging from 0.97-0.99 both of which showed an excellent reliability. This study found that PLS-4 is a valid and reliable instrument. It is easy to handle and can be recommended for assessing language development in children aged 48-59 months.
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Differentiated Rates of Growth across Preschool Dual Language Learners
Lambert, Richard G.; Kim, Do-Hong; Durham, Sean; Burts, Diane C.
2017-01-01
This study illustrates why preschool children who are dual language learners (DLLs) are not a homogeneous group. An empirically developed model of preschool DLL subgroups, based on latent class analysis, was presented. The model reflects three separate subgroups of DLL children present in many classrooms where DLL children are served: Bilinguals,…
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Promoting Oral Language Skills in Preschool Children through Sociodramatic Play in the Classroom
Rajapaksha, P. L. N. Randima
2016-01-01
Children best learn language through playful learning experiences in the preschool classroom. The present study focused on developing oral language skills in preschool children through a sociodramatic play intervention. The study employed a case study design under qualitative approach. The researcher conducted a sociodramatic play intervention…
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Banerjee, Rashida; Alsalman, Amani; Alqafari, Shehana
2016-01-01
English language learners are often at risk for communication and language delays--crucial elements in the foundation of early literacy skills. Studies have shown that preschool children involved in sociodramatic play demonstrate greater proficiency and interest in language development and reading. The manuscript shares evidence-based strategies…
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Redefining Individual Growth and Development Indicators: Oral Language
Bradfield, Tracy A.; Besner, Amanda C.; Wackerle-Hollman, Alisha K.; Albano, Anthony D.; Rodriguez, Michael C.; McConnell, Scott R.
2014-01-01
Language skills developed during preschool contribute strongly to later reading and academic achievement. Effective preschool assessment and intervention should focus on core components of language development, specifically oral language skills. The Early Language and Literacy Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs) are a set of…
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Harris, S L; Handleman, J S; Kristoff, B; Bass, L; Gordon, R
1990-03-01
Five young children with autism enrolled in a segregated class, five other children with autism in an integrated class, and four normally developing peer children in the integrated class were compared for developmental changes in language ability as measured by the Preschool Language Scale before and after training. The results, based on Mann-Whitney U tests, showed that (a) all of the children as a group made better than normative progress in rate of language development, (b) the scores of the autistic children were significantly lower than the peers before and after treatment, and (c) there were no significant differences in changes in language ability between the autistic children in the segregated and integrated classes.
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Huennekens, Mary Ellen; Xu, Yaoying
2010-01-01
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a shared reading experience between parent and child in the child's home language on the emergent literacy and language acquisition in English of preschool-age English Language Learners. Parents of Spanish-speaking four-year-old Head Start students read storybooks in Spanish with their…
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Merriman, W J; Barnett, B E
1995-12-01
This study was undertaken to explore the relationship between language skills and gross-motor skills of 28 preschool children from two private preschools in New York City. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients were calculated for language (revised Preschool Language Scale) and gross motor (Test of Gross Motor Development) scores. Locomotor skills were significantly related to both auditory comprehension and verbal ability while object control scores did not correlate significantly with either language score. These results were discussed in terms of previous research and with reference to dynamical systems theory. Suggestions for research were made.
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Horowitz, Laura; Westlund, Karolina; Ljungberg, Tomas
2007-01-01
Objective: This study examined conflict behavior in naturalistic preschool settings to better understand the role of non-affiliative behavior and language in conflict management. Method: Free-play at preschool was filmed among 20 boys with typically developing language (TL) and among 11 boys with Language Impairment (LI); the boys 4-7 years old.…
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Associations between Preschool Language and First Grade Reading Outcomes in Bilingual Children
Davison, Megan Dunn; Hammer, Carol; Lawrence, Frank R.
2011-01-01
It is well established that monolingual preschoolers' oral language development (vocabulary and oral comprehension) contributes to their later reading abilities; however, less is known about this relationship in bilingual populations where children are developing knowledge of two languages. It may be that children's abilities in one language do…
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Kim, Ahyoung Alicia; Kondo, Akira; Castro, Mariana
2016-01-01
Due to the increase in the number of preschool-aged dual language learners (DLLs), there is a need to understand their language development and how to better support them. Although DLLs' language development has traditionally been studied from a structuralist perspective, few have examined their language use from a functional approach, which…
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Lynch, Jacqueline; Owston, Ron
2015-01-01
Given the limited research on preschool teachers' beliefs about teaching language and literacy in the preschool years, as well as on their conceptual understanding of children's language and literacy development, this study examined the beliefs of 79 preschool teachers who had at least a 2-year diploma in early childhood education. All were…
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Early Language and Reading Development of Bilingual Preschoolers From Low-Income Families.
Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Miccio, Adele W
2006-01-01
Learning to read is a complex process and a number of factors affect a child's success in beginning reading. This complexity increases when a child's home language differs from that of the school and when the child comes from a home with limited economic resources. This article discusses factors that have been shown to contribute to children's success in early reading, namely-phonological awareness, letter-word identification, oral language, and the home literacy environment. Preliminary evidence suggests that bilingual children from low-income backgrounds initially perform poorly on phonological awareness and letter identification tasks, but appear to acquire these abilities quickly in kindergarten once these abilities are emphasized in early reading instruction. In addition, the findings show that bilingual preschoolers' receptive language abilities in English and Spanish positively impact their early letter-word identification abilities at the end of kindergarten. A positive relationship between bilingual preschoolers' home literacy environment and early reading outcomes has not been found to date. Educational implications for serving young, bilingual children from programs such as Head Start are discussed.
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Boyd, Sally; Huss, Leena; Ottesjö, Cajsa
2017-01-01
This paper presents results from an ethnographic study of language policy as it is enacted in everyday interaction in two language profile preschools in Sweden with explicit monolingual language policies: English and Finnish, respectively. However, in both preschools, children are free to choose language or code alternate. The study shows how…
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Preschool language assessment instrument, second edition, in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children.
Lindau, Tâmara Andrade; Rossi, Natalia Freitas; Giacheti, Célia Maria
2014-01-01
To present a brief report on the initial results of the application of Preschool Language Assessment Instrument, second edition, in Brazilian Portuguese-speaking children. The study included 300 children with typical language development, from both genders, aged from 3 to 5 years and 11 months, as proposed by the original test version. After translation, back-translation, and adaptation of the second edition of the Preschool Language Assessment Instrument, the instrument was administered to investigate the receptive and expressive language skills. There was a significant difference between the average gross scores of the three groups for both "receptive" and "expressive" language skills, and a growing tendency of scores according to age. After analysis, we found that versions translated and adapted for Brazilian Portuguese speakers allow one to evaluate and discriminate the performance of children in receptive and expressive language skills, according to age group, as well as the original version.
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Nash, Hannah M.; Hulme, Charles; Gooch, Debbie; Snowling, Margaret J.
2015-01-01
Background Children at family risk of dyslexia have been reported to show phonological deficits as well as broader language delays in the preschool years. Method The preschool language skills of 112 children at family risk of dyslexia (FR) at ages 3½ and 4½ were compared with those of children with SLI and typically developing (TD) controls. Results Children at FR showed two different profiles: one third of the group resembled the children with SLI and scored poorly across multiple domains of language including phonology. As a group, the remaining children had difficulties on tasks tapping phonological skills at T1 and T2. At the individual level, we confirmed that some FR children had both phonological and broader oral language difficulties (compared with TD controls), some had only phonological difficulties and some appeared to be developing typically. Conclusions We have highlighted the early overlap between family risk of dyslexia and SLI. A family history of dyslexia carries an increased risk for SLI and the two disorders both show an increased incidence of phonological deficits which appear to a proximal risk factor for developing a reading impairment. PMID:23772651
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Mulia Dewi
2015-01-01
Full Text Available The Indonesian community generally perceives that English language teaching should require phonology, vocabulary, grammar, discourse, and pragmatics. As a result, this often demands that pre-school teachers use English all the time. Code switching between English, Indonesian, and Minang – the local language of the region – is perceived negatively, and teachers are often criticized for using a multilingual approach that is “part snake and part eel” [sakarek ula sakarek baluik]. This refers to a negative perception of mixing languages in educational settings. In fact, code switching between Minang (first language, Indonesian (second language, and English (foreign language is the norm of language use in this part of Indonesia. However, in this community, there is a lack of respect for pre-school teachers' professionalism as well as scepticism towards the effectiveness of a multilingual teaching approach, which is used widely at the pre-school level. Vygotsky [14], the Russian psychologist, presents a different perspective on this phenomenon, noting that children learn languages by playing. Their first language can be the main tool to help them understand new words and utterances in context. By using code switching, teachers help pre-school children to link their prior knowledge and experience to the new forms of expression that enable them to derive the meaning of new words from the social context of language use. For this reason, scaffolding techniques should be used by pre-school teachers, particularly in ways which support children's cognitive development in constructing new meanings based on their first language experience. This paper, based on a research study-in-progress at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, explores patterns of interaction between pre-school teachers and their students as teachers scaffold the development of EFL through dramatic play in West Sumatera, Indonesia. This interaction is systemic in nature and
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Exploring the Role of the Speech-language Therapist in City Centre Preschools
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sandra du Plessis
2012-12-01
Full Text Available This study investigates the perception of the strengths and challenges that face city centre preschool teachers and preschool learners in the acquisition of English as medium of instruction and to use the results to explore the role of speech-language therapists in this context. A descriptive survey, incorporating a quantitative data collection method, was selected as the research design and a questionnaire was developed as a survey instrument. The findings identified the strengths as including the creative communication strategies employed by the pre-schoolers and the innovative techniques of the teachers. Perceived challenges include a cultural and linguistic mismatch between teachers and learners and communication barriers that cause emotional and behavioural problems in classrooms. The study suggests that speech-language therapists need to consider and employ service delivery models instead of traditional models with the preschool teachers.
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O'Neill, Sarah; Thornton, Veronica; Marks, David J; Rajendran, Khushmand; Halperin, Jeffrey M
2016-05-01
Early inattention is associated with later reading problems in children, but the mechanism by which this occurs is unclear. We investigated whether the negative relation between preschoolers' ADHD symptoms and 8-year-old reading achievement is directly related to the severity of inattention or is mediated by early language skills. Children (n = 150; 76% boys) were evaluated at 3 time points: preschool (T1), mean (SD) age = 4.24 (.49) years; 1 year later (T2), mean (SD) age = 5.28 (.50) years; and during school age (T3), mean (SD) age = 8.61 (.31) years. At T1, parents' Kiddie-SADS responses were dimensionalized to reflect ADHD severity. Children completed the Language domain of the NEPSY (i.e., A Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment) at T1 and again at T2. At T3, children completed the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, Second Edition Word Reading, Pseudoword Decoding, Reading Comprehension, and Spelling subtests, and their teachers completed ratings of Reading and Written Expression performance in school. The mediating effect of T2 Language on the relation between preschool Inattention and age 8 Reading was examined using the nonparametric bootstrapping procedure, while controlling for T1 Language. Language ability at T2 mediated the path from preschool inattention (but not hyperactivity/impulsivity) to 8-year-old reading achievement (both test scores and ratings) after controlling for preschoolers' language ability. Early attentional deficits may negatively impact school-age reading outcomes by compromising the development of language skills, which in turn imperils later reading achievement. Screening children with attentional problems for language impairment, as well as implementing early intervention for both attentional and language problems may be critical to promote reading achievement during school years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).
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High prevalence/low severity language delay in preschool children born very preterm.
Foster-Cohen, Susan H; Friesen, Myron D; Champion, Patricia R; Woodward, Lianne J
2010-10-01
To examine the language development at corrected age 4 years of a regionally representative cohort of children born very preterm (VPT). Of particular interest was the identification of biological and socioenvironmental risk and protective factors that influence VPT children's early language development. Data were collected as part of a prospective longitudinal study of 110 VPT (VPT: ≤ 33 weeks gestation) and 113 full-term children (full term: 37-41 weeks gestation) born in Canterbury, New Zealand from 1998 to 2000. At corrected age 4 years, all children were assessed with the preschool version of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals. Extensive information was also collected about children's family social background, perinatal health, childrearing environment, education/intervention exposures, and neurodevelopmental progress from birth to age 4. At the age of 4 years, VPT children were characterized by poorer receptive and expressive language development than full-term children. These differences persisted after exclusion of children with neurosensory impairment as well as statistical adjustment for the effects of social risk. Within the VPT group, the key predictors of children's overall language development were family social risk at birth (p =.05), severity of white matter abnormalities on neonatal magnetic resonance imaging (p =.49), observed parent-child synchrony (p =.001), and concurrent child cognitive ability (p =.001). Together, these factors accounted for 45% of the variance in children's total Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Preschool scores. By preschool age, children born VPT show early emerging mild to moderate language delays that are likely to affect their school success and longer-term developmental progress. Findings highlight the importance of potentially modifiable factors such as early brain injury and parenting quality in predicting the language outcomes of children born VPT.
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Cycyk, Lauren M; Bitetti, Dana; Hammer, Carol Scheffner
2015-08-01
This study examined the impact of maternal depressive symptomatology and social support on the English and Spanish language growth of young bilingual children from low-income backgrounds. It was hypothesized that maternal depression would slow children's development in both languages but that social support would buffer the negative effect. Longitudinal data were collected from 83 mothers of Puerto Rican descent and their children who were attending Head Start preschool for 2 years. The effects of maternal depressive symptomatology and social support from family and friends on receptive vocabulary and oral comprehension development in both languages were examined. Growth curve modeling revealed that maternal depressive symptomatology negatively affected Spanish receptive vocabulary development only. Maternal depression did not affect children's English receptive vocabulary or their oral comprehension in either language. Social support was not related to maternal depressive symptomatology or child language. These findings suggest that maternal depression is 1 risk factor that contributes to less robust primary language development of bilingual children from low-income households. Speech-language pathologists must (a) increase their awareness of maternal depression in order to provide families with appropriate mental health referrals and (b) consider their roles as supportive adults for children whose mothers may be depressed.
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Expressive and receptive language skills in preschool children from a socially disadvantaged area.
Ryan, Ashling; Gibbon, Fiona E; O'shea, Aoife
2016-02-01
Evidence suggests that children present with receptive language skills that are equivalent to or more advanced than expressive language skills. This profile holds true for typical and delayed language development. This study aimed to determine if such a profile existed for preschool children from an area of social deprivation and to investigate if particular language skills influence any differences found between expressive and receptive skills. Data from 187 CELF P2 UK assessments conducted on preschool children from two socially disadvantaged areas in a city in southern Ireland. A significant difference was found between Receptive Language Index (RLI) and Expressive Language Index (ELI) scores with Receptive scores found to be lower than Expressive scores. The majority (78.6%) of participants had a lower Receptive Language than Expressive score (RLI ELI), with very few (3.2%) having the same Receptive and Expressive scores (RLI = ELI). Scores for the Concepts and Following Directions (receptive) sub-test were significantly lower than for the other receptive sub tests, while scores for the Expressive Vocabulary sub-test were significantly higher than for the other expressive sub tests. The finding of more advanced expressive than receptive language skills in socially deprived preschool children is previously unreported and clinically relevant for speech-language pathologists in identifying the needs of this population.
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Guiberson, Mark; Rodriguez, Barbara L.
2010-01-01
Purpose: To describe the concurrent validity and classification accuracy of 2 Spanish parent surveys of language development, the Spanish Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ; Squires, Potter, & Bricker, 1999) and the Pilot Inventario-III (Pilot INV-III; Guiberson, 2008a). Method: Forty-eight Spanish-speaking parents of preschool-age children…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ingēra Tomme-Jukēvica
2014-09-01
Full Text Available In Latvia there are no substantial studies on bilingual preschool children’s Latvian language as the second language. The article provides an overview of the 20th–21st century linguistic theories in the context of child second language acquisition as well as raises awareness about their influence on and use in the learning of preschoolers whose second language is Latvian, carrying out content analysis of the Minority Preschool Education Program (with instruction in Russian, the Latvian Language Program of X preschool education establishment, teaching resources (teaching aid kits, didactic handouts as well as the Latvian language as the second language study content. The conclusion is drawn that the theory of communicative competence and the systemic functional grammar theory prevail as well as the basic principles of the behavioral theory can be discerned. In the teaching resources and learning process it is advisable to more often incorporate the same language material repetition in different situations and new combinations. Consideration must be given to more positive and negative transfer (interference emphasis. To prevent children’s errors it is advisable to provide and incorporate special exercises in the teaching resources as well as methodological recommendations for the Latvian language teachers.
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Perceptual context and individual differences in the language proficiency of preschool children.
Banai, Karen; Yifat, Rachel
2016-02-01
Although the contribution of perceptual processes to language skills during infancy is well recognized, the role of perception in linguistic processing beyond infancy is not well understood. In the experiments reported here, we asked whether manipulating the perceptual context in which stimuli are presented across trials influences how preschool children perform visual (shape-size identification; Experiment 1) and auditory (syllable identification; Experiment 2) tasks. Another goal was to determine whether the sensitivity to perceptual context can explain part of the variance in oral language skills in typically developing preschool children. Perceptual context was manipulated by changing the relative frequency with which target visual (Experiment 1) and auditory (Experiment 2) stimuli were presented in arrays of fixed size, and identification of the target stimuli was tested. Oral language skills were assessed using vocabulary, word definition, and phonological awareness tasks. Changes in perceptual context influenced the performance of the majority of children on both identification tasks. Sensitivity to perceptual context accounted for 7% to 15% of the variance in language scores. We suggest that context effects are an outcome of a statistical learning process. Therefore, the current findings demonstrate that statistical learning can facilitate both visual and auditory identification processes in preschool children. Furthermore, consistent with previous findings in infants and in older children and adults, individual differences in statistical learning were found to be associated with individual differences in language skills of preschool children. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Castellanos, Irina; Kronenberger, William G; Beer, Jessica; Henning, Shirley C; Colson, Bethany G; Pisoni, David B
2014-07-01
Speech and language measures during grade school predict adolescent speech-language outcomes in children who receive cochlear implants (CIs), but no research has examined whether speech and language functioning at even younger ages is predictive of long-term outcomes in this population. The purpose of this study was to examine whether early preschool measures of speech and language performance predict speech-language functioning in long-term users of CIs. Early measures of speech intelligibility and receptive vocabulary (obtained during preschool ages of 3-6 years) in a sample of 35 prelingually deaf, early-implanted children predicted speech perception, language, and verbal working memory skills up to 18 years later. Age of onset of deafness and age at implantation added additional variance to preschool speech intelligibility in predicting some long-term outcome scores, but the relationship between preschool speech-language skills and later speech-language outcomes was not significantly attenuated by the addition of these hearing history variables. These findings suggest that speech and language development during the preschool years is predictive of long-term speech and language functioning in early-implanted, prelingually deaf children. As a result, measures of speech-language functioning at preschool ages can be used to identify and adjust interventions for very young CI users who may be at long-term risk for suboptimal speech and language outcomes.
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Patterson, Janet L; Rodríguez, Barbara L; Dale, Philip S
2013-02-01
The purpose of this study was to determine whether typically developing preschool children with bilingual experience show evidence of learning within brief dynamic assessment language tasks administered in a graduated prompting framework. Dynamic assessment has shown promise for accurate identification of language impairment in bilingual children, and a graduated prompting approach may be well-suited to screening for language impairment. Three dynamic language tasks with graduated prompting were presented to 32 typically developing 4-year-olds in the language to which the child had the most exposure (16 Spanish, 16 English). The tasks were a novel word learning task, a semantic task, and a phonological awareness task. Children's performance was significantly higher on the last 2 items compared with the first 2 items for the semantic and the novel word learning tasks among children who required a prompt on the 1st item. There was no significant difference between the 1st and last items on the phonological awareness task. Within-task improvements in children's performance for some tasks administered within a brief, graduated prompting framework were observed. Thus, children's responses to graduated prompting may be an indicator of modifiability, depending on the task type and level of difficulty.
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Lonigan, Christopher J; Allan, Darcey M; Goodrich, J Marc; Farrington, Amber L; Phillips, Beth M
Children's self-regulation, including components of executive function such as inhibitory control, is related concurrently and longitudinally with elementary school children's reading and math abilities. Although several recent studies have examined links between preschool children's self-regulation or executive function and their academic skill development, few included large numbers of Spanish-speaking language-minority children. Among the fastest growing segments of the U.S. school-age population, many of these children are at significant risk of academic difficulties. We examined the relations between inhibitory control and academic skills in a sample containing a large number of Spanish-speaking preschoolers. Overall, the children demonstrated substantial academic risk based on preschool-entry vocabulary scores in the below-average range. Children completed assessments of language, literacy, and math skills in English and Spanish, when appropriate, at the start and end of their preschool year, along with a measure of inhibitory control, the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task, which was administered at the start of the preschool year in the child's dominant conversational language. Scores on this last measure were lower for children for whom it was administered in Spanish. For both English and Spanish outcomes, those scores were significantly and uniquely associated with higher scores on measures of phonological awareness and math skills but not vocabulary or print knowledge skills.
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Horowitz, Laura; Jansson, Liselotte; Ljungberg, Tomas; Hedenbro, Monica
2005-01-01
Children with language impairment (LI) experience social difficulties, including conflict management. This paper is therefore motivated to examine behavioural processes guiding preschool peer conflict progression, which ultimately contributes to overall development. To describe behavioural sequences in conflicts between children with typically developing language (TL) and between children with LI. Attention is particularly focused on the conflict resolution strategy reconciliation, i.e. friendly contact between former opponents shortly following conflict termination. It is hypothesized that children with LI, with weaker language skills, experience difficulties attaining effective reconciliation. Unstructured play of 11 boys with LI (4-7-years-old), at a specialized language preschool, and 20 TL boys (4-6-years-old), at mainstream preschools, were video filmed. Conflicts were identified and recorded according to a validated coding system. Recorded conflict details included behavioural sequences constituting conflict cause (conflict period) and in the post-conflict period, reconciliatory behaviours that were classified into six 'categories' (Invitation to play, Body contact, Object offer, Verbal apology, Self-ridicule, Cognition, i.e. offering privileges/negotiating) and the verbal character of accepted behaviours were determined. The mean proportion of individual target children's conflicts in which specific behavioural sequences had occurred were calculated and thereafter compared between and within the groups. Boys with LI reconcile fewer conflicts than TL boys (LI: 47.3 +/- 4.5%; TL: 63.6 +/- 2.0%). Contributory factors include the occurrence of conflicts caused by aberrance, i.e. conflicts initiated by inappropriate behavioural play intensities (i.e. 'a pillow fight' where one partner swings so intensively the other partner cannot participate as a player in the game) and protests that are no longer directed to the opponent within reciprocal exchanges, but
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Gort, Mileidis; Sembiante, Sabrina Francesca
2015-01-01
In recent years, there has been a growing interest among policymakers, practitioners, and researchers in early bilingual development and the unique role of the educational setting's language policy in this development. In this article, we describe how one dual language preschool teacher, in partnership with two co-teachers, navigated the tensions…
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Child Development: Preschool Children.
Chiam, Heng Keng, Ed.
This book reports some of the results of an extensive study of the physical, cognitive, language, social, and emotional development of Malaysian children. Chapter 1 of the book describes the demographics of the sample. Subjects were 3,099 preschool children in the state of Selangor and the federal district of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Data is…
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Effectiveness of the Language Intervention Programme for Preschool Children.
Lousada, Marisa; Ramalho, Margarida; Marques, Carolina
2016-01-01
This paper investigates the effectiveness of the Language Intervention Programme for the treatment of 14 preschool-aged children with primary language impairment. We used a waiting list control design, in which half the sample (7 children) received immediate intervention with the Language Intervention Programme, whereas the remaining children received treatment after a 4-week delay. The intervention consisted of 8 individual biweekly sessions. Outcome measures of language ability (receptive semantic and morphosyntactic, expressive semantic and morphosyntactic, and metalinguistic) were taken before and after intervention. After 4 weeks of intervention, the experimental group showed significant improvements in language (receptive, expressive and metalinguistic skills), but no differences were found for those in the waiting control group. After 4 weeks of intervention for the control group, significant progress in language was also observed. The Language Intervention Programme was found to be effective in treating language skills of children with language impairment, providing clinical evidence for speech and language therapists to employ this programme for the treatment of preschool children with language disorders. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.
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Teacher-Child Relationships in Preschool Period: The Roles of Child Temperament and Language Skills
Yoleri, Sibel
2016-01-01
The aim of this study was to determine how children's temperament and language skills predict the effects of teacher-child relationships in preschool. Parents and preschool teachers completed three questionnaires: The Student-Teacher Relationship Scale, the Marmara Development Scale and the Short Temperament Scale for Children. The relational…
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Greenwood, Charles R.; Carta, Judith J.; Atwater, Jane; Goldstein, Howard; Kaminski, Ruth; McConnell, Scott
2013-01-01
Preschool experience plays a role in children's development. However, for programs with language and early literacy goals, the question remains whether preschool instructional experiences are sufficiently effective to achieve these goals for all children. In a multisite study, the authors conducted a process-product description of preschool…
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Exploring Bilingual Pedagogies in Dual Language Preschool Classrooms
Gort, Mileidis; Pontier, Ryan W.
2013-01-01
In this paper, we present an analysis of the language practices of four Spanish/English dual language (DL) preschool teachers, focusing on the ways in which the teachers mediate bilingual interactions with students and distribute Spanish and English across different classroom discourse functions. Findings reveal teachers' flexible and strategic…
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Bretherton, Lesley; Prior, Margot; Bavin, Edith; Cini, Eileen; Eadie, Patricia; Reilly, Sheena
2014-01-01
Following a biopsychosocial model, the study investigated the role of child factors (gender, IQ), maternal factors (psychological distress, maternal education and vocabulary, maternal distress) and environmental factors (SES) in the relationship between language impairment and behaviour problems in preschool children. Participants were drawn from…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Constance Vissers
2016-11-01
Full Text Available Children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI often experience emotional and social difficulties. In general, problems in social emotional functioning can be cognitively explained in terms of Theory of Mind (ToM. In this mini-review, an overview is provided of studies on social-emotional functioning and ToM in preschoolers (average age from 2.3 to 6.2 years with SLI. It is concluded that, similar to school-aged children with SLI, preschoolers with SLI have several social-emotional problems and that both cognitive and affective aspects of ToM are impaired in those children. Based hereon, three possible causal models for the interrelation between language, ToM and social emotional functioning are put forward. It is proposed that future research on the construct and measurement of early ToM, social emotional functioning and language development in preschoolers with SLI is needed to achieve early detection, tailored treatment, and ultimately insight into the pathogenesis of SLI.
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Preschool Predictors of Kindergarten Language Outcomes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Anne Walk
2015-01-01
Full Text Available The aim of the present study is to explore a variety of cognitive and social variables which are most relevant to children’s linguistic success in an educational setting. The study examines kindergarten English language outcomes in classrooms containing monolingual English speaking children and bilingual children who speak English and one other language. Data from the National Center for Early Development and Learning Multistate Study of Pre-Kindergarten (2001-2003 regarding classroom and student characteristics were used for bilingual (N = 120 and monolingual (N = 534 children. Hierarchical regression analysis (Study 1 and path analysis (Study 2 were conducted to determine the cognitive and social variables present in preschool that are most predictive of English skills in kindergarten. The results of the studies demonstrate that social variables were important for both monolingual and bilingual children. Personality variables were more predictive for monolingual children, whereas teacher relationship variables were more important for bilingual children. Simple and routine adult interaction was predictive of English skills in both groups, which may indicate the importance of implicit learning over explicit instruction in early language acquisition. The present studies found different predictors of English language skills for monolingual and bilingual kindergarteners.
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Which Preschool Children with Specific Language Impairment Receive Language Intervention?
Wittke, Kacie; Spaulding, Tammie J.
2018-01-01
Purpose: Potential biases in service provision for preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) were explored. Method: In Study 1, children with SLI receiving treatment (SLI-T) and those with SLI not receiving treatment (SLI-NT) were compared on demographic characteristics and developmental abilities. Study 2 recruited children with…
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Rinaldi, Pasquale; Caselli, Cristina
2009-01-01
We evaluated language development in deaf Italian preschoolers with hearing parents, taking into account the duration of formal language experience (i.e., the time elapsed since wearing a hearing aid and beginning language education) and different methods of language education. Twenty deaf children were matched with 20 hearing children for age and…
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Mealtimes in Swedish Preschools: Pedagogical Opportunities for Toddlers Learning a New Language
Kultti, Anne
2014-01-01
This paper reports on a study which explores how routine activities in preschool can support young multilingual children's participation, communication and development of languages. The paper takes as its starting point the idea that young children's development takes place through interaction and participation, including in routine activities.…
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Emergent Verbal Behavior in Preschool Children Learning a Second Language
May, Richard J.; Downs, Rachel; Marchant, Amanda; Dymond, Simon
2016-01-01
We evaluated the emergence of untaught second-language skills following directly taught listener and intraverbal responses. Three preschool children were taught first-language (English) listener responses (e.g., "Point to the horse") and second-language (Welsh) intraverbal responses (e.g., "What is horse in Welsh?" [ceffyl]).…
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Mcquaid, Nancy; Bigelow, Ann E.; McLaughlin, Jessica; MacLean, Kim
2008-01-01
Mothers' mental state language in conversation with their preschool children, and children's preschool attachment security were examined for their effects on children's mental state language and expressions of emotional understanding in their conversation. Children discussed an emotionally salient event with their mothers and then relayed the…
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Dilemmatic Aspects of Language Policies in a Trilingual Preschool Group
Puskás, Tünde; Björk-Willén, Polly
2017-01-01
This article explores dilemmatic aspects of language policies in a preschool group in which three languages (Swedish, Romani and Arabic) are spoken on an everyday basis. The article highlights the interplay between policy decisions on the societal level, the teachers' interpretations of these policies, as well as language practices on the micro…
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Early Writing Deficits in Preschoolers with Oral Language Difficulties
Puranik, Cynthia S.; Lonigan, Christopher J.
2012-01-01
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether preschool children with language impairments (LI), a group with documented reading difficulties, also experience writing difficulties. In addition, a purpose was to examine if the writing outcomes differed when children had concomitant cognitive deficits in addition to oral language problems. A…
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White, Lisa J; Alexander, Alexandra; Greenfield, Daryl B
2017-12-01
Early childhood marks a time of dynamic development within language and cognitive domains. Specifically, a body of research focuses on the development of language as related to executive functions, which are foundational cognitive skills that relate to both academic achievement and social-emotional development during early childhood and beyond. Although there is evidence to support the relationship between language and executive functions, existing studies focus mostly on vocabulary and fail to examine other components of language such as syntax and language learning skills. To address this gap, this study examined the relationship between executive functioning (EF) and three aspects of language: syntax, vocabulary, and language learning. A diverse sample of 182 children (67% Latino and 33% African American) attending Head Start were assessed on both EF and language ability. Findings demonstrated that EF related to a comprehensive latent construct of language composed of vocabulary, syntax, and language learning. EF also related to each individual component of language. This study furthers our understanding of the complex relationship between language and cognitive development by measuring EF as it relates to various components of language in a sample of preschoolers from low-income backgrounds. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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BARKER, R. MICHAEL; AKABA, SANAE; BRADY, NANCY C.; THIEMANN-BOURQUE, KATHY
2014-01-01
Little is known about how AAC use in preschool may impact language development for children with complex communication needs (e.g., children with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and other developmental disabilities). We developed two surveys (a) to describe children’s use of AAC in preschool classrooms, as well as the use of prompts and question asking, and augmented input by their communication partners; and (b) to describe teachers’ experience, training, and perceived support in providing AAC. We then examined the relationship between children’s experience of AAC, including the use of prompts, question asking, and augmented input by their partners, and the growth of receptive and expressive language for 71 children with developmental disabilities over a two-year period. The use of AAC by peers to provide augmented input was associated with stronger language growth; the use of prompting and question asking by teachers was associated with weaker language growth. Teachers reported that they received little training regarding ways to support a child’s use of AAC. Results suggest the need for further research on promoting AAC use at the preschool level, including research to promote peer interactions for AAC users. PMID:24229337
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Silven, Maarit; Rubinov, Evgenia
2010-01-01
Language proficiency before school entry has proven to be a powerful predictor of literacy development. This longitudinal study examined how simultaneous exposure to two richly inflected languages from birth contributes to the development of language-related literacy precursors at preschool age compared to peers exposed to one language. The…
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Goodrich, J Marc; Lonigan, Christopher J; Kleuver, Cherie G; Farver, Joann M
2016-09-01
In this study we evaluated the predictive validity of conceptual scoring. Two independent samples of Spanish-speaking language minority preschoolers (Sample 1: N = 96, mean age = 54·51 months, 54·3% male; Sample 2: N = 116, mean age = 60·70 months, 56·0% male) completed measures of receptive, expressive, and definitional vocabulary in their first (L1) and second (L2) languages at two time points approximately 9-12 months apart. We examined whether unique L1 and L2 vocabulary at time 1 predicted later L2 and L1 vocabulary, respectively. Results indicated that unique L1 vocabulary did not predict later L2 vocabulary after controlling for initial L2 vocabulary. An identical pattern of results emerged for L1 vocabulary outcomes. We also examined whether children acquired translational equivalents for words known in one language but not the other. Results indicated that children acquired translational equivalents, providing partial support for the transfer of vocabulary knowledge across languages.
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Kliewer, C
1995-06-01
Interactive and literacy-based language use of young children within the context of an inclusive preschool classroom was explored. An interpretivist framework and qualitative research methods, including participant observation, were used to examine and analyze language in five preschool classes that were composed of children with and without disabilities. Children's language use included spoken, written, signed, and typed. Results showed complex communicative and literacy language use on the part of young children outside conventional adult perspectives. Also, children who used expressive methods other than speech were often left out of the contexts where spoken language was richest and most complex.
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Marshall, Julie; Goldbart, Juliet; Phillips, Julie
2007-01-01
Parental and speech and language therapist (SLT) explanatory models may affect engagement with speech and language therapy, but there has been dearth of research in this area. This study investigated parents' and SLTs' views about language development, delay and intervention in pre-school children with language delay. The aims were to describe, explore and explain the thoughts, understandings, perceptions, beliefs, knowledge and feelings held by: a group of parents from East Manchester, UK, whose pre-school children had been referred with suspected language delay; and SLTs working in the same area, in relation to language development, language delay and language intervention. A total of 24 unstructured interviews were carried out: 15 with parents whose children had been referred for speech and language therapy and nine with SLTs who worked with pre-school children. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded using Atlas/ti. The data were analysed, subjected to respondent validation, and grounded theories and principled descriptions developed to explain and describe parents' and SLTs' beliefs and views. Parent and SLT data are presented separately. There are commonalities and differences between the parents and the SLTs. Both groups believe that language development and delay are influenced by both external and internal factors. Parents give more weight to the role of gender, imitation and personality and value television and videos, whereas the SLTs value the 'right environment' and listening skills and consider that health/disability and socio-economic factors are important. Parents see themselves as experts on their child and have varied ideas about the role of SLTs, which do not always accord with SLTs' views. The parents and SLTs differ in their views of the roles of imitation and play in intervention. Parents typically try strategies before seeing an SLT. These data suggest that parents' ideas vary and that, although parents and SLTs may share some
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Teenage outcomes after speech and language impairment at preschool age
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Ek U
2012-05-01
Full Text Available Ulla Ek1, Fritjof Norrelgen3,4, Joakim Westerlund2, Andrea Dahlman5, Elizabeth Hultby5, Elisabeth Fernell61Department of Special Education, 2Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden; 3Department of Speech and Language Pathology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden; 4Department of Clinical Neuroscience, 5CLINTEC/Division of Speech and Language Pathology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; 6The Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg and the Research and Development Centre, Skaraborg Hospital, Skövde, SwedenAim: Ten years ago, we published developmental data on a representative group of children (n = 25 with moderate or severe speech and language impairment, who were attending special preschools for children. The aim of this study was to perform a follow-up of these children as teenagers.Methods: Parents of 23 teenagers participated in a clinical interview that requested information on the child's current academic achievement, type of school, previous clinical assessments, and developmental diagnoses. Fifteen children participated in a speech and language evaluation, and 13 participated in a psychological evaluation.Results: Seven of the 23 teenagers had a mild intellectual disability, and another three had borderline intellectual functioning. Nine had symptoms of disorders on the autism spectrum; five of these had an autism spectrum disorder, and four had clear autistic traits. Six met criteria for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD/subthreshold ADHD. Thirteen of 15 teenagers had a moderate or severe language impairment, and 13 of 15 had a moderate or severe reading impairment. Overlapping disorders were frequent. None of the individuals who underwent the clinical evaluation were free from developmental problems.Conclusion: A large number of children with speech and language impairment at preschool age had persistent language problems and/or met the
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Emergent name-writing abilities of preschool-age children with language impairment.
Cabell, Sonia Q; Justice, Laura M; Zucker, Tricia A; McGinty, Anita S
2009-01-01
The 2 studies reported in this manuscript collectively address 3 aims: (a) to characterize the name-writing abilities of preschool-age children with language impairment (LI), (b) to identify those emergent literacy skills that are concurrently associated with name-writing abilities, and (c) to compare the name-writing abilities of children with LI to those of their typical language (TL) peers. Fifty-nine preschool-age children with LI were administered a battery of emergent literacy and language assessments, including a task in which the children were asked to write their first names. A subset of these children (n=23) was then compared to a TL-matched sample to characterize performance differences. Results showed that the name-writing abilities of preschoolers with LI were associated with skills in alphabet knowledge and print concepts. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that only alphabet knowledge uniquely contributed to the variance in concurrent name-writing abilities. In the matched comparison, the TL group demonstrated significantly more advanced name-writing representations than the LI group. Children with LI lag significantly behind their TL peers in name-writing abilities. Speech-language pathologists are encouraged to address the print-related skills of children with LI within their clinical interventions.
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From Home to School: Bridging the Language Gap in Mauritian Preschools
Auleear Owodally, Ambarin Mooznah
2010-01-01
Most Mauritian children face a language challenge as they leave their homes and start school. While most Mauritian children speak a French-lexified Creole as home language, the Mauritian primary education programme promotes English as the main language of literacy and the only written medium of instruction. In such a context, the preschool has the…
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Fojkar, Mateja Dagarin; Skubic, Darija
2017-01-01
The implementation of foreign languages in preschool education has prompted the need for qualified teachers. However, most recent studies report a gap between the supply of qualified foreign language teachers of young learners and the demand for such teachers as foreign languages are introduced earlier and earlier. The authors of this paper…
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Lithuanian narrative language at preschool age
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Ingrida Balčiūnienė
2012-05-01
Full Text Available The paper deals with the main linguistic indications of Lithuanian preschoolers’ narratives. The analysis is based on experimental data of 24 typically developing monolingual Lithuanian children (6–7 years of age from middle-class families, attending a state kindergarten in Kaunas (Lithuania. During the experiment, the children were asked to tell a story according to the Cat Story (Hickmann 1993 picture sequence. The stories were recorded, transcribed and annotated for an automatic analysis using CHILDES software. During the analysis, the syntactic complexity, lexical diversity, and general productivity (MLUw and type/token ratio of the narratives were investigated. The results indicated the main microstructural tendencies of Lithuanian narrative language at preschool age.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5128/ERYa8.02
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Conceptual Framework: Development of Interactive Reading Malay Language Learning System (I-ReaMaLLS
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Ismail Nurulisma
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Reading is very important to access knowledge. Reading skills starts during preschool level no matter of the types of languages. At present, there are many preschool children who are still unable to recognize letters or even words. This leads to the difficulties in reading. Therefore, there is a need of intervention in reading to overcome such problems. Thus, technologies were adapted in enhancing learning skills, especially in learning to read among the preschool children. Phonological is one of the factors to be considered to ensure a smooth of transition into reading. Phonological concept enables the first learner to easily learn reading such to learn reading Malay language. The medium of learning to read Malay language can be assisted via the supportive of multimedia technology to enhance the preschool children learning. Thus, an interactive system is proposed via a development of interactive reading Malay language learning system, which is called as I-ReaMaLLS. As a part of the development of I-ReaMaLLS, this paper focus on the development of conceptual framework in developing interactive reading Malay language learning system (I-ReaMaLLS. I-ReaMaLLS is voice based system that facilitates the preschool learner in learning reading Malay language. The conceptual framework of developing I-ReaMaLLS is conceptualized based on the initial study conducted via methods of literature review and observation with the preschool children, aged 5 – 6 years. As the result of the initial study, research objectives have been affirmed that finally contributes to the design of conceptual framework for the development of I-ReaMaLLS.
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Longhurst, Thomas M.
The second of four documents provides a summary of the scientific literature pertaining to spontaneous language acquisition in handicapped preschool children, and reviews and evaluates procedures for assessing language acquisition in these children. Chapter l focuses on language development in nonhandicapped children after they have acquired their…
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Language development in early childhood in relation to child's gender and parental education
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Urška Fekonja
2005-04-01
Full Text Available Many studies show that parental education and child's gender are the factors that influence child's language development. The purpose of the longitudinal study was to examine the effect of parental education and child's gender on language competence of children aged 3 to 4 years. The sample included 80 randomly chosen children, 39 girls and 41 boys, who were included in one of 13 preschool institutions from different regions of Slovenia. The average age of the children was 3;1 years at the first assessment and 4;1 years at the second assessment, one year later. The characteristics of child'slanguage development were assessed by 3 assessors in 3 different social contexts, in test situation by a trained examiner, in child's home environment by his mother and in the preschool institution by his preschool teacher. Results show a positive effect of mother's educational level on some of the measures of child's language development, e.g. achievements on Language development scale; developmental level of storytelling, mother's estimation of child's language competence, while the father's educational level had no significant effect on any of the obtained measures. Child's gender had only a small effect on his achievements on language expression subscale at the age of 3 and 4 as well as on the preschool teacher's estimations of child's language competence at 4 years of age.
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Greenwood, Charles R.; Carta, Judith J.; Goldstein, Howard; Kaminski, Ruth A.; McConnell, Scott R.; Atwater, Jane
2014-01-01
The prevalence of struggling readers by third grade nationwide is estimated at one in three. Reports trace the roots of this problem to early childhood and the opportunity to learn language and early literacy skills at home and in preschool. Reports also indicate that one-size-fits-all preschool language and literacy instruction is beneficial for…
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Gendered Word (Or World): Sexism in Philippine Preschool English Language Textbooks
Tarrayo, Veronico Nogales
2014-01-01
Adhering to the notion that language learning is necessarily a culture-learning process, this paper explores the issue of sexism in six Philippine preschool English language textbooks. The study adopts the qualitative-quantitative approach in examining the following categories: gender visibility (illustrations), "firstness",…
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Tense Marking in the English Narrative Retells of Dual Language Preschoolers.
Gusewski, Svenja; Rojas, Raúl
2017-07-26
This longitudinal study investigated the emergence of English tense marking in young (Spanish-English) dual language learners (DLLs) over 4 consecutive academic semesters, addressing the need for longitudinal data on typical acquisition trajectories of English in DLL preschoolers. Language sample analysis was conducted on 139 English narrative retells elicited from 39 preschool-age (Spanish-English) DLLs (range = 39-65 months). Growth curve models captured within- and between-individual change in tense-marking accuracy over time. Tense-marking accuracy was indexed by the finite verb morphology composite and by 2 specifically developed adaptations. Individual tense markers were systematically described in terms of overall accuracy and specific error patterns. Tense-marking accuracy exhibited significant growth over time for each composite. Initially, irregular past-tense accuracy was higher than regular past-tense accuracy; over time, however, regular past-tense marking outpaced accuracy on irregular verbs. These findings suggest that young DLLs can achieve high tense-marking accuracy assuming 2 years of immersive exposure to English. Monitoring the growth in tense-marking accuracy over time and considering productive tense-marking errors as partially correct more precisely captured the emergence of English tense marking in this population with highly variable expressive language skills. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5176942.
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Language Maintenance and Loss in Preschool-Age Children of Mexican Immigrants: Longitudinal Study
Guiberson, Mark M.; Barrett, Karen C.; Jancosek, Elizabeth G.; Itano, Christine Yoshinaga
2006-01-01
In this study, the authors plotted the Spanish language usage of 10 preschool-age children over the course of 3 years and assigned them to one of two groups: language maintenance and language loss. The authors then compared the groups' scores on structured tasks, language behaviors, and language usage/exposure variables. They found that children…
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Hagen, Åste M.; Melby-Lervåg, Monica; Lervåg, Arne
2017-01-01
Background: Children with language comprehension difficulties are at risk of educational and social problems, which in turn impede employment prospects in adulthood. However, few randomized trials have examined how such problems can be ameliorated during the preschool years. Methods: We conducted a cluster randomized trial in 148 preschool…
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Cross-Language Associations in the Development of Preschoolers’ Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary
Maier, Michelle F.; Bohlmann, Natalie L.; Palacios, Natalia A.
2016-01-01
The increasing population of dual language learners (DLLs) entering preschool classrooms highlights a continued need for research on the development of dual language acquisition, and specifically vocabulary skills, in this age group. This study describes young DLL children's (N = 177) vocabulary development in both English and Spanish simultaneously, and how vocabulary skills in each language relate to one another, during a contextual shift that places greater emphasis on the acquisition of academic English language skills. Findings demonstrated that DLL preschoolers made gains in vocabulary in both languages with more change evidenced in receptive, in comparison to expressive, vocabulary as well as in English in comparison to Spanish. When examining whether children's vocabulary scores in one language at the beginning of preschool interact with their vocabulary scores in the other language to predict vocabulary growth, no significant associations were found for receptive vocabulary. In contrast, the interaction between initial English and Spanish expressive vocabulary scores was negatively related to growth in English expressive vocabulary. This cross-language association suggests that children who have low expressive vocabulary skills in both languages tend to grow faster in their English expressive vocabulary. The study extends previous work on dual language development by examining growth in expressive and receptive vocabulary in both English and Spanish. It also provides suggestions for future work to inform a more comprehensive understanding of DLL children's development in both languages. PMID:26807002
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High/Scope Preschool Key Experiences: Language and Literacy. [with]Curriculum Videotape.
Brinkman, Nancy A.
During the preschool years, children experience great strides in their ability to use language. This booklet and companion videotape help teachers and parents recognize and support six High/Scope key experiences in language and literacy: (1) talking with others about personally meaningful experiences; (2) describing objects, events, and relations;…
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Preschool Children Differentiation According to the Lingua- Grammatical Categories Development
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Z. V. Polivara
2012-01-01
Full Text Available The parallel existence of languages and cultures brings forward the necessity of studying this linguistic phenomenon and designing special methods of speech development for the bilingual children. The particular attention should be given to the preschool age, for according to A. A. Leontyev’s study, the parallel acquiring of two languages often results in insufficient development of socio-linguistic speech standards. The research is devoted to the phenomenon of the two language systems coexistence in a bilingual person’s consciousness, both of them functioning and encoding the same subjects and phenomena. The peculiarities of language interference are described with the reference to the Russian-Tatar bilingual environment. The author believes that the bilingual interference problems are not caused by the phonetic and grammar system differences of the two languages. To find out the potential source of inter-language transition and interrelations between the native and non-native languages, it is necessary to identify the cognitive, neurolinguistic and psycho-linguistic aspects. Therefore, the regional phenomenon of mass bilingualism among the Tatar population is examined by the author in the framework of the psycho-linguistic and cognitive approaches. The paper presents the model of the lexical and grammar categories formation based on differentiated preschool teaching of the bilingual children. The proposed model makes it possible to overcome the limited viewpoint on the general speech dysfunctions, as well as the specifics of lexical and grammar categories development. It can be used for the further development of educational programs in psycho-linguistics, ethno-linguistics, onto-linguistics, cognitive linguistics, social-linguistics, contrastive linguistics and the language theory by means of extending the teaching course content.
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Cognitive functions in preschool children with specific language impairment.
Reichenbach, Katrin; Bastian, Laura; Rohrbach, Saskia; Gross, Manfred; Sarrar, Lea
2016-07-01
A growing body of research has focused on executive functions in children with specific language impairment (SLI). However, results show limited convergence, particularly in preschool age. The current neuropsychological study compared performance of cognitive functions focused on executive components and working memory in preschool children with SLI to typically developing controls. Performance on the measures cognitive flexibility, inhibition, processing speed and phonological short-term memory was assessed. The monolingual, Caucasian study sample consisted of 30 children with SLI (Mage = 63.3 months, SD = 4.3 months) and 30 healthy controls (Mage = 62.2 months, SD = 3.7 months). Groups were matched for age and nonverbal IQ. Socioeconomic status of the participating families was included. Children with SLI had significantly poorer abilities of phonological short-term memory than matched controls. A tendency of poorer abilities in the SLI group was found for inhibition and processing speed. We confirmed phonological short-term memory to be a reliable marker of SLI in preschoolers. Our results do not give definite support for impaired executive function in SLI, possibly owing to limited sensitivity of test instruments in this age group. We argue for a standardization of executive function tests for research use. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Screening Bilingual Preschoolers for Language Difficulties: Utility of Teacher and Parent Reports
Pua, Emmanuel Peng Kiat; Lee, Mary Lay Choo; Rickard Liow, Susan J.
2017-01-01
Purpose: The utility of parent and teacher reports for screening 3 types of bilingual preschoolers (English-first language [L1]/Mandarin-second language[L2], Mandarin-L1/English-L2, or Malay-L1/English-L2) for language difficulty was investigated in Singapore with reference to measures of reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity in an…
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Teenage outcomes after speech and language impairment at preschool age.
Ek, Ulla; Norrelgen, Fritjof; Westerlund, Joakim; Dahlman, Andrea; Hultby, Elizabeth; Fernell, Elisabeth
2012-01-01
Ten years ago, we published developmental data on a representative group of children (n = 25) with moderate or severe speech and language impairment, who were attending special preschools for children. The aim of this study was to perform a follow-up of these children as teenagers. Parents of 23 teenagers participated in a clinical interview that requested information on the child's current academic achievement, type of school, previous clinical assessments, and developmental diagnoses. Fifteen children participated in a speech and language evaluation, and 13 participated in a psychological evaluation. Seven of the 23 teenagers had a mild intellectual disability, and another three had borderline intellectual functioning. Nine had symptoms of disorders on the autism spectrum; five of these had an autism spectrum disorder, and four had clear autistic traits. Six met criteria for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)/subthreshold ADHD. Thirteen of 15 teenagers had a moderate or severe language impairment, and 13 of 15 had a moderate or severe reading impairment. Overlapping disorders were frequent. None of the individuals who underwent the clinical evaluation were free from developmental problems. A large number of children with speech and language impairment at preschool age had persistent language problems and/or met the criteria for developmental diagnoses other than speech and language impairment at their follow-up as teenagers. Language impairment in young children is a marker for several developmental disorders, particularly intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder.
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Westman, Martin; Korkman, Marit; Mickos, Annika; Byring, Roger
2008-01-01
A large proportion of children are exposed to more than one language, yet research on simultaneous bilingualism has been relatively sparse. Traditionally, there has been concern that bilingualism may aggravate language difficulties of children with language impairment. However, recent studies have not found specific language impairment (SLI) or language-related problems to be increased by bilingualism. The topic of bilingualism and its effects has high actuality in Finland, where increasing numbers of children in the country's 6% Swedish-speaking minority grow up in bilingual families, where one parent's primary language is Swedish and the other's Finnish. The present study aimed at exploring the influence of such bilingualism on the language profiles of children from this population at risk for language impairment (LI). Participants were recruited from a language screening of 339 children from kindergartens with instruction only in Swedish, from the Swedish-speaking parts of Finland. Of these children, 33 (9.7%) were defined as a Risk Group for LI, whereas 48 non-risk children were randomly selected to form a control group. When subdividing the children according to home language, 35 were found to be monolingual, Swedish-speaking, and 46 were Swedish-Finnish bilingual. The children underwent neuropsychological assessment during their preschool year. Assessment methods included subtests from the Wechsler Primary and Preschool Scale of Intelligence - Revised and the NEPSY Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment. A repeated-measures multiple analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) showed a significant effect of risk of LI on the NEPSY language scores. The effect of home language was not significant and there was no interaction between home language and risk for LI. Non-verbal IQ was controlled for. Across groups, bilingual children scored lower than monolingual children only on measures of vocabulary and sentence repetition. Although a slight general cost of
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Emergent literacy profiles of preschool-age children with specific language impairment.
Cabell, Sonia Q; Lomax, Richard G; Justice, Laura M; Breit-Smith, Allison; Skibbe, Lori E; McGinty, Anita S
2010-12-01
The primary aim of the present study was to explore the heterogeneity of emergent literacy skills among preschool-age children with specific language impairment (SLI) through examination of profiles of performance. Fifty-nine children with SLI were assessed on a battery of emergent literacy skills (i.e., alphabet knowledge, print concepts, emergent writing, rhyme awareness) and oral language skills (i.e., receptive/expressive vocabulary and grammar). Cluster analysis techniques identified three emergent literacy profiles: (1) Highest Emergent Literacy, Strength in Alphabet Knowledge; (2) Average Emergent Literacy, Strength in Print Concepts; and (3) Lowest Emergent Literacy across Skills. After taking into account the contribution of child age, receptive and expressive language skills made a small contribution to the prediction of profile membership. The present findings, which may be characterized as exploratory given the relatively modest sample size, suggest that preschool-age children with SLI display substantial individual differences with regard to their emergent literacy skills and that these differences cannot be fully determined by children's age or oral language performance. Replication of the present findings with a larger sample of children is needed.
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Dijkstra, J.E.
2013-01-01
Bilingual acquisition largely depends on the input that children receive in each language. The more input in a language, the more proficient a child becomes in that language. The current project studied the role of language input among bilingual Frisian-Dutch preschool children (age 2.5-4 years) in
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Sandra du Plessis
2008-02-01
Full Text Available Multilingualism in classrooms is currently prompting debate and has significantly impacted on schooling in South Africa over the last decade. At present South African educators face the challenge of coping with and finding solutions to culturally and linguistically diverse urban school contexts which did not exist before. In many South African communities young learners, without any prior knowledge of English, are enrolled in English preschools. Preschool teachers have the demanding task of preparing these multilingual preschoolers for formal schooling in English, and, in addition, are pressurised by parents or caregivers who expect their children to be fluent in English by the time they enter primary school. A group of preschool teachers in a specific urban, multilingual preschool context expressed concern about multilingual preschool learners' academic performances and their future, and requested advice and support from speech-language therapists. To investigate this need, an exploratory, descriptive, contextual research design, incorporating the quantitative perspective, was selected to describe the specific educational context of multilingual preschools in the Pretoria central business district (CBD and the Sunnyside area. Results indicated that the participants perceived certain personal challenges while supporting the preschool learners acquiring English as Language of Learning and Teaching (ELoLT. These participants expressed a need for knowledge and support.
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Einarsdóttir, Jóhanna T; Björnsdóttir, Amalía; Símonardóttir, Ingibjörg
2016-02-01
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between language knowledge at 5 years of age and later academic achievement throughout compulsory school in Iceland. Between 1997 and 1998, 267 Icelandic preschool children aged from 5;4 (years;months) to 5;10 were tested with the HLJÓM-2 (an Icelandic test of phonological awareness; Símonardóttir, Einarsdóttir, & Björnsdóttir, 2002) and the Icelandic version of the Test of Language Development-Primary: Second Edition (TOLD-2P; oral comprehension tasks; Símonardóttir, Guðmundsson, Skúlason, & Pétursdóttir, 1995). In 2011 these individuals, now aged 18-19 years, were contacted again. Of the original 267 participants, 221 (83%) gave permission to link their results from the preschool language assessments with their performance on national tests in 4th, 7th, and 10th grades. The results showed strong correlation between phonological awareness (as measured by the HLJÓM-2) and academic achievement (Icelandic and mathematics) in 4th, 7th, and 10th grades. There was also a significant but lower correlation with oral comprehension skills, as measured with the TOLD-2P. Regression analysis showed that the preschool oral-language assessments in phonological awareness and oral comprehension explained between 35% and 43% of variability in scores on national tests in Icelandic and between 20% and 39% of variability in scores in mathematics. Preschool language knowledge is a reliable predictor of later academic achievement.
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Pollard-Durodola, Sharolyn D.; Gonzalez, Jorge E.; Saenz, Laura; Resendez, Nora; Kwok, Oiman; Zhu, Leina; Davis, Heather
2018-01-01
Research Findings: This study compared the effects of content-based shared book-reading instruction versus an explicit vocabulary-only condition on the vocabulary development of preschool dual language learners (DLLs). Using shared book reading as the mode of instruction, we randomly assigned 48 bilingual preschool teachers and 281…
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Detecting Preschool Language Impairment and Risk of Developmental Dyslexia
Helland, Turid; Jones, Lise Øen; Helland, Wenche
2017-01-01
This study assessed and compared results from evidence-based screening tools to be filled out by caregivers to identify preschool children at risk of language impairment (LI) and dyslexia. Three different tools were used: one assessing children's communicative abilities, one assessing risk of developmental dyslexia, and one assessing early…
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Mothers' questionnaire of preschoolers' language and motor skills: a validation study.
Gudmundsson, E; Gretarsson, S J
2013-03-01
Parent questionnaires of child motor and language skills are useful in many contexts. This study validates one such measure, the Preschool Child Development Inventory (PCDI), a mother-answered standardized measure of motor (fine and gross) and language (expression and comprehension) skills of 3-6-year-old children. Eighty-one mothers answered the inventory and their children were concurrently tested on six verbal subtests of WPPSI-R(IS). The six language and motor subtests of the PCDI revealed the predicted convergent and divergent correlations with the verbal subtests of the WPPSI-R(IS). As predicted, the motor subtests diverged and the language subtests converged with the expected WPPSI-R(IS) subtests. Principal components analysis of all the measures (the PCDI and the WPPSI-R(IS) subtests) revealed two components, verbal and motor in content. The findings support the validity of a mother-answered inventory to assess language and motor development. It is pointed out that such inventories are a viable brief and cost effective alternative to individual testing, both to supplement such measures in clinical practice and as main information in research, for example on determinants of development. Some suggestions are made for future research and applications. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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Sahli, A Sanem; Belgin, Erol
2017-07-01
Speech and language assessment is very important in early diagnosis of children with hearing and speech disorders. Aim of this study is to determine the validity and reliability of Preschool Language Scale (5th edition) test with its Turkish translation and adaptation. Our study is conducted on 1320 children aged between 0-7 years 11 months. While 1044 of these children have normal hearing, language and speech development, 276 of them have receptive and/or expressive language disorder. After the English-Turkish and Turkish-English translations of PLS-5 made by two experts command of both languages, some of the test items are reorganized because of the grammatical features of Turkish and the cultural structure of the country. The pilot study was conducted with 378 children. The test which is reorganized in the light of data obtained in pilot application, is applied to children chosen randomly with layering technique from different regions of Turkey, then 15 days later the first test applied again to 120 children. While 1044 of 1320 children aged between 0 and 7 years 11 months are normal, 276 of them have receptive and/or expressive language disorder. While 98 of 103 healthy children of 120 taken under the second evaluation have normal language development, 8 of 9 who used to have language development disorder in the past still remaining (Kappa coefficient:0,468, page equivalance is found as IA:0,871, IED: 0,896, TDP: 0,887. TPLS-5 is the first and only language test in our country that can evaluate receptive and/or expressive language skills of children aged between 0-7 years 11 months. Results of the study show that TPLS-5 is a valid and reliable language test for the Turkish children. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.
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Language Learning in Preschool Children: An Embodied Learning Account
Ionescu, Thea; Ilie, Adriana
2018-01-01
In Romanian preschool settings, there is a tendency to use abstract strategies in language-learning activities. The present study explored if strategies based on an embodied cognition approach facilitate learning more than traditional strategies that progress from concrete to abstract. Twenty-five children between 4 and 5 years of age listened to…
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Collisson, Beverly Anne; Grela, Bernard; Spaulding, Tammie; Rueckl, Jay G; Magnuson, James S
2015-05-01
We investigated whether preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) exhibit the shape bias in word learning: the bias to generalize based on shape rather than size, color, or texture in an object naming context ('This is a wek; find another wek') but not in a non-naming similarity classification context ('See this? Which one goes with this one?'). Fifty-four preschool children (16 with SLI, 16 children with typical language [TL] in an equated control group, and 22 additional children with TL included in individual differences analyses but not group comparisons) completed a battery of linguistic and cognitive assessments and two experiments. In Experiment 1, children made generalization choices in object naming and similarity classification contexts on separate days, from options similar to a target object in shape, color, or texture. On average, TL children exhibited the shape bias in an object naming context, but children with SLI did not. In Experiment 2, we tested whether the failure to exhibit the shape bias might be linked to ability to detect systematicities in the visual domain. Experiment 2 supported this hypothesis, in that children with SLI failed to learn simple paired visual associations that were readily learned by children with TL. Analyses of individual differences in the two studies revealed that visual paired-associate learning predicted degree of shape bias in children with SLI and TL better than any other measure of nonverbal intelligence or standard assessments of language ability. We discuss theoretical and clinical implications. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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What we can learn from naming errors of children with language impairment at preschool age.
Biran, Michal; Novogrodsky, Rama; Harel-Nov, Efrat; Gil, Mali; Mimouni-Bloch, Aviva
2018-01-01
Naming is a complex, multi-level process. It is composed of distinct semantic and phonological levels. Children with naming deficits produce different error types when failing to retrieve the target word. This study explored the error characteristics of children with language impairment compared to those with typical language development. 46 preschool children were tested on a naming test: 16 with language impairment and a naming deficit and 30 with typical language development. The analysis compared types of error in both groups. In a group level, children with language impairment produced different error patterns compared to the control group. Based on naming error analysis and performance on other language tests, two case studies of contrasting profiles suggest different sources for lexical retrieval difficulties in children. The findings reveal differences between the two groups in naming scores and naming errors, and support a qualitative impairment in early development of children with naming deficits. The differing profiles of naming deficits emphasise the importance of including error analysis in the diagnosis.
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Smith, Anne; Goffman, Lisa; Sasisekaran, Jayanthi; Weber-Fox, Christine
2012-01-01
Stuttering is a disorder of speech production that typically arises in the preschool years, and many accounts of its onset and development implicate language and motor processes as critical underlying factors. There have, however, been very few studies of speech motor control processes in preschool children who stutter. Hearing novel nonwords and reproducing them engages multiple neural networks, including those involved in phonological analysis and storage and speech motor programming and execution. We used this task to explore speech motor and language abilities of 31 children aged 4–5 years who were diagnosed as stuttering. We also used sensitive and specific standardized tests of speech and language abilities to determine which of the children who stutter had concomitant language and/or phonological disorders. Approximately half of our sample of stuttering children had language and/or phonological disorders. As previous investigations would suggest, the stuttering children with concomitant language or speech sound disorders produced significantly more errors on the nonword repetition task compared to typically developing children. In contrast, the children who were diagnosed as stuttering, but who had normal speech sound and language abilities, performed the nonword repetition task with equal accuracy compared to their normally fluent peers. Analyses of interarticulator motions during accurate and fluent productions of the nonwords revealed that the children who stutter (without concomitant disorders) showed higher variability in oral motor coordination indices. These results provide new evidence that preschool children diagnosed as stuttering lag their typically developing peers in maturation of speech motor control processes. Educational objectives The reader will be able to: (a) discuss why performance on nonword repetition tasks has been investigated in children who stutter; (b) discuss why children who stutter in the current study had a higher incidence
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Čolić Gordana
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Phonological awareness is the ability of phonological processing of words. Children with developmental dysphasia manifest interference in the development of phonological abilities vital for the development of other language skills. The aim of this study is to investigate phonological awareness in children with typical language development and children with developmental dysphasia at preschool age. Phonological awareness is tested in 60 preschool children by a part of the ELLA test (Emerging Literacy & Language Assessment. The results showed a statistically significant difference in the tested elements of phonological awareness among children with typical language development and children with developmental dysphasia. The most significant differences are deletion of phonemes (p≤0.000, replacement of phonemes, as well as segmentation at the level of whole words (p≤0.000.
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Norling, Martina; Lillvist, Anne
2016-01-01
This study investigates language-promoting strategies and support of concept development displayed by preschool staffs' when interacting with preschool children in literacy-related play activities. The data analysed consisted of 39 minutes of video, selected systematically from a total of 11 hours of video material from six Swedish preschool…
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Function, Type, and Distribution of Teacher Questions in Dual-Language Preschool Read Alouds
Gort, Mileidis; Pontier, Ryan W.; Sembiante, Sabrina F.
2012-01-01
This exploratory study investigated the nature and distribution of dual-language preschool teachers' questions across parallel Spanish- and English-medium read-aloud activities. The notions of comprehensible input (Krashen, 1985) and language output (Swain, 1985), along with a reciprocal interaction model of teaching (Cummins, 2000), guided our…
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Effects of Language Learning Interventions in Pre-School Children: A Longitudinal Study
Gasteiger-Klicpera, B.; Knapp, W.; Kucharz, D.; Schabmann, A.; Schmidt, B.
2009-01-01
The aim of the present contribution is to evaluate and discuss the impacts of language learning interventions in pre-school children with German as a first or a second language. The sample consisted of 864 children in intervention groups and 294 children as a comparison group within two successive cohorts. The instruments used were the SSV (Grimm…
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Spanish and English Early Literacy Profiles of Preschool Latino English Language Learner Children
Gonzalez, Jorge; Pollard-Durodola, Sharolyn; Saenz, Laura; Soares, Denise; Davis, Heather; Resendez, Nora; Zhu, Leina
2016-01-01
Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to examine within-group individual differences in the code-related and oral language abilities of an economically stressed Spanish-speaking English language learner (ELL) preschool sample and to evaluate the predictive relationship of these differences to later listening comprehension. Latent class…
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Petersen, Douglas B.; Spencer, Trina D.
2016-01-01
Oral narratives are a commonly used, meaningful means of communication that reflects academic language. New state curriculum standards include narrative-related language expectations for young school-age children, including story grammar and complex language. This article provides a review of preschool narrative-based language intervention…
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Spaulding, Tammie J.; Plante, Elena; Vance, Rebecca
2008-01-01
Purpose: The present study was designed to investigate the performance of preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) and their typically developing (TD) peers on sustained selective attention tasks. Method: This study included 23 children diagnosed with SLI and 23 TD children matched for age, gender, and maternal education level.…
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Timing of high-quality child care and cognitive, language, and preacademic development.
Li, Weilin; Farkas, George; Duncan, Greg J; Burchinal, Margaret R; Vandell, Deborah Lowe
2013-08-01
The effects of high- versus low-quality child care during 2 developmental periods (infant-toddlerhood and preschool) were examined using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. Propensity score matching was used to account for differences in families who used different combinations of child care quality during the 2 developmental periods. Findings indicated that cognitive, language, and preacademic skills prior to school entry were highest among children who experienced high-quality care in both the infant-toddler and preschool periods, somewhat lower among children who experienced high-quality child care during only 1 of these periods, and lowest among children who experienced low-quality care during both periods. Irrespective of the care received during infancy-toddlerhood, high-quality preschool care was related to better language and preacademic outcomes at the end of the preschool period; high-quality infant-toddler care, irrespective of preschool care, was related to better memory skills at the end of the preschool period. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).
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Parents' Discourses about Language Strategies for Their Children's Preschool Bilingual Development
Schwartz, Mila; Moin, Victor; Leikin, Mark
2011-01-01
The study focused on immigrant parents' discourses about strategies for their children's preschool bilingual development and education. The article investigated how immigrant parents described and explained these strategies. The study was based on semi-structured interviews with 4 families. The 8 parents were Russian-speaking immigrants to Israel…
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Horowitz, Laura; Westlund, Karolina; Ljungberg, Tomas
2007-10-01
This study examined conflict behavior in naturalistic preschool settings to better understand the role of non-affiliative behavior and language in conflict management. Free-play at preschool was filmed among 20 boys with typically developing language (TL) and among 11 boys with Language Impairment (LI); the boys 4-7 years old. Conflict behavior was coded and analyzed with a validated system. Post-conflict non-affiliative behavior (aggression and withdrawal) displays, and the links between the displays and reconciliation (i.e., former opponents exchange friendly behavioral shortly after conflict termination) was examined. Group comparisons revealed boys with LI displayed aggression in a smaller share of conflicts, but exhibited [Symbol: see text]active' withdrawal (left the room), in a larger conflict share. Boys with TL overcame aggression (more common TL behavior) and after reconciled, to a greater extent than the boys with LI after active withdrawal (more common LI behavior). Also, after reciprocal or only verbal aggression, boys with LI reconciled to a lesser extent than boys with TL. The boys with LI demonstrated difficulties confronting conflict management, as well as concluding emotionally heightened and aggressive behavioral turns.
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Comorbidities in preschool children at family risk of dyslexia
Gooch, Debbie; Hulme, Charles; Nash, Hannah M; Snowling, Margaret J
2015-01-01
Background Comorbidity among developmental disorders such as dyslexia, language impairment, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and developmental coordination disorder is common. This study explores comorbid weaknesses in preschool children at family risk of dyslexia with and without language impairment and considers the role that comorbidity plays in determining children’s outcomes. Method The preschool attention, executive function and motor skills of 112 children at family risk for dyslexia, 29 of whom also met criteria for language impairment, were assessed at ages 3 ½ and 4 ½. The performance of these children was compared to the performance of children with language impairment and typically developing controls. Results Weaknesses in attention, executive function and motor skills were associated with language impairment rather than family risk status. Individual differences in language and executive function are strongly related in the preschool period and preschool motor skills predicted unique variance (4%) in early reading skills over and above children’s language ability. Conclusion Comorbidity between developmental disorders can be observed in the preschool years: children with language impairment have significant and persistent weaknesses in motor skills and executive function compared to those without language impairment. Children’s early language and motor skills are predictors of children’s later reading skills. PMID:24117483
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Smith, Anne; Goffman, Lisa; Sasisekaran, Jayanthi; Weber-Fox, Christine
2012-12-01
Stuttering is a disorder of speech production that typically arises in the preschool years, and many accounts of its onset and development implicate language and motor processes as critical underlying factors. There have, however, been very few studies of speech motor control processes in preschool children who stutter. Hearing novel nonwords and reproducing them engages multiple neural networks, including those involved in phonological analysis and storage and speech motor programming and execution. We used this task to explore speech motor and language abilities of 31 children aged 4-5 years who were diagnosed as stuttering. We also used sensitive and specific standardized tests of speech and language abilities to determine which of the children who stutter had concomitant language and/or phonological disorders. Approximately half of our sample of stuttering children had language and/or phonological disorders. As previous investigations would suggest, the stuttering children with concomitant language or speech sound disorders produced significantly more errors on the nonword repetition task compared to typically developing children. In contrast, the children who were diagnosed as stuttering, but who had normal speech sound and language abilities, performed the nonword repetition task with equal accuracy compared to their normally fluent peers. Analyses of interarticulator motions during accurate and fluent productions of the nonwords revealed that the children who stutter (without concomitant disorders) showed higher variability in oral motor coordination indices. These results provide new evidence that preschool children diagnosed as stuttering lag their typically developing peers in maturation of speech motor control processes. The reader will be able to: (a) discuss why performance on nonword repetition tasks has been investigated in children who stutter; (b) discuss why children who stutter in the current study had a higher incidence of concomitant language
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Preschool as an Arena for Developing Teacher Knowledge Concerning Children's Language Learning
Sheridan, Sonja; Gjems, Liv
2017-01-01
The most important benefits of international comparisons are the indications that make hidden national characteristics visible and shed new light on the system in each country. From a comparative perspective, this article explores what Swedish and Norwegian preschool teachers emphasise as important to preschool student teachers about preschool as…
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Conceptions of the Portuguese Preschool teachers about writing language: a case study
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ana Isabel Santos
2014-07-01
Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to present the results of a study developed with teachers of 18 public kindergartens in Terceira Island, Azores, Portugal, in order to understand their perspective about the written language development on preschool children. To evaluate the teachers’ beliefs, there was taken into account some aspects such as the methodology that they assume as characteristics of their practices, their pedagogical stand and the pedagogical processes that they assure to privilege in order to promote the development of children attending these kindergartens. The interview conducted during the second trimester of the scholar year, allowed to conclude that teachers’ way of thinking about written language is basically characterized for a lack of an emergent literacy perspective, focus on children, pointing out aspects such as a remarkable importance attributed to activities and direct intervention strategies and the deficit of knowledge about the development of children’s conceptualisations on reading and writing.
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van Kleeck, Anne
2014-11-01
The need for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) to consider an academic talk (AT) register in addition to an everyday casual talk (CT) register of oral language with children beginning in the preschool years is presented, the AT and CT registers are distinguished in a comprehensive manner, ideas regarding AT language assessment are proposed, and suggestions for fostering children's skills with the AT register are offered. Extant research and scholarship from a wide variety of disciplines are integrated and organized. The author discusses the role of the SLP in supporting AT skills beginning in the preschool years and the added risk of difficulties with the AT register for children with language impairment who are from diverse backgrounds. Two broad categories-social-interactive and cognitive-that give rise to linguistic features that differentiate between the CT and AT registers are deduced from extant scholarship. SLPs should consider children's competence with the AT register as they work to prepare preschoolers and older children for the language demands of school.
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Randomized trial of a population-based, home-delivered intervention for preschool language delay.
Wake, Melissa; Tobin, Sherryn; Levickis, Penny; Gold, Lisa; Ukoumunne, Obioha C; Zens, Naomi; Goldfeld, Sharon; Le, Ha; Law, James; Reilly, Sheena
2013-10-01
Population approaches to lessen the adverse impacts of preschool language delay remain elusive. We aimed to determine whether systematic ascertainment of language delay at age 4 years, followed by a 10-month, 1-on-1 intervention, improves language and related outcomes at age 5 years. A randomized trial nested within a cross-sectional ascertainment of language delay. Children with expressive and/or receptive language scores more than 1.25 SD below the mean at age 4 years entered the trial. Children randomly allocated to the intervention received 18 1-hour home-based therapy sessions. The primary outcomes were receptive and expressive language (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals - Preschool, 2(nd) Edition) and secondary outcomes were child phonological skills, letter awareness, pragmatic skills, behavior, and quality of life. A total of 1464 children were assessed for language delay at age 4 years. Of 266 eligible children, 200 (13.6%) entered the trial, with 91 intervention (92% of 99) and 88 control (87% of 101) children retained at age 5 years. At age 5 years, there was weak evidence of benefit to expressive (adjusted mean difference, intervention - control, 2.0; 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.5 to 4.4; P = .12) but not receptive (0.6; 95% CI -2.5 to 3.8; P = .69) language. The intervention improved phonological awareness skills (5.0; 95% CI 2.2 to 7.8; P language intervention was successfully delivered by non-specialist staff, found to be acceptable and feasible, and has the potential to improve long-term consequences of early language delay within a public health framework.
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Correa, Vivian I.; Lo, Ya-Yu; Godfrey-Hurrell, Kristi; Swart, Katie; Baker, Doris Luft
2015-01-01
In this single-case design study, we examined the effects of an adapted dialogic reading intervention on the oral language and vocabulary skills of four Latino preschool children who were at risk for English language delays. We used adapted dialogic reading strategies in English and two literacy games that included a rapid naming activity and…
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Development of the Intrinsic Language Network in Preschool Children from Ages 3 to 5 Years.
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yaqiong Xiao
Full Text Available Resting state studies of spontaneous fluctuations in the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI blood oxygen level dependent signal have shown great potential in mapping the intrinsic functional connectivity of the human brain underlying cognitive functions. The aim of the present study was to explore the developmental changes in functional networks of the developing human brain exemplified with the language network in typically developing preschool children. To this end, resting-sate fMRI data were obtained from native Chinese children at ages of 3 and 5 years, 15 in each age group. Resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC was analyzed for four regions of interest; these are the left and right anterior superior temporal gyrus (aSTG, left posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG, and left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG. The comparison of these RSFC maps between 3- and 5-year-olds revealed that RSFC decreases in the right aSTG and increases in the left hemisphere between aSTG seed and IFG, between pSTG seed and IFG, as well as between IFG seed and posterior superior temporal sulcus. In a subsequent analysis, functional asymmetry of the language network seeding in aSTG, pSTG and IFG was further investigated. The results showed an increase of left lateralization in both RSFC of pSTG and of IFG from ages 3 to 5 years. The IFG showed a leftward lateralized trend in 3-year-olds, while pSTG demonstrated rightward asymmetry in 5-year-olds. These findings suggest clear developmental trajectories of the language network between 3- and 5-year-olds revealed as a function of age, characterized by increasing long-range connections and dynamic hemispheric lateralization with age. Our study provides new insights into the developmental changes of a well-established functional network in young children and also offers a basis for future cross-culture and cross-age studies of the resting-state language network.
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Development of the Intrinsic Language Network in Preschool Children from Ages 3 to 5 Years.
Xiao, Yaqiong; Brauer, Jens; Lauckner, Mark; Zhai, Hongchang; Jia, Fucang; Margulies, Daniel S; Friederici, Angela D
2016-01-01
Resting state studies of spontaneous fluctuations in the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) blood oxygen level dependent signal have shown great potential in mapping the intrinsic functional connectivity of the human brain underlying cognitive functions. The aim of the present study was to explore the developmental changes in functional networks of the developing human brain exemplified with the language network in typically developing preschool children. To this end, resting-sate fMRI data were obtained from native Chinese children at ages of 3 and 5 years, 15 in each age group. Resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) was analyzed for four regions of interest; these are the left and right anterior superior temporal gyrus (aSTG), left posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG), and left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). The comparison of these RSFC maps between 3- and 5-year-olds revealed that RSFC decreases in the right aSTG and increases in the left hemisphere between aSTG seed and IFG, between pSTG seed and IFG, as well as between IFG seed and posterior superior temporal sulcus. In a subsequent analysis, functional asymmetry of the language network seeding in aSTG, pSTG and IFG was further investigated. The results showed an increase of left lateralization in both RSFC of pSTG and of IFG from ages 3 to 5 years. The IFG showed a leftward lateralized trend in 3-year-olds, while pSTG demonstrated rightward asymmetry in 5-year-olds. These findings suggest clear developmental trajectories of the language network between 3- and 5-year-olds revealed as a function of age, characterized by increasing long-range connections and dynamic hemispheric lateralization with age. Our study provides new insights into the developmental changes of a well-established functional network in young children and also offers a basis for future cross-culture and cross-age studies of the resting-state language network.
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Analysis of oral narratives of preschool children before and after language stimulation.
Verzolla, Beatriz Lopes Porto; Isotani, Selma Mie; Perissinoto, Jacy
2012-01-01
To verify the oral narrative abilities in preschoolers, before and after language stimulation. Participants were 58 preschoolers. The study was developed in three stages: 1. Pre-stimulation stage (Moment 1) - preschoolers produced the first autonomous narrative based on a sequence of pictures, and the second under adult scaffolding; 2. Stimulation stage - it was conducted a weekly reading of children's stories in group, for ten weeks; 3. Post-stimulation stage (Moment 2): the same procedure of the first stage was repeated. The results analysis considered: the occurrence of central and secondary events; the accountable/explicable conduct, classified according to physical causes, moral/social rules and internal state; the attribution and rectification of false beliefs, analyzed by the internal state's accountable/explicable conduct. There was an increase in the occurrence of central events in Moment 2 as well as after the adult scaffolding, with decrease of secondary events comparing both moments and after the scaffolding. Regarding the accountable/explicable conduct, no differences were found between physical, social/moral rules, and internal state conducts. The internal state accountable/explicable conduct was predominantly found in all the autonomous narratives. Both the reading of children's stories and the adult scaffolding contribute to the increase in the occurrence of events in autonomous narratives. There is no variation on the type of accountable/explicable conduct in the narratives. The internal state accountable/explicable conduct is predominantly used by preschoolers.
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Klatte, Inge S.; Roulstone, Sue
2016-01-01
A common early intervention approach for preschool children with language problems is parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT). PCIT has positive effects for children with expressive language problems. It appears that speech and language therapists (SLTs) conduct this therapy in many different ways. This might be because of the variety of…
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Rydland, Veslemoy; Grover, Vibeke; Lawrence, Joshua
2014-01-01
Little research has explored how preschools can support children's second-language (L2) vocabulary development. This study keenly followed the progress of twenty-six Turkish immigrant children growing up in Norway from preschool (age five) to fifth grade (age ten). Four different measures of preschool talk exposure (amount and diversity of…
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Neural correlates of language variability in preschool-aged boys with autism spectrum disorder.
Naigles, Letitia R; Johnson, Ryan; Mastergeorge, Ann; Ozonoff, Sally; Rogers, Sally J; Amaral, David G; Nordahl, Christine Wu
2017-06-01
Children with autism vary widely in their language abilities, yet the neural correlates of this language variability remain unclear, especially early in development. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was used to examine diffusivity measures along the length of 18 major fiber tracts in 104 preschool-aged boys with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The boys were assigned to subgroups according to their level of language development (Low: no/low language, Middle: small vocabulary, High: large vocabulary and grammar), based on their raw scores on the expressive language (EL) and receptive language (RL) sections of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). Results indicate that the subgroups differed in fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), and radial diffusivity (RD) along the inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF) in both hemispheres. Moreover, FA correlated significantly with Mullen EL and RL raw scores, but not ADOS severity score, along the left and right ILF. Subgroups also differed in MD (but not FA) along the left superior longitudinal fasiculus and left corticospinal tract, but these differences were not correlated with language scores. These findings suggest that white matter microstructure in the left and right ILF varies in relation to lexical development in young males with ASD. The findings also support the use of raw scores on language-relevant standardized tests for assessing early language-brain relationships. Autism Res 2017. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Autism Res 2017, 10: 1107-1119. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Johnson, Katrina C; Smith, Alicia K; Stowe, Zachary N; Newport, D Jeffrey; Brennan, Patricia A
2016-02-01
To test the hypothesis that prenatal exposure to serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) is associated with language and behavioral outcomes in preschool-aged children, while accounting for confounds such as concomitant exposures and maternal mental illness. An observational, prospective, longitudinal study of mental illness in pregnancy was conducted at a university-based women's mental health clinic (April 2010-November 2012). A sample of 178 mother-child dyads participated in a laboratory visit at preschool age (2.5-5.5 years). The majority of women (87%) received psychotropic medication during pregnancy. Psychiatric status (based on DSM-IV), other medication use, and substance use were serially assessed and tested as confounds. Primary outcome measures included standardized measures of expressive language and cognitive function and mother and alternate caregiver ratings of child behavior problems, including the Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD) subscale of the Child Behavior Checklist. Linear regression analyses revealed that, after controlling for relevant covariates, expressive language scores from the Test of Early Language Development, 3rd edition, were negatively associated with prenatal SRI exposure (β = -0.15, t = -2.41), while the PDD behavioral problems subscales completed by alternate caregivers and mothers were positively associated with prenatal SRI exposure (β = 0.17, t = 2.01; β = 0.16, t = 2.00, respectively). Cognitive function, measured using the Differential Ability Scales, 2nd edition, was not associated with any medication exposures. The current data suggest a small but significant association between prenatal SRI exposure and preschool outcomes, including expressive language and behavior problems. These data corroborate data from recent, population-based studies, although overall, published findings are mixed. Replication and identification of moderating risk factors are needed to understand potential clinical implications.
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Development of a Pitch Discrimination Screening Test for Preschool Children.
Abramson, Maria Kulick; Lloyd, Peter J
2016-04-01
There is a critical need for tests of auditory discrimination for young children as this skill plays a fundamental role in the development of speaking, prereading, reading, language, and more complex auditory processes. Frequency discrimination is important with regard to basic sensory processing affecting phonological processing, dyslexia, measurements of intelligence, auditory memory, Asperger syndrome, and specific language impairment. This study was performed to determine the clinical feasibility of the Pitch Discrimination Test (PDT) to screen the preschool child's ability to discriminate some of the acoustic demands of speech perception, primarily pitch discrimination, without linguistic content. The PDT used brief speech frequency tones to gather normative data from preschool children aged 3 to 5 yrs. A cross-sectional study was used to gather data regarding the pitch discrimination abilities of a sample of typically developing preschool children, between 3 and 5 yrs of age. The PDT consists of ten trials using two pure tones of 100-msec duration each, and was administered in an AA or AB forced-choice response format. Data from 90 typically developing preschool children between the ages of 3 and 5 yrs were used to provide normative data. Nonparametric Mann-Whitney U-testing was used to examine the effects of age as a continuous variable on pitch discrimination. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to determine the significance of age on performance on the PDT. Spearman rank was used to determine the correlation of age and performance on the PDT. Pitch discrimination of brief tones improved significantly from age 3 yrs to age 4 yrs, as well as from age 3 yrs to the age 4- and 5-yrs group. Results indicated that between ages 3 and 4 yrs, children's auditory discrimination of pitch improved on the PDT. The data showed that children can be screened for auditory discrimination of pitch beginning with age 4 yrs. The PDT proved to be a time efficient, feasible tool for
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Instructional Activities and the Quality of Language in Chilean Preschool Classrooms
Strasser, Katherine; Darricades, Michelle; Mendive, Susana; Barra, Gabriela
2018-01-01
Research Findings: This study examines the association between preschool classroom activity and the quality of the language spoken by teachers and children. Eighteen classrooms serving low-income children between the ages of 3 and 4 in Santiago de Chile were audio-recorded during one morning shift. Recordings were transcribed and segmented into…
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Simon-Cereijido, Gabriela; Gutierrez-Clellen, Vera F.; Sweet, Monica
2013-01-01
We investigated the factors that may help understand the differential rates of language development in the home language (i.e., Spanish) of Latino preschoolers with specific language impairment. Children were randomly assigned to either bilingual or English-only small group interventions and followed from preschool to kindergarten. Predictors of…
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Haebig, Eileen; Leonard, Laurence; Usler, Evan; Deevy, Patricia; Weber, Christine
2018-03-15
Previous behavioral studies have found deficits in lexical-semantic abilities in children with specific language impairment (SLI), including reduced depth and breadth of word knowledge. This study explored the neural correlates of early emerging familiar word processing in preschoolers with SLI and typical development. Fifteen preschoolers with typical development and 15 preschoolers with SLI were presented with pictures followed after a brief delay by an auditory label that did or did not match. Event-related brain potentials were time locked to the onset of the auditory labels. Children provided verbal judgments of whether the label matched the picture. There were no group differences in the accuracy of identifying when pictures and labels matched or mismatched. Event-related brain potential data revealed that mismatch trials elicited a robust N400 in both groups, with no group differences in mean amplitude or peak latency. However, the typically developing group demonstrated a more robust late positive component, elicited by mismatch trials. These initial findings indicate that lexical-semantic access of early acquired words, indexed by the N400, does not differ between preschoolers with SLI and typical development when highly familiar words are presented in isolation. However, the typically developing group demonstrated a more mature profile of postlexical reanalysis and integration, indexed by an emerging late positive component. The findings lay the necessary groundwork for better understanding processing of newly learned words in children with SLI.
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Qi, Cathy H.; Kaiser, Ann P.; Marley, Scott C.; Milan, Stephanie
2012-01-01
The purposes of the study were to determine (a) the ability of two spontaneous language measures, mean length of utterance in morphemes (MLU-m) and number of different words (NDW), to identify African American preschool children at low and high levels of language ability; (b) whether child chronological age was related to the performance of either…
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Ornaghi, Veronica; Pepe, Alessandro; Grazzani, Ilaria
2016-01-01
Emotion comprehension (EC) is known to be a key correlate and predictor of prosociality from early childhood. In the present study, we examined this relationship within the broad theoretical construct of social understanding which includes a number of socio-emotional skills, as well as cognitive and linguistic abilities. Theory of mind, especially false-belief understanding, has been found to be positively correlated with both EC and prosocial orientation. Similarly, language ability is known to play a key role in children's socio-emotional development. The combined contribution of false-belief understanding and language to explaining the relationship between EC and prosociality has yet to be investigated. Thus, in the current study, we conducted an in-depth exploration of how preschoolers' false-belief understanding and language ability each contribute to modeling the relationship between children's comprehension of emotion and their disposition to act prosocially toward others, after controlling for age and gender. Participants were 101 4- to 6-year-old children (54% boys), who were administered measures of language ability, false-belief understanding, EC and prosocial orientation. Multiple mediation analysis of the data suggested that false-belief understanding and language ability jointly and fully mediated the effect of preschoolers' EC on their prosocial orientation. Analysis of covariates revealed that gender exerted no statistically significant effect, while age had a trivial positive effect. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
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Whedon, Margaret; Perry, Nicole B; Calkins, Susan D; Bell, Martha A
2018-05-21
Parasympathetic nervous system functioning in infancy may serve a foundational role in the development of cognitive and socioemotional skills (Calkins, 2007). In this study (N = 297), we investigated the potential indirect effects of cardiac vagal regulation in infancy on children's executive functioning and social competence in preschool via expressive and receptive language in toddlerhood. Vagal regulation was assessed at 10 months during two attention conditions (social, nonsocial) via task-related changes in respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). A path analysis revealed that decreased RSA from baseline in the nonsocial condition and increased RSA in the social condition were related to larger vocabularies in toddlerhood. Additionally, children's vocabulary sizes were positively related to their executive function and social competence in preschool. Indirect effects from vagal regulation in both contexts to both 4-year outcomes were significant, suggesting that early advances in language may represent a mechanism through which biological functioning in infancy impacts social and cognitive functioning in childhood. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Ren, Yonggang; Rattanasone, Nan Xu; Wyver, Shirley; Hinton, Amber; Demuth, Katherine
2016-01-01
We investigated typical errors made by Mandarin-speaking children when measured by the Preschool Language Scales-fifth edition, Screening Test (PLS-5 Screening Test). The intention was to provide preliminary data for the development of a guideline for early childhood educators and psychologists who use the test with Mandarin-speaking children.…
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Swedish Preschool Leadership--Supportive of Music or Not?
Ehrlin, Anna
2015-01-01
This study uses observations and interviews to investigate how the leadership at three Swedish preschools in Sweden has impacted the didactic choices made. Two of these preschools use music as a tool for stimulating language and social development, while the third preschool serves as a comparison. The inspiration that the leadership has brought to…
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Abilities of phonological awareness in the context of cognitive development in preschool age
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Grofčíková Soňa
2017-09-01
Full Text Available Phonological awareness is considered a key phenomenon having crucial position among abilities and processes which are important and responsible for the development of reading and writing (initial literacy. The paper deals with the significance and level of development of selected cognitive functions of a child in relation to the abilities of phonological awareness. The child’s current cognitive development is a predictor for certain level of phonological awareness. The paper is focused on a description of speech perception, language, oral vocabulary and phonological memory of children in preschool age. It is an output of the research project VEGA no. 1/0637/16 Development of a Diagnostic Tool to Assess the Level of Phonemic Awareness of Children in Preschool Age.
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Brebner, Chris; McCormack, Paul; Liow, Susan Rickard
2016-01-01
The phonological and morphosyntactic structures of English and Mandarin contrast maximally and an increasing number of bilinguals speak these two languages. Speech and language therapists need to understand bilingual development for children speaking these languages in order reliably to assess and provide intervention for this population. To examine the marking of verb tense in the English of two groups of bilingual pre-schoolers learning these languages in a multilingual setting where the main educational language is English. The main research question addressed was: are there differences in the rate and pattern of acquisition of verb-tense marking for English-language 1 children compared with Mandarin-language 1 children? Spoken language samples in English from 481 English-Mandarin bilingual children were elicited using a 10-item action picture test and analysed for each child's use of verb tense markers: present progressive '-ing', regular past tense '-ed', third-person singular '-s', and irregular past tense and irregular past-participle forms. For 4-6 year olds the use of inflectional markers by the different language dominance groups was compared statistically using non-parametric tests. This study provides further evidence that bilingual language development is not the same as monolingual language development. The results show that there are very different rates and patterns of verb-tense marking in English for English-language 1 and Mandarin-language 1 children. Furthermore, they show that bilingual language development in English in Singapore is not the same as monolingual language development in English, and that there are differences in development depending on language dominance. Valid and reliable assessment of bilingual children's language skills needs to consider the characteristics of all languages spoken, obtaining accurate information on language use over time and accurately establishing language dominance is essential in order to make a
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Differential Effects of Home and Preschool Learning Environments on Early Language Development
Schmerse, Daniel; Anders, Yvonne; Flöter, Manja; Wieduwilt, Nadine; Roßbach, Hans-Günther; Tietze, Wolfgang
2018-01-01
The present study is based on longitudinal data from a German early childhood education and care (ECEC) governmental initiative assessing children's grammatical and vocabulary development between 2;6 and 4;0 years (N = 1,331), quality of the home learning environment and quality of the preschool setting. Results showed that the quality of the home…
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Language Characteristics of Preschool Children with Hearing Loss in Tehran, Iran
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Dr. Younes Lotfi
2010-06-01
Full Text Available Background and Aim: Hearing impairment affects all aspect of individual life, specially language and communication skills. When hearing impairment is congenital or occurs early in life, the child’s ability to learn optimally through audition, will be affected. The aim of this study was to evaluate linguistic skills of preschool hearing impaired children and compare these skills with normal peers.Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 38 preschool hearing impaired children that the main handicap was severe to profound hearing loss with ability to communicate orally and 28 normal children with the same cultural and social context. Twenty four non linguistic variables including age, gender, the age of entrance of preschool center, number of hearing aids, etc. were obtained by filling a questionnaire and fifteen linguistics variables including number of utterance, morphemes, correct utterance, noun phrase, ambiguous utterance, correct sentences, compound sentences, etc. were collected by some part of TOLD-P-3 test and three complementary questions. Then we compared the data from two groups.Results: There were significant differences between number of utterance, number of correct mean length utterance, number of well-formed sentences in normal and hearing impaired group (p0.05.Conclusion: This study showed a severe deficit in linguistic skills in preschool hearing impaired children.
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Ren, Yonggang; Wyver, Shirley; Xu Rattanasone, Nan; Demuth, Katherine
2016-01-01
Research Findings: The main aim of this study was to examine whether language skills and emotion regulation are associated with social competence and whether the relationship between English skills and social competence is moderated by emotion regulation in Mandarin-English bilingual preschoolers. The language skills of 96 children ages…
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Young Children as Language Policy-Makers: Studies of Interaction in Preschools in Finland and Sweden
Boyd, Sally; Huss, Leena
2017-01-01
This special issue has as its focus the agency of young children in relation to language policy and practice in bi- and multilingual preschools in Finland and Sweden. Studies of language policy in practice in early childhood education and care (ECEC) in these two countries can be particularly relevant even to those in other contexts, because they…
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Glogowska, M; Campbell, R; Peters, T J; Roulstone, S; Enderby, P
2001-01-01
In the past decade, there has been growing recognition of the need to involve clients in decisions about the healthcare they receive and in the evaluation of services offered. In health services research, survey and scaling methods have become important tools for research into 'consumer views' and the perspectives of people receiving healthcare. In spite of the increase in recent years in the participation of parents in their children's Speech and Language Therapy (SLT), there has been little attempt to investigate parents' perceptions and opinions of the services they receive. Moreover, there has been no previous attempt to derive a scale to measure these attitudes. The paper reports a study that explored the attitudes to therapy of 81 parents whose preschool children were receiving SLT intervention. Factor analysis of 12 items on a questionnaire revealed three issues salient in parental attitudes to therapy: practical help, emotional support and the perceived effectiveness of the service. The validity of these factors was supported by other findings from the questionnaire. The properties of the resulting scales are discussed and the ways in which they might be further refined and developed for use in SLT are suggested.
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Dynamic assessment of word learning skills of pre-school children with primary language impairment.
Camilleri, Bernard; Law, James
2014-10-01
Dynamic assessment has been shown to have considerable theoretical and clinical significance in the assessment of socially disadvantaged and culturally and linguistically diverse children. In this study it is used to enhance assessment of pre-school children with primary language impairment. The purpose of the study was to determine whether a dynamic assessment (DA) has the potential to enhance the predictive capacity of a static measure of receptive vocabulary in pre-school children. Forty pre-school children were assessed using the static British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS), a DA of word learning potential and an assessment of non-verbal cognitive ability. Thirty-seven children were followed up 6 months later and re-assessed using the BPVS. Although the predictive capacity of the static measure was found to be substantial, the DA increased this significantly especially for children with static scores below the 25th centile. The DA of children's word learning has the potential to add value to the static assessment of the child with low language skills, to predict subsequent receptive vocabulary skills and to increase the chance of correctly identifying children in need of ongoing support.
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Strasser, Katherine; Mendive, Susana; Vergara, Daniela; Darricades, Michelle
2018-01-01
Research Findings: This study evaluated the impact of a self-monitoring intervention on preschool teachers' use of language and on children's language growth. Nineteen classrooms from Santiago de Chile participated (10 intervention, 9 control). Twice a week, intervention teachers filled out a checklist to monitor the language stimulation they…
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Willinger, Ulrike; Schmoeger, Michaela; Deckert, Matthias; Eisenwort, Brigitte; Loader, Benjamin; Hofmair, Annemarie; Auff, Eduard
2017-10-01
Specific language impairment (SLI) comprises impairments in receptive and/or expressive language. Aim of this study was to evaluate a screening for SLI. 61 children with SLI (SLI-children, age-range 4-6 years) and 61 matched typically developing controls were tested for receptive language ability (Token Test-TT) and for intelligence (Wechsler Preschool-and-Primary-Scale-of-Intelligence-WPPSI). Group differences were analyzed using t tests, as well as direct and stepwise discriminant analyses. The predictive value of the WPPSI with respect to TT performance was analyzed using regression analyses. SLI-children performed significantly worse on both TT and WPPSI ([Formula: see text]). The TT alone yielded an overall classification rate of 79%, the TT and the WPPSI together yielded an overall classification rate of 80%. TT performance was significantly predicted by verbal intelligence in SLI-children and nonverbal intelligence in controls whilst WPPSI subtest arithmetic was predictive in both groups. Without further research, the Token Test cannot be seen as a valid and sufficient tool for the screening of SLI in preschool children but rather as a tool for the assessment of more general intellectual capacities. SLI-children at this age already show impairments typically associated with SLI which indicates the necessity of early developmental support or training. Token Test performance is possibly an indicator for a more general developmental factor rather than an exclusive indicator for language difficulties.
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The semantic associative ability in preschoolers with different age of language onset
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Dina Di Giacomo
2016-07-01
Full Text Available Aim of the study is to verify the semantic associative abilities in children with different language onset times: early, typical, and delayed talkers. The study was conducted on the sample of 74 preschool children who performed a Perceptual Associative Task, in order to evaluate the ability to link concepts by four associative strategies (function, part/whole, contiguity, and superordinate strategies. The results evidenced that the children with delayed language onset performed significantly better than the children with early language production. No difference was found between typical and delayed language groups. Our results showed that the children with early language onset presented weakness in the flexibility of elaboration of the concepts. The typical and delayed language onset groups overlapped performance in the associative abilities. The time of language onset appeared to be a predictive factor in the use of semantic associative strategies; the early talkers might present a slow pattern of conceptual processing, whereas the typical and late talkers may have protective factors.
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The development of children's language and ethical media competences and media skills
Valli, Raine; Hautaviita, Janika; Meriläinen, Merja
2015-01-01
The children's developing media competences and media skills are evaluated in this article on the basis of the evaluation indicator developed by Hautaviita (2012). The indicator has been developed for measuring the 6–9-year-old children's (the preschoolers and the pupils in grades 1-2) media competences. In it, the children's developing media skills are divided into practical, social, language and ethical media competences, of which this article concentrates on the last two, language and ethi...
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Tchoungui Oyono, Lilly; Pascoe, Michelle; Singh, Shajila
2018-05-17
The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of speech and language disorders in French-speaking preschool-age children in Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon. A total of 460 participants aged 3-5 years were recruited from the 7 communes of Yaoundé using a 2-stage cluster sampling method. Speech and language assessment was undertaken using a standardized speech and language test, the Evaluation du Langage Oral (Khomsi, 2001), which was purposefully renormed on the sample. A predetermined cutoff of 2 SDs below the normative mean was applied to identify articulation, expressive language, and receptive language disorders. Fluency and voice disorders were identified using clinical judgment by a speech-language pathologist. Overall prevalence was calculated as follows: speech disorders, 14.7%; language disorders, 4.3%; and speech and language disorders, 17.1%. In terms of disorders, prevalence findings were as follows: articulation disorders, 3.6%; expressive language disorders, 1.3%; receptive language disorders, 3%; fluency disorders, 8.4%; and voice disorders, 3.6%. Prevalence figures are higher than those reported for other countries and emphasize the urgent need to develop speech and language services for the Cameroonian population.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Atik Aryani
2018-02-01
Full Text Available Background: Social-emotional development in preschooler children is an important component in child development, as it becomes the foundation in preparing children for confidence, empathy and intellect, building trust, and being able to use language in communication and connect with others. One of the factors that affect children's emotional social development is the quality of mother's care. Children of young mothers have risks in emotional and intellectual social problems in children. Objective: The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship of quality care of young mothers with social-emotional development in preschool children in the working area of the Health Center of Kemalang, Klaten Regency, Indonesia. Methods: This was a correlational analytic research with cross sectional design. The sample of the study was 124 young mothers with preschool children selected using consecutive sampling technique. The study was conducted from July to August 2017 at six kindergarten schools in the working area of the Health Center of Kemalang, Klaten Regency. Data were collected using parent behavior questionnaire and stage social-emotional instrument. Data were analyzed using chi square test. Results: Findings showed that 58.1% of young mothers had good quality of care, and 55.6% of preschoolers were at risk of developing emotional social development problems. There was a significant correlation between the quality of care of young mothers with social-emotional development in preschool children (p-value <0.05. Conclusion: There was a correlation between the quality of care of young mothers with social-emotional development in preschool children.
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Effects of Enrichment Preschooling at Bourke: A Further Follow-up Study
De Lacey, P. R.; Nurcombe, B.
1977-01-01
As a test of the persistence of the effects of enrichment preschooling, and as a further stage of the evaluation of the Bourke preschool in New South Wales, 96 Aboriginal and white children, preschooled and non-preschooled, were given a battery of tests in 1974 measuring verbal intelligence, language development and classificatory skills.…
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Lane, Justin D; Shepley, Collin; Lieberman-Betz, Rebecca
2016-10-01
Young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often demonstrate delays in expressive communication, impacting their ability to independently function in typical environments. Individuals with ASD who develop expressive language during early childhood experience better outcomes later in life; therefore, examination of naturalistic language interventions (NLIs) remain an important area of investigation. The current study used a multiple probe design across participants to examine the effects of a classroom-based NLI on various expressive language targets in three preschool-aged children demonstrating characteristics of ASD. Findings suggest the intervention had positive and maintained effects on trial-based use of language targets, as well as concomitant changes in commenting, requesting, and phrase complexity. Implications regarding implementation of NLIs within typical classroom play activities are discussed.
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Parenting and Preschool Child Development: Examination of Three Low-Income U.S. Cultural Groups
Whiteside-Mansell, Leanne; Bradley, Robert H.; McKelvey, Lorraine
2009-01-01
We examined the impact of parenting behaviors on preschool children's social development in low-income families from three cultural groups: European American (n = 286), African American (n = 399), and Hispanic American (n = 164) using Spanish as the primary language in the home. Observed parenting behaviors of stimulation, responsivity, and…
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Study of child language development and disorders in Iran: A systematic review of the literature
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Yalda Kazemi
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Child language development and disorder in Iran has been the focus for research by different professions, the most prominent ones among them being psychologists and speech therapists. Epidemiological studies indicate that between 8% and 12% of children show noticeable signs of language impairment in the preschool years; however, research on child language in Iran is not extensive compared to studies in English speaking countries, which are currently the basis of clinical decision-making in Iran. Consequently, there is no information about the prevalence of child language disorders in Iranian population. This review summarizes Iranian studies on child language development and disorder in the preschool years and aims to systematically find the most studied topics in the field of normal development, the assessment and diagnosis of language impairments as well as exploring the current gaps within the body of literature. Three main Iranian academic websites of indexed articles along with four other nonIranian databases were scrutinized for all relevant articles according to the inclusion criteria: Iranian studies within the field of Persian language development and disorders in preschool children published up to December 2013. They are classified according to the hierarchy of evidence and weighed against the criteria of critical appraisal of study types. As this is a type of nonintervention systematic review, the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses is modified to be more compatible to the designs of eligible studies, including descriptive studies, test-developing and/or diagnostic studies. Several limitations made the process of searching and retrieving problematic; e.g., lack of unified keywords and incompatibility of Persian typing structure embedded in Iranian search engines. Overall, eligible studies met the criteria up to the third level of the hierarchy of evidence that shows the necessity of conducting studies
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Study of child language development and disorders in Iran: A systematic review of the literature.
Kazemi, Yalda; Stringer, Helen; Klee, Thomas
2015-01-01
Child language development and disorder in Iran has been the focus for research by different professions, the most prominent ones among them being psychologists and speech therapists. Epidemiological studies indicate that between 8% and 12% of children show noticeable signs of language impairment in the preschool years; however, research on child language in Iran is not extensive compared to studies in English speaking countries, which are currently the basis of clinical decision-making in Iran. Consequently, there is no information about the prevalence of child language disorders in Iranian population. This review summarizes Iranian studies on child language development and disorder in the preschool years and aims to systematically find the most studied topics in the field of normal development, the assessment and diagnosis of language impairments as well as exploring the current gaps within the body of literature. Three main Iranian academic websites of indexed articles along with four other nonIranian databases were scrutinized for all relevant articles according to the inclusion criteria: Iranian studies within the field of Persian language development and disorders in preschool children published up to December 2013. They are classified according to the hierarchy of evidence and weighed against the criteria of critical appraisal of study types. As this is a type of nonintervention systematic review, the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses is modified to be more compatible to the designs of eligible studies, including descriptive studies, test-developing and/or diagnostic studies. Several limitations made the process of searching and retrieving problematic; e.g., lack of unified keywords and incompatibility of Persian typing structure embedded in Iranian search engines. Overall, eligible studies met the criteria up to the third level of the hierarchy of evidence that shows the necessity of conducting studies with higher levels of
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Leiser, Kara; Heffelfinger, Amy; Kaugars, Astrida
2017-02-01
To examine associations among parent-child relationship characteristics and child cognitive and language outcomes. Preschool children (n = 72) with early neurological insult completed assessments of cognitive and language functioning and participated in a parent-child semi-structured interaction. Quality of the parent-child relationship accounted for a significant amount of unique variance (12%) in predicting children's overall cognitive and language functioning. Impact of neurological insult was a significant predictor. Caregiver-child interactions that are harmonious and reciprocal as evidenced by affective and/or verbal exchanges support children's cognitive and language development. Observations of interactions can guide providers in facilitating child- and family-centered interventions.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Emma McGilp
2014-11-01
Full Text Available This paper discusses a project with a small group of children learning English as an a language (EAL at a pre-school in Scotland. The project however could be replicated across the globe, in any classroom with a diverse range of learners, with particular benefit to minority and newly arrived migrant children. At the project’s core was the aim to bring the children’s first language and culture into the classroom, drawing in particular on Cummin’s (1984 Common Underlying Proficiency model, which asserts that knowledge of one language can assist learners in their acquisition of another. The project used multicultural picturebooks to validate the learner’s experiences and culture, and then called on parents’ funds of knowledge to make the children’s first language visible in the classroom. This joint working between the children, parents and the pre-school culminated in the production of a multilingual collage – a prominent display that recognises the value of the children’s first language in the classroom, builds bridges between home and school and is reflective, and proud, of an increasingly multilingual Scotland.
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Pre-School Attendance and Child Development
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bauchmüller, Robert; Gørtz, Mette; Rasmussen, Astrid Würtz
Earlier research suggests that children's development is shaped in their early years of life. This paper examines whether differences in day-care experiences during pre-school age are important for children's cognitive and language development at the age of 15. The analysis is based on class...... performance at the end of elementary schooling. We assess the effects of attended types and qualities of day-care institutions on various child outcomes as measured by school grades in mathematics, science, English and Danish for the whole Danish population as well as outcomes from the 2006 PISA Denmark...... survey and a 2007 PISA Copenhagen survey. We use administrative registries to generate indicators such as child-staff ratios, child-pedagogues ratios, and the share of male staff and of staff with non-Danish origins. Furthermore, we use information on the average levels of educational attainments...
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Building a Model of Support for Preschool Children with Speech and Language Disorders
Robertson, Natalie; Ohi, Sarah
2016-01-01
Speech and language disorders impede young children's abilities to communicate and are often associated with a number of behavioural problems arising in the preschool classroom. This paper reports a small-scale study that investigated 23 Australian educators' and 7 Speech Pathologists' experiences in working with three to five year old children…
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Wang, Hsiao-Lan S; Chen, I-Chen; Chiang, Chun-Han; Lai, Ying-Hui; Tsao, Yu
2016-10-01
The current study examined the associations between basic auditory perception, speech prosodic processing, and vocabulary development in Chinese kindergartners, specifically, whether early basic auditory perception may be related to linguistic prosodic processing in Chinese Mandarin vocabulary acquisition. A series of language, auditory, and linguistic prosodic tests were given to 100 preschool children who had not yet learned how to read Chinese characters. The results suggested that lexical tone sensitivity and intonation production were significantly correlated with children's general vocabulary abilities. In particular, tone awareness was associated with comprehensive language development, whereas intonation production was associated with both comprehensive and expressive language development. Regression analyses revealed that tone sensitivity accounted for 36% of the unique variance in vocabulary development, whereas intonation production accounted for 6% of the variance in vocabulary development. Moreover, auditory frequency discrimination was significantly correlated with lexical tone sensitivity, syllable duration discrimination, and intonation production in Mandarin Chinese. Also it provided significant contributions to tone sensitivity and intonation production. Auditory frequency discrimination may indirectly affect early vocabulary development through Chinese speech prosody. © The Author(s) 2016.
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First steps toward developing tools for language assessment in ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Young children who are at risk for language impairment should, therefore, be identified as early as possible. Multilingualism, which has become a universal phenomenon, may mask the presence of language impairment. In South African urban multilingual preschool contexts, the teacher or speech-language therapist is not ...
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Schwartz, Mila; Shaul, Yehudit
2013-01-01
The development of script schema, as a source of narrative knowledge, is an essential stage in this knowledge construction. This study focused on the role of bilingual versus monolingual preschool education in the development of script schema knowledge in Russian (L1) and Hebrew (L2) among Russian/Hebrew-speaking children in Israel. The preschool…
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Brain metabolite levels and language abilities in preschool children.
Lebel, Catherine; MacMaster, Frank P; Dewey, Deborah
2016-10-01
Language acquisition occurs rapidly during early childhood and lays the foundation for future reading success. However, little is known about the brain-language relationships in young children. The goal of this study was to investigate relationships between brain metabolites and prereading language abilities in healthy preschool-aged children. Participants were 67 healthy children aged 3.0-5.4 years scanned on a 3T GE MR750w MRI scanner using short echo proton spectroscopy with a voxel placed in the anterior cingulate gyrus ( n = 56) and/or near the left angular gyrus ( n = 45). Children completed the NEPSY-II Phonological Processing and Speeded Naming subtests at the same time as their MRI scan. We calculated glutamate, glutamine, creatine/phosphocreatine, choline, inositol, and NAA concentrations, and correlated these with language skills. In the anterior cingulate, Phonological Processing Scaled Scores were significantly correlated with glutamate, creatine, and inositol concentrations. In the left angular gyrus, Speeded Naming Combined Scaled Scores showed trend correlations with choline and glutamine concentrations. For the first time, we demonstrate relationships between brain metabolites and prereading language abilities in young children. Our results show relationships between language and inositol and glutamate that may reflect glial differences underlying language function, and a relationship of language with creatine. The trend between Speeded Naming and choline is consistent with previous research in older children and adults; however, larger sample sizes are needed to confirm whether this relationship is indeed significant in young children. These findings help understand the brain basis of language, and may ultimately lead to earlier and more effective interventions for reading disabilities.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Wake Melissa
2012-07-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Early language delay is a high-prevalence condition of concern to parents and professionals. It may result in lifelong deficits not only in language function, but also in social, emotional/behavioural, academic and economic well-being. Such delays can lead to considerable costs to the individual, the family and to society more widely. The Language for Learning trial tests a population-based intervention in 4 year olds with measured language delay, to determine (1 if it improves language and associated outcomes at ages 5 and 6 years and (2 its cost-effectiveness for families and the health care system. Methods/Design A large-scale randomised trial of a year-long intervention targeting preschoolers with language delay, nested within a well-documented, prospective, population-based cohort of 1464 children in Melbourne, Australia. All children received a 1.25-1.5 hour formal language assessment at their 4th birthday. The 200 children with expressive and/or receptive language scores more than 1.25 standard deviations below the mean were randomised into intervention or ‘usual care’ control arms. The 20-session intervention program comprises 18 one-hour home-based therapeutic sessions in three 6-week blocks, an outcome assessment, and a final feed-back/forward planning session. The therapy utilises a ‘step up-step down’ therapeutic approach depending on the child’s language profile, severity and progress, with standardised, manualised activities covering the four language development domains of: vocabulary and grammar; narrative skills; comprehension monitoring; and phonological awareness/pre-literacy skills. Blinded follow-up assessments at ages 5 and 6 years measure the primary outcome of receptive and expressive language, and secondary outcomes of vocabulary, narrative, and phonological skills. Discussion A key strength of this robust study is the implementation of a therapeutic framework that provides a standardised
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Expected Test Scores for Preschoolers with a Cochlear Implant Who Use Spoken Language
Nicholas, Johanna G.; Geers, Ann E.
2008-01-01
Purpose: The major purpose of this study was to provide information about expected spoken language skills of preschool-age children who are deaf and who use a cochlear implant. A goal was to provide "benchmarks" against which those skills could be compared, for a given age at implantation. We also examined whether parent-completed…
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Associations among Head Start Fathers' Involvement with Their Preschoolers and Child Language Skills
Fagan, Jay; Iglesias, Aquiles; Kaufman, Rebecca
2016-01-01
This study examined the associations among child language competence during father-child play interactions, fathers' time spent volunteering in their preschool-age child's Head Start classroom over the course of one school year, amount of father play and reading to the child at home, and fathers' positive control during play. The sample of 68…
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Case Study of Teen Mothers' Perceptions of Their Influence on Preschoolers' Language Development
Duncan, Mary
2016-01-01
Children born to teen mothers tend to score lower on language development assessments and to have school readiness delays. To support teen mothers and their children in improving language development, educators need information about mothers' daily interactions with their children and how they contribute to their children's language development.…
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Kapa, Leah L; Plante, Elena; Doubleday, Kevin
2017-08-16
The first goal of this research was to compare verbal and nonverbal executive function abilities between preschoolers with and without specific language impairment (SLI). The second goal was to assess the group differences on 4 executive function components in order to determine if the components may be hierarchically related as suggested within a developmental integrative framework of executive function. This study included 26 4- and 5-year-olds diagnosed with SLI and 26 typically developing age- and sex-matched peers. Participants were tested on verbal and nonverbal measures of sustained selective attention, working memory, inhibition, and shifting. The SLI group performed worse compared with typically developing children on both verbal and nonverbal measures of sustained selective attention and working memory, the verbal inhibition task, and the nonverbal shifting task. Comparisons of standardized group differences between executive function measures revealed a linear increase with the following order: working memory, inhibition, shifting, and sustained selective attention. The pattern of results suggests that preschoolers with SLI have deficits in executive functioning compared with typical peers, and deficits are not limited to verbal tasks. A significant linear relationship between group differences across executive function components supports the possibility of a hierarchical relationship between executive function skills.
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Plante, Elena; Doubleday, Kevin
2017-01-01
Purpose The first goal of this research was to compare verbal and nonverbal executive function abilities between preschoolers with and without specific language impairment (SLI). The second goal was to assess the group differences on 4 executive function components in order to determine if the components may be hierarchically related as suggested within a developmental integrative framework of executive function. Method This study included 26 4- and 5-year-olds diagnosed with SLI and 26 typically developing age- and sex-matched peers. Participants were tested on verbal and nonverbal measures of sustained selective attention, working memory, inhibition, and shifting. Results The SLI group performed worse compared with typically developing children on both verbal and nonverbal measures of sustained selective attention and working memory, the verbal inhibition task, and the nonverbal shifting task. Comparisons of standardized group differences between executive function measures revealed a linear increase with the following order: working memory, inhibition, shifting, and sustained selective attention. Conclusion The pattern of results suggests that preschoolers with SLI have deficits in executive functioning compared with typical peers, and deficits are not limited to verbal tasks. A significant linear relationship between group differences across executive function components supports the possibility of a hierarchical relationship between executive function skills. PMID:28724132
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Arndt, Karen Barako; Schuele, C. Melanie
2013-01-01
Complex syntax production emerges shortly after the emergence of two-word combinations in oral language and continues to develop through the school-age years. This article defines a framework for the analysis of complex syntax in the spontaneous language of preschool- and early school-age children. The purpose of this article is to provide…
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Leech, Kathryn A.; Rowe, Meredith L.
2014-01-01
Discussions that occur during book reading between parents and preschool children relate to children's language development, especially discussions during picture books that include extended discourse, a form of abstract language. While a recent report shows increased chapter book reading among families with preschool children, it is unknown…
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Weiland, Christina; Barata, M. Clara; Yoshikawa, Hirokazu
2014-01-01
Despite consensus in the developmental literature regarding the role of executive function (EF) skills in supporting the development of language skills during the preschool years, we know relatively little about the associations between EF skills, including all EF components, and vocabulary skills among preschool-aged children. In this paper, we…
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Roello, Mara; Ferretti, Maria Letizia; Colonnello, Valentina; Levi, Gabriel
2015-02-01
Several studies indicate that school-age children with specific language impairment (SLI) have difficulties with tasks that rely on executive functions. Whether executive function deficits in children with SLI emerge during preschool age remains unclear. Our aim was to fill this gap by investigating executive function performances in two age groups of preschoolers with and without SLI. Children with SLI (N=60; young: 53.6±5.3 months; old: 65.4±3.8 months) and age-matched control children (N=58) were tested for problem-representation ability, using the Flexible Item Selection Task (FIST), rule-use skills, using a Stroop-like Day-Night test (D/N), and planning skills, using the Tower of London test (TOL). Older children performed better than younger children did across tasks. Children with SLI had poorer performance, compared to typically developing children, on measures of problem representation, planning skills, and use of rules. Our results clearly indicate that executive function impairment is evident during the preschool period. Although old children with SLI performed better than young children with SLI, their performances were still poor, compared to those of control peers. These findings suggest that children with SLI have altered executive functioning at 53.6 months. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
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Longobardi, Emiddia; Spataro, Pietro; Frigerio, Alessandra; Rescorla, Leslie
2016-01-01
The present study examined the relation between language and social ability in a sample of 268 preschoolers aged 18-35 months. Expressive language was assessed with the Italian adaptation of the Language Development Survey (LDS), and Social Competence was assessed with the Questionnaire on Peer Interactions in the Kindergarten (QPI). Results…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ewa Pisula
2015-01-01
Full Text Available Background The characteristics of autism spectrum disorders (ASD observed among relatives of people affected with autism are referred to as broader autism phenotype (BAP. Among the components of BAP are language and communication skills. Research to date on these skills amongst the relatives of individuals with ASD is inconclusive. Furthermore, limited data are available about preschool-aged siblings of children with ASD. Participants and procedure Eighty-six children aged 4 years and 6 months – 6 years and 11 months took part in the study (32 girls and 54 boys. They were divided into four groups: siblings of children with autism (S/ASD, high-functioning children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (HF/ASD, siblings of children with Down syndrome (S/DS and siblings of typically developing children (Controls, C. Communication and language skills were tested using the Vocabulary Test for Children (TSD. It was used to assess two kinds of verbal skills: receptive language (passive and expressive language (active. Results No differences were observed in expressive lanquage or receptive language between siblings of children with ASD and siblings of children with DS as well as typically developing children. In terms of receptive language and general communication skills, siblings of children with ASD scored higher than high functioning children with ASD. High functioning children with ASD displayed difficulties with receptive language, expressive language, general language and communication skills. Conclusions The results suggest that siblings of children with ASD do not display deficits in communication and language skills. It is however important to note that due to a small sample size this study should be considered as preliminary.
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Construction environment education development activity for children pre-school
MA. TRAN THI THUY NGA; MA. PHAM THI YEN
2015-01-01
Education motor development contribute to the comprehensive development of pre-school children. Building educational environment for young athletes develop in pre-school is one of many issues of concern in the current stage of pre-school education in Vietnam.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Neonila Vyacheslavovna Ivanova
2015-12-01
Full Text Available Purpose. The article describes the main provisions of the monitoring system of professional readiness of the future teachers of pre-school education.Methodology. Presented in the paper position monitoring system of professional readiness of students to develop communicative speech bilingual children in the profil «Preschool education» are analized based on the principles: compliance with the general content of the training and disciplinary purposes of vocational training; Unity of its substantive and procedural right; structural integrity of the contents; orientation of its content for the implementation of the system, the personal, the activity, polysubject (Dialogic, cultural approaches.Results. We studid and summarized some of the theoretical and practical aspects, given the scientific substantiation of organizational methods of monitoring of professional readiness of the future teachers to the communicative and language development of preschool children bilingual.Practical implications. Еducational system of higher education.
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Brain white matter structure and language ability in preschool-aged children.
Walton, Matthew; Dewey, Deborah; Lebel, Catherine
2018-01-01
Brain alterations are associated with reading and language difficulties in older children, but little research has investigated relationships between early language skills and brain white matter structure during the preschool period. We studied 68 children aged 3.0-5.6 years who underwent diffusion tensor imaging and participated in assessments of Phonological Processing and Speeded Naming. Tract-based spatial statistics and tractography revealed relationships between Phonological Processing and diffusion parameters in bilateral ventral white matter pathways and the corpus callosum. Phonological Processing was positively correlated with fractional anisotropy and negatively correlated with mean diffusivity. The relationships observed in left ventral pathways are consistent with studies in older children, and demonstrate that structural markers for language performance are apparent as young as 3 years of age. Our findings in right hemisphere areas that are not as commonly found in adult studies suggest that young children rely on a widespread network for language processing that becomes more specialized with age. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Chen, Yuchun; Liu, Huei-Mei
2014-01-01
Children with SLI exhibit overall deficits in novel word learning compared to their age-matched peers. However, the manifestation of the word learning difficulty in SLI was not consistent across tasks and the factors affecting the learning performance were not yet determined. Our aim is to examine the extent of word learning difficulties in Mandarin-speaking preschool children with SLI, and to explore the potent influence of existing lexical knowledge on to the word learning process. Preschool children with SLI (n=37) and typical language development (n=33) were exposed to novel words for unfamiliar objects embedded in stories. Word learning tasks including the initial mapping and short-term repetitive learning were designed. Results revealed that Mandarin-speaking preschool children with SLI performed as well as their age-peers in the initial form-meaning mapping task. Their word learning difficulty was only evidently shown in the short-term repetitive learning task under a production demand, and their learning speed was slower than the control group. Children with SLI learned the novel words with a semantic head better in both the initial mapping and repetitive learning tasks. Moderate correlations between stand word learning performances and scores on standardized vocabulary were found after controlling for children's age and nonverbal IQ. The results suggested that the word learning difficulty in children with SLI occurred in the process of establishing a robust phonological representation at the beginning stage of word learning. Also, implicit compound knowledge is applied to aid word learning process for children with and without SLI. We also provide the empirical data to validate the relationship between preschool children's word learning performance and their existing receptive vocabulary ability. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Development and validation of the Child Oral Health Impact Profile - Preschool version.
Ruff, R R; Sischo, L; Chinn, C H; Broder, H L
2017-09-01
The Child Oral Health Impact Profile (COHIP) is a validated instrument created to measure the oral health-related quality of life of school-aged children. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a preschool version of the COHIP (COHIP-PS) for children aged 2-5. The COHIP-PS was developed and validated using a multi-stage process consisting of item selection, face validity testing, item impact testing, reliability and validity testing, and factor analysis. A cross-sectional convenience sample of caregivers having children 2-5 years old from four groups completed item clarity and impact forms. Groups were recruited from pediatric health clinics or preschools/daycare centers, speech clinics, dental clinics, or cleft/craniofacial centers. Participants had a variety of oral health-related conditions, including caries, congenital orofacial anomalies, and speech/language deficiencies such as articulation and language disorders. COHIP-PS. The COHIP-PS was found to have acceptable internal validity (a = 0.71) and high test-retest reliability (0.87), though internal validity was below the accepted threshold for the community sample. While discriminant validity results indicated significant differences across study groups, the overall magnitude of differences was modest. Results from confirmatory factor analyses support the use of a four-factor model consisting of 11 items across oral health, functional well-being, social-emotional well-being, and self-image domains. Quality of life is an integral factor in understanding and assessing children's well-being. The COHIP-PS is a validated oral health-related quality of life measure for preschool children with cleft or other oral conditions. Copyright© 2017 Dennis Barber Ltd.
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Social-cognitive processes in preschoolers' selective trust: three cultures compared.
Lucas, Amanda J; Lewis, Charlie; Pala, F Cansu; Wong, Katie; Berridge, Damon
2013-03-01
Research on preschoolers' selective learning has mostly been conducted in English-speaking countries. We compared the performance of Turkish preschoolers (who are exposed to a language with evidential markers), Chinese preschoolers (known to be advanced in executive skills), and English preschoolers on an extended selective trust task (N = 144). We also measured children's executive function skills and their ability to attribute false belief. Overall we found a Turkish (rather than a Chinese) advantage in selective trust and a relationship between selective trust and false belief (rather than executive function). This is the 1st evidence that exposure to a language that obliges speakers to state the sources of their knowledge may sensitize preschoolers to informant reliability. It is also the first demonstration of an association between false belief and selective trust. Together these findings suggest that effective selective learning may progress alongside children's developing capacity to assess the knowledge of others.
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Hindman, Annemarie H.; Wasik, Barbara A.
2017-01-01
The current study examined whether Head Start children who experienced a high-quality preschool intervention, "Exceptional Coaching for Early Language and Literacy" ("ExCELL"), as three-year-olds began the subsequent pre-kindergarten (or four-year-old) year with stronger language and literacy skills than same-age peers who…
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Zevenbergen, Andrea A.; Ryan, Meghan M.
2010-01-01
This study examined the relationship between attention problems and expressive language and academic readiness skills in preschool-aged children from middle-class families. Forty-three children (44% female) were assessed individually for expressive language skills and knowledge of basic academic concepts (e.g. colours, letters and numbers). The…
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Choi, Ja Young; Choi, Yoon Seong; Park, Eun Sook
2017-05-24
The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of language development in relation to brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics and the other contributing factors to language development in children with cerebral palsy (CP). The study included 172 children with CP who underwent brain MRI and language assessments between 3 and 7 years of age. The MRI characteristics were categorized as normal, malformation, periventricular white matter lesion (PVWL), deep gray matter lesion, focal infarct, cortical/subcortical lesion, and others. Neurodevelopmental outcomes such as ambulatory status, manual ability, cognitive function, and accompanying impairments were assessed. Both receptive and expressive language development quotients (DQs) were significantly related to PVWL or deep gray matter lesion severity. In multivariable analysis, only cognitive function was significantly related to receptive language development, whereas ambulatory status and cognitive function were significantly associated with expressive language development. More than one third of the children had a language developmental discrepancy between receptive and expressive DQs. Children with cortical/subcortical lesions were at high risk for this discrepancy. Cognitive function is a key factor for both receptive and expressive language development. In children with PVWL or deep gray matter lesion, lesion severity seems to be useful to predict language development.
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Quality of the Preschool and Home Environment as a Context of Children's Language Development
Umek, Ljubica Marjanovic; Kranjc, Simona; Fekonja, Urska; Bajc, Katja
2006-01-01
Studies in the area of developmental psychology--especially those carried out in the past thirty years--show that preschool quality, both at the structural and process levels, in combination with the quality of the family environment influences various areas of children's development and learning. The goal of this study is to determine the effect…
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Narratives in Two Languages: Storytelling of Bilingual Cantonese-English Preschoolers.
Rezzonico, Stefano; Goldberg, Ahuva; Mak, Katy Ka-Yan; Yap, Stephanie; Milburn, Trelani; Belletti, Adriana; Girolametto, Luigi
2016-06-01
The aim of this study was to compare narratives generated by 4-year-old and 5-year-old children who were bilingual in English and Cantonese. The sample included 47 children (23 who were 4 years old and 24 who were 5 years old) living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, who spoke both Cantonese and English. The participants spoke and heard predominantly Cantonese in the home. Participants generated a story in English and Cantonese by using a wordless picture book; language order was counterbalanced. Data were transcribed and coded for story grammar, morphosyntactic quality, mean length of utterance in words, and the number of different words. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed higher story grammar scores in English than in Cantonese, but no other significant main effects of language were observed. Analyses also revealed that older children had higher story grammar, mean length of utterance in words, and morphosyntactic quality scores than younger children in both languages. Hierarchical regressions indicated that Cantonese story grammar predicted English story grammar and Cantonese microstructure predicted English microstructure. However, no correlation was observed between Cantonese and English morphosyntactic quality. The results of this study have implications for speech-language pathologists who collect narratives in Cantonese and English from bilingual preschoolers. The results suggest that there is a possible transfer in narrative abilities between the two languages.
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Simon-Cereijido, Gabriela; Gutiérrez-Clellen, Vera F.; Sweet, Monica
2012-01-01
We investigated the factors that may help understand the differential rates of language development in the home language (i.e., Spanish) of Latino preschoolers with specific language impairment (SLI). Children were randomly assigned to either bilingual or English-only small group interventions and followed from preschool to kindergarten. Predictors of Spanish growth included the language of intervention, the child’s level of language development or severity, the child’s socio-emotional skills, and the child’s level of English use. Spanish performance outcomes were assessed over time using a series of longitudinal models with baseline and post-treatment measures nested within child. Children demonstrated growth on Spanish outcomes over time. The language of instruction and the child’s level of vocabulary and socio-emotional development at baseline were significant predictors of differences in rates of growth in the home language. Clinicians may need to take into consideration these factors when making clinical recommendations. PMID:24489415
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Renata Mosca
2015-10-01
Full Text Available Background: Language and communication difficulties of young children with visual impairment (VI are ascribed to intellectual disability, multiple disabilities and autism spectrum disorder (ASD rather than their sensory impairment. Consequently, the communication difficulties of children with VI may have been underestimated and undertreated. Objectives: This report aims to critically appraise recent peer reviewed literature relating to communication and language development in children with VI. Method: A systematic search of the literature (2003–2013 was completed using the PRISMA guidelines, and primary and secondary search phrases. Nine publications were reviewed in terms of the strength of recent evidence. Thematic analysis was used to describe the early language and communication characteristics of children with VI. Results: All the selected articles (n = 9 were from developed countries and participants from seven of the studies had congenital VI. Five of the studies received an evidence level rating of III while four articles were rated as IIb. Two main themes emerged from the studies: early intervention, and multiple disabilities and ASD. Language and communication development is affected by VI, especially in the early stages of development. Speech-language therapists should therefore be included in early intervention for children with VI. Conclusion: Recent evidence on the early language and communication difficulties of children with VI exists, but children in developing countries with acquired VI appear to not be investigated. The identified language and communication developmental characteristics may assist speech-language therapists to build a knowledge base for participation in early intervention for young children with VI and their families.
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Mosca, Renata; Kritzinger, Alta; van der Linde, Jeannie
2015-01-01
Language and communication difficulties of young children with visual impairment (VI) are ascribed to intellectual disability, multiple disabilities and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) rather than their sensory impairment. Consequently, the communication difficulties of children with VI may have been underestimated and undertreated. This report aims to critically appraise recent peer reviewed literature relating to communication and language development in children with VI. A systematic search of the literature (2003–2013) was completed using the PRISMA guidelines, and primary and secondary search phrases. Nine publications were reviewed in terms of the strength of recent evidence. Thematic analysis was used to describe the early language and communication characteristics of children with VI. All the selected articles (n = 9) were from developed countries and participants from seven of the studies had congenital VI. Five of the studies received an evidence level rating of III while four articles were rated as IIb. Two main themes emerged from the studies: early intervention, and multiple disabilities and ASD. Language and communication development is affected by VI, especially in the early stages of development. Speech-language therapists should therefore be included in early intervention for children with VI. Recent evidence on the early language and communication difficulties of children with VI exists, but children in developing countries with acquired VI appear to not be investigated. The identified language and communication developmental characteristics may assist speech-language therapists to build a knowledge base for participation in early intervention for young children with VI and their families.
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Study of child language development and disorders in Iran: A systematic review of the literature
Yalda Kazemi; Helen Stringer; Thomas Klee
2015-01-01
Child language development and disorder in Iran has been the focus for research by different professions, the most prominent ones among them being psychologists and speech therapists. Epidemiological studies indicate that between 8% and 12% of children show noticeable signs of language impairment in the preschool years; however, research on child language in Iran is not extensive compared to studies in English speaking countries, which are currently the basis of clinical decision-making in Ir...
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Developing preschool children social aptitudes
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ana Teresa Brás
2012-12-01
Full Text Available The kindergarten teachers must be aware of the importance of the acquisition of social skills for children, with a view to appropriate adaptation and overcoming the various challenges that will have those throughout existence. This article is the presentation of a research work within the pre-school educational context, in the field of ʻSocial and Personal Educationʼ which may lead to improved social skills within the group of children. In order to accomplish this, after the teaching training with the pre-school class which focussed on the acquisition of social competence, an assessment of the modified social skills within the class was carried out. These activities were included in the preschool lesson planning during the ʻSupervised Teaching Practiceʼ. They were developed based on childrenʼs daily life situations, focussing mainly on using games in the learning contexts. The aim of these games was to motivate and involve the children in order to enhance their balanced social development. The results obtained suggest that the introduction of this type of learning activities may be an asset in Pre-school Education because they develop both childrenʼs social skills and social competence. Moreover, this type of learning activities may also lead to changes in childrenʼs social interaction with both adults and their peers which may favour pro social behaviour.
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Pontier, Ryan; Gort, Mileidis
2016-01-01
This study examined how a pair of Spanish/English dual language bilingual education (DLBE) preschool teachers enacted their bilingualism while working cohesively and simultaneously toward common instructional goals. We drew on classroom video data, field notes, and other relevant artifacts collected weekly during shared readings of English- and…
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Sharing Expository Texts with Preschool Children in Special Education
Breit-Smith, Allison; Busch, Jamie; Guo, Ying
2015-01-01
Although a general limited availability of expository texts currently exists in preschool special education classrooms, expository tests offer speech-language pathologists (SLPs) a rich context for addressing the language goals of preschool children with language impairment on their caseloads. Thus, this article highlights the differences between…
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Language Delay and Externalizing Problems in Preschool Age: A Prospective Cohort Study.
Wang, Mari Vaage; Aarø, Leif Edvard; Ystrom, Eivind
2018-01-10
This study sought to examine the direction of causation between language delay and two externalizing problems; inattention and aggression. Autoregressive fixed effects models were fitted to data from 25,474 children (age 1.5 to 5 years; 50.8% boys) in the population-based longitudinal Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), to model the direction of causality for language delay and inattention and aggression, respectively. The most parsimonious model for the relationship between language delay and inattention was one where both common factors and reciprocal causation were estimated. Adjusted for common factors, language delay was estimated to have a non-significant effect on inattention by b = 0.12 (p = 0.06), and inattention to have a significant effect on language delay by b = 0.19 (p = 0.03). The most parsimonious model for the direction of causality for language delay and aggression was one where the entire association could be explained by language delay having effect on aggression b = 0.12 (p language delay can best be conceptualized as an epiphenomenon of inattention partly related to both common factors and causal processes, aggression can best be conceptualized as caused by language delay. This illumination of the hypothetical causal links between two common problem domains in preschool-aged children has clear implications on where to implement interventions to prevent co-occurrence of language delay and externalizing problems.
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Languages Are More than Words: Spanish and American Sign Language in Early Childhood Settings
Sherman, Judy; Torres-Crespo, Marisel N.
2015-01-01
Capitalizing on preschoolers' inherent enthusiasm and capacity for learning, the authors developed and implemented a dual-language program to enable young children to experience diversity and multiculturalism by learning two new languages: Spanish and American Sign Language. Details of the curriculum, findings, and strategies are shared.
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Snowling, Margaret J.; Duff, Fiona J.; Nash, Hannah M.; Hulme, Charles
2016-01-01
Background: Children with language impairment (LI) show heterogeneity in development. We tracked children from pre-school to middle childhood to characterize three developmental trajectories: resolving, persisting and emerging LI. Methods: We analyzed data from children identified as having preschool LI, or being at family risk of dyslexia,…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Neda MILOSHEVIĆ
2017-03-01
Full Text Available Aimed at the detailed insight into the phonological ability of Serbian-speaking children of preschool age, with and without language impairment, the ability of rapid naming was examined. Method: Operationalization of the set goal was carried out by using the Test for evaluating reading and writing pre-skills. In describing and analyzing the obtained data, methods of descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The sample included 120 subjects of both gender, 40 children diagnosed with specific language impairment (SLI, age from 5,11 to 7 years, and 80 children with typical language development (TLD, age between 5,11 and 7 years, with no statistically significant differences in relation to age and gender of the participants. Results: Summing up the overall results and achievements of children with SLI and children with TLD, we concluded that there are statistically significant differences in the rapid naming between children with specific language impairment and children with typical language development. Conclusions: As it is a global trend to work on preventing disorders and obstructions, and phonological skills in this age are a timely indicator of the development of reading and writing skills, the examined children with SLI are at risk for the occurrence of obstructions and disorders in the area of reading and writing abilities.
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Singing as Language Learning Activity in Multilingual Toddler Groups in Preschool
Kultti, Anne
2013-01-01
This research focused on learning conditions in preschool that support multilingual children's linguistic development. The aim of this paper was to study singing activities through the experiences of ten multilingual children in toddler groups (one to three years of age) in eight Swedish preschools. A sociocultural theoretical approach is used to…
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Kohler, M; Keage, H A D; Spooner, R; Flitton, A; Hofmann, J; Churches, O F; Elliott, S; Badcock, N A
2015-01-01
The developmental trajectory of language lateralisation over the preschool years is unclear. We explored the relationship between lateralisation of cerebral blood flow velocity response to object naming and cognitive performance in children aged 1-5 years. Functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound was used to record blood flow velocity bilaterally from middle cerebral arteries during a naming task in 58 children (59% male). At group level, the Lateralisation Index (LI) revealed a greater relative increase in cerebral blood flow velocity within the left as compared to right middle cerebral artery. After controlling for maternal IQ, left-lateralised children displayed lower expressive language scores compared to right- and bi-lateralised children, and reduced variability in LI. Supporting this, greater variability in lateralised response, rather than mean response, was indicative of greater expressive language ability. Findings suggest that a delayed establishment of language specialisation is associated with better language ability in the preschool years. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Ching, Teresa Y. C.; Crowe, Kathryn; Martin, Vivienne; Day, Julia; Mahler, Nicole; Youn, Samantha; Street, Laura; Cook, Cassandra; Orsini, Julia
2010-01-01
This paper reports language ability and everyday functioning of 133 children with hearing impairment who were evaluated at 3 years of age, as part of the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment (LOCHI) study. The language abilities of children were evaluated using the Preschool Language Scale (PLS-4), Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP) and Child Development Inventory (CDI). Everyday functioning of children was e...
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Gerholm, Tove; Hörberg, Thomas; Tonér, Signe; Kallioinen, Petter; Frankenberg, Sofia; Kjällander, Susanne; Palmer, Anna; Taguchi, Hillevi Lenz
2018-06-19
During the preschool years, children develop abilities and skills in areas crucial for later success in life. These abilities include language, executive functions, attention, and socioemotional skills. The pedagogical methods used in preschools hold the potential to enhance these abilities, but our knowledge of which pedagogical practices aid which abilities, and for which children, is limited. The aim of this paper is to describe an intervention study designed to evaluate and compare two pedagogical methodologies in terms of their effect on the above-mentioned skills in Swedish preschool children. The study is a randomized control trial (RCT) where two pedagogical methodologies were tested to evaluate how they enhanced children's language, executive functions and attention, socioemotional skills, and early maths skills during an intensive 6-week intervention. Eighteen preschools including 28 units and 432 children were enrolled in a municipality close to Stockholm, Sweden. The children were between 4;0 and 6;0 years old and each preschool unit was randomly assigned to either of the interventions or to the control group. Background information on all children was collected via questionnaires completed by parents and preschools. Pre- and post-intervention testing consisted of a test battery including tests on language, executive functions, selective auditive attention, socioemotional skills and early maths skills. The interventions consisted of 6 weeks of intensive practice of either a socioemotional and material learning paradigm (SEMLA), for which group-based activities and interactional structures were the main focus, or an individual, digitally implemented attention and math training paradigm, which also included a set of self-regulation practices (DIL). All preschools were evaluated with the ECERS-3. If this intervention study shows evidence of a difference between group-based learning paradigms and individual training of specific skills in terms of
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Lilly-Marlen Bihler
2018-06-01
Full Text Available A growing body of research has been documenting environmental factors that support preschoolers’ vocabulary skills. However, less is known about how environmental factors are related to morphological skills of dual language learners (DLLs and single language learners (SLLs. We examined connections with preschool experiences by investigating the effects of duration of preschool attendance, classroom quality, and classroom composition variables (percentage of DLLs and percentage of children from families with a low socio-economic status on preschoolers’ expressive morphological skills. Several multilevel regression models were estimated using cross-sectional data from 835 children (n = 255 DLLs aged 30–47 months. These children were nested in 169 preschool classrooms in Germany. As a control task, we also investigated children’s phonological processing abilities, for which we found, as expected, no differences between DLLs and SLLs. Our main finding was that DLL children scored lower in expressive morphological skills than their German monolingual peers, but this difference was considerably smaller in classrooms that scored high in instructive teacher–child interactions (measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System for pre-kindergarten children; CLASS Pre-K. Taken together, these results support the notion that supportive teacher–child instructive interactions have a positive impact on the development of DLLs’ morphological skills.
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Rosales, Rocio; Rehfeldt, Ruth Anne; Huffman, Nancy
2012-01-01
We evaluated the effectiveness of a stimulus pairing observation procedure to facilitate tact and listener relations in preschool children learning a second language. This procedure resulted in the establishment of most listener relations as well as some tact relations. Multiple-exemplar training resulted in the establishment of most of the…
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Stimulation of development of notion about syntax in pre-school children
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Nikolić Mirjana
2009-01-01
Full Text Available This paper presents a part of the research the goal of which was to study the notion about syntax as one of the meta-linguistic abilities that contributes to adoption of reading. Research comprised two hundred children of pre-school age, divided into two groups, balanced according to gender, intelligence and socioeconomic status. The research was conducted by an experimental method test-retest. In the initial measuring, experimental and control group were given the list comprising three kinds of experimental tasks for determining the level of development of notion about syntax, constructed by the author of the research. Experimental program consisted of tasks for stimulation of development of notion about syntax, which children practiced in the course of ten days (up to 30 minutes a day, with the help of previously trained pre-school teachers. After the ten-day training, final measuring in both groups was performed in both groups of respondents, by parallel form of tasks. The goal of the research was to determine whether it is possible to encourage the development of notion about syntax in children of pre-school age by systematic practice. The results of final measuring indicate that both in experimental and control group there have been significant improvements with respect to development of notion about syntax, and that the number of answers in which judgement was based on the semantic criterion (experience and meaning was significantly reduced. In making judgements based on consequences (content of the sentence points to something which is a good or not a good thing to do, moral or immoral there were no significant differences in the final compared to the initial measuring in both groups. Significant differences in retest were found in making judgements based on meaning. The mere experience with test material at pre-school age brings about the improvement of the notion about language, and practice contributes considerably to shifting the
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Language choice in bimodal bilingual development
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Diane eLillo-Martin
2014-10-01
Full Text Available Bilingual children develop sensitivity to the language used by their interlocutors at an early age, reflected in differential use of each language by the child depending on their interlocutor. Factors such as discourse context and relative language dominance in the community may mediate the degree of language differentiation in preschool age children.Bimodal bilingual children, acquiring both a sign language and a spoken language, have an even more complex situation. Their Deaf parents vary considerably in access to the spoken language. Furthermore, in addition to code-mixing and code-switching, they use code-blending – expressions in both speech and sign simultaneously – an option uniquely available to bimodal bilinguals. Code-blending is analogous to code-switching sociolinguistically, but is also a way to communicate without suppressing one language. For adult bimodal bilinguals, complete suppression of the non-selected language is cognitively demanding. We expect that bimodal bilingual children also find suppression difficult, and use blending rather than suppression in some contexts. We also expect relative community language dominance to be a factor in children’s language choices.This study analyzes longitudinal spontaneous production data from four bimodal bilingual children and their Deaf and hearing interlocutors. Even at the earliest observations, the children produced more signed utterances with Deaf interlocutors and more speech with hearing interlocutors. However, while three of the four children produced >75% speech alone in speech target sessions, they produced <25% sign alone in sign target sessions. All four produced bimodal utterances in both, but more frequently in the sign sessions, potentially because they find suppression of the dominant language more difficult.Our results indicate that these children are sensitive to the language used by their interlocutors, while showing considerable influence from the dominant
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Cunningham, Barbara Jane; Hanna, Steven E; Oddson, Bruce; Thomas-Stonell, Nancy; Rosenbaum, Peter
2017-10-01
To develop statistical models of communicative participation development of preschool children and explore variations by level of function. This was a secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal study of preschool children with speech and language impairments (n=46 872; age range 18-67mo, mean age [SD] 41.76mo [11.92]; 67% male) accessing publicly funded services in Ontario, Canada. Two measures were used: Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS), measuring changes in communicative participation skills, and the Communication Function Classification System (CFCS), classifying communicative function into one of five levels. We used mixed effects modeling to fit growth curves for children in each CFCS level. Models allowed for variation in initial FOCUS score at 18 months, rate of growth with age, and rate of acceleration/deceleration with age. Starting FOCUS score (18mo) varied inversely with CFCS level at entry to the program. Growth was initially rapid and then leveled off for children in Levels I to III. Growth was less rapid for children in Level IV, but leveled off, and was slow but continual for children in Level V. This work can help us to move beyond traditional impairment-based thinking and shows that children can make meaningful communicative changes regardless of their function. © 2017 Mac Keith Press.
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Sawyer, Brook E.; Justice, Laura M.; Guo, Ying; Logan, Jessica A. R.; Petrill, Stephen A.; Glenn-Applegate, Katherine; Kaderavek, Joan N.; Pentimonti, Jill M.
2014-01-01
To contribute to the modest body of work examining the home literacy environment (HLE) and emergent literacy outcomes for children with disabilities, this study addressed two aims: (a) to determine the unique contributions of the HLE on print knowledge of preschool children with language impairment and (b) to identify whether specific child…
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METHODIC OF DEVELOPMENT OF MOTOR GIFTEDNESS OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Fedorova Svetlana Yurievna
2013-04-01
Full Text Available Education and training of gifted children today appropriate to consider as an important strategic task of modern society. In this context, the purpose of research is the development motor giftedness, which is particularly relevant at the stage of pre-school education, which is caused by age-preschoolers. Preschoolers' motor giftedness is considered by the author as developing integrated quality, including psychomotor skills, inclinations, increased motivation for motor activity. In the process of study the following methods are used: the study and analysis of the scientific and methodological literature on studies, questioning, interview, testing of physical fitness, statistical data processing. The result of research work is methodic of development of motor giftedness on physical education in preschool. The author's methodic consists of four steps: diagnostic, prognostic, practice and activity, social and pedagogical. Each step determines the inclusion of preschool children in sports and developing environment that meets his or her abilities and needs through the creation of certain social and educational conditions. The area of using results of the author's methodic is preschool and the system of improvement professional skill of teachers.
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Werfel, Krystal L.
2017-01-01
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare change in emergent literacy skills of preschool children with and without hearing loss over a 6-month period. Method: Participants included 19 children with hearing loss and 14 children with normal hearing. Children with hearing loss used amplification and spoken language. Participants completed…
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Netten, Anouk P; Rieffe, Carolien; Theunissen, Stephanie C P M; Soede, Wim; Dirks, Evelien; Korver, Anna M H; Konings, Saskia; Oudesluys-Murphy, Anne Marie; Dekker, Friedo W; Frijns, Johan H M
2015-12-01
Permanent childhood hearing impairment often results in speech and language problems that are already apparent in early childhood. Past studies show a clear link between language skills and the child's social-emotional functioning. The aim of this study was to examine the level of language and communication skills after the introduction of early identification services and their relation with social functioning and behavioral problems in deaf and hard of hearing children. Nationwide cross-sectional observation of a cohort of 85 early identified deaf and hard of hearing preschool children (aged 30-66 months). Parents reported on their child's communicative abilities (MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory III), social functioning and appearance of behavioral problems (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire). Receptive and expressive language skills were measured using the Reynell Developmental Language Scale and the Schlichting Expressive Language Test, derived from the child's medical records. Language and communicative abilities of early identified deaf and hard of hearing children are not on a par with hearing peers. Compared to normative scores from hearing children, parents of deaf and hard of hearing children reported lower social functioning and more behavioral problems. Higher communicative abilities were related to better social functioning and less behavioral problems. No relation was found between the degree of hearing loss, age at amplification, uni- or bilateral amplification, mode of communication and social functioning and behavioral problems. These results suggest that improving the communicative abilities of deaf and hard of hearing children could improve their social-emotional functioning. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Macrae, Toby; Tyler, Ann A.
2014-01-01
Purpose: The authors compared preschool children with co-occurring speech sound disorder (SSD) and language impairment (LI) to children with SSD only in their numbers and types of speech sound errors. Method: In this post hoc quasi-experimental study, independent samples t tests were used to compare the groups in the standard score from different…
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Terrell, Pamela; Watson, Maggie
2018-04-05
As part of this clinical forum on curriculum-based intervention, the goal of this tutorial is to share research about the importance of language and literacy foundations in natural environments during emergent literacy skill development, from infancy through preschool. Following an overview of intervention models in schools by Powell (2018), best practices at home, in child care, and in preschool settings are discussed. Speech-language pathologists in these settings will be provided a toolbox of best emergent literacy practices. A review of published literature in speech-language pathology, early intervention, early childhood education, and literacy was completed. Subsequently, an overview of the impact of early home and preschool literacy experiences are described. Research-based implementation of best practice is supported with examples of shared book reading and child-led literacy embedded in play within the coaching model of early intervention. Finally, various aspects of emergent literacy skill development in the preschool years are discussed. These include phonemic awareness, print/alphabet awareness, oral language skills, and embedded/explicit literacy. Research indicates that rich home literacy environments and exposure to rich oral language provide an important foundation for the more structured literacy environments of school. Furthermore, there is a wealth of evidence to support a variety of direct and indirect intervention practices in the home, child care, and preschool contexts to support and enhance all aspects of oral and written literacy. Application of this "toolbox" of strategies should enable speech-language pathologists to address the prevention and intervention of literacy deficits within multiple environments during book and play activities. Additionally, clinicians will have techniques to share with parents, child care providers, and preschool teachers for evidence-based literacy instruction within all settings during typical daily
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Peyre, Hugo; Galera, Cedric; van der Waerden, Judith; Hoertel, Nicolas; Bernard, Jonathan Y; Melchior, Maria; Ramus, Franck
2016-11-08
This study aims to examine bidirectional relationships between children's language skills and Inattention/Hyperactivity (IH) symptoms during preschool. Children (N = 1459) from the EDEN mother-child cohort were assessed at ages 3 and 5.5 years. Language skills were evaluated using the WPPSI-III, NEPSY and ELOLA batteries. Children's behavior, including IH symptoms, was assessed using the parent-rated Strengths & Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Using a Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach, we examined the relationship between language skills and IH symptoms, as well as potential mediating processes. SEM analyses indicated a small negative effect of language skills at 3 years on ADHD symptoms at 5.5 years after adjusting for IH symptoms at 3 years (β =-0.12, SE = 0.04, p-value = 0.002). Interpersonal difficulties did not mediate the relationship between early language skills and later IH symptoms, nor was this association reduced after adjusting for a broad range of pre- and postnatal environmental factors and performance IQ. Among different language skills, receptive syntax at 3 years was most strongly related to IH symptoms at 5.5 years. Poor language skills at age 3 may predict IH symptoms when a child enters primary school. Implications for the understanding and the prevention of the co-occurrence of language disorders and ADHD are discussed.
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Immersion and Identity: Experiences of an African American Preschool Child
McCullough, Ruanda Garth; Reyes, Sharon Adelman
2010-01-01
This article explores the benefits and challenges of a Spanish language immersion preschool from the perspective of a non-Spanish speaking African American family. Data explored include the decision to enroll, reactions from peers and family, home-school communication issues, language development, and family involvement. In addition,…
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METHODIC OF DEVELOPMENT OF MOTOR GIFTEDNESS OF PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Светлана Юрьевна Федорова
2013-05-01
Full Text Available Education and training of gifted children today appropriate to consider as an important strategic task of modern society. In this context, the purpose of research is the development motor giftedness, which is particularly relevant at the stage of pre-school education, which is caused by age-preschoolers. Preschoolers' motor giftedness is considered by the author as developing integrated quality, including psychomotor skills, inclinations, increased motivation for motor activity. In the process of study the following methods are used: the study and analysis of the scientific and methodological literature on studies, questioning, interview, testing of physical fitness, statistical data processing.The result of research work is methodic of development of motor giftedness on physical education in preschool. The author's methodic consists of four steps: diagnostic, prognostic, practice and activity, social and pedagogical. Each step determines the inclusion of preschool children in sports and developing environment that meets his or her abilities and needs through the creation of certain social and educational conditions.The area of using results of the author's methodic is preschool and the system of improvement professional skill of teachers. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12731/2218-7405-2013-4-31
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Music Therapy for Preschool Cochlear Implant Recipients
Gfeller, Kate; Driscoll, Virginia; Kenworthy, Maura; Van Voorst, Tanya
2010-01-01
This paper provides research and clinical information relevant to music therapy for preschool children who use cochlear implants (CI). It consolidates information from various disciplinary sources regarding (a) cochlear implantation of young prelingually-deaf children (~age 2-5), (b) patterns of auditory and speech-language development, and (c) research regarding music perception of children with CIs. This information serves as a foundation for the final portion of the article, which describes typical music therapy goals and examples of interventions suitable for preschool children. PMID:23904691
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Screening 5 and 6 year-old children starting primary school for development and language.
Yılmaz, Deniz; Bayar-Muluk, Nuray; Bayoğlu, Birgül; İdil, Aysun; Anlar, Banu
2016-01-01
Beginning school is an important milestone for children. Children's readiness for school involves cognitive, physical, and emotional development. Certain school programs allow children to start first grade after 66 months of age, together with 72 month-old children. In order to estimate school readiness, we screened children before starting first grade and compared their school performance according to their age and socio-demographic characteristics. Marmara School Readiness, Denver II developmental screening, and language assessment tests were applied. Language delays were more frequent and school readiness test scores were lower in the younger group compared to older children. However, school achievement did not differ between the two age groups. Preschool education, parental income and education affected performance in most tests. Preschool screening seems effective in detecting children with lower than average developmental skills, and the school system may provide a practical opportunity for providing support to those children.
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Rohrer-Baumgartner, Nina; Zeiner, Pål; Egeland, Jens; Gustavson, Kristin; Skogan, Annette Holth; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Ted; Aase, Heidi
2014-05-01
Working memory, inhibition, and expressive language are often impaired in ADHD and many children with ADHD have lower IQ-scores than typically developing children. The aim of this study was to test whether IQ-score influences associations between ADHD symptoms and verbal and nonverbal working memory, inhibition, and expressive language, respectively, in a nonclinical sample of preschool children. In all, 1181 children recruited from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study were clinically assessed at the age of 36 to 46 months. IQ-score and working memory were assessed with subtasks from the Stanford Binet test battery, expressive language was reported by preschool teachers (Child Development Inventory), response inhibition was assessed with a subtask from the NEPSY test, and ADHD symptoms were assessed by parent interview (Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment). The results showed an interaction between ADHD symptoms and IQ-score on teacher-reported expressive language. In children with below median IQ-score, a larger number of ADHD symptoms were more likely to be accompanied by reports of lower expressive language skills, while the level of ADHD symptoms exerted a smaller effect on reported language skills in children with above median IQ-score. The associations between ADHD symptoms and working memory and response inhibition, respectively, were not influenced by IQ-score. Level of IQ-score affected the relation between ADHD symptoms and teacher-reported expressive language, whereas associations between ADHD symptoms and working memory and response inhibition, respectively, were significant and of similar sizes regardless of IQ-score. Thus, in preschoolers, working memory and response inhibition should be considered during an ADHD assessment regardless of IQ-score, while language skills of young children are especially important to consider when IQ-scores are average or low.
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Cunningham, Barbara J.; Rosenbaum, Peter L.
2015-01-01
Background: The Preschool Speech and Language Program (PSLP) in Ontario, Canada, is a publicly funded intervention service for children from birth to 5 years with communication disorders. It has begun a population-level programme evaluation of children's communicative participation outcomes following therapy. Data are currently being collected for…
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Do Chinese- and English-Speaking Preschoolers Think Differently about Language?
Guan, Yao; Farrar, M. Jeffrey
2016-01-01
Metalinguistic awareness is the ability to identify, reflect upon, and manipulate linguistic units. It plays a critical role in reading development. The present study investigated Chinese- and English-speaking preschoolers' metalinguistic awareness development and the role of cognitive and linguistic abilities in its development. Forty-two…
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Predictors of second language acquisition in Latino children with specific language impairment.
Gutiérrez-Clellen, Vera; Simon-Cereijido, Gabriela; Sweet, Monica
2012-02-01
This study evaluated the extent to which the language of intervention, the child's development in Spanish, and the effects of English vocabulary, use, proficiency, and exposure predict differences in the rates of acquisition of English in Latino children with specific language impairment (SLI). In this randomized controlled trial, 188 Latino preschoolers with SLI participated in a small-group academic enrichment program for 12 weeks and were followed up 3 and 5 months later. Children were randomly assigned to either a bilingual or an English-only program. Predictors of English growth included measures of Spanish language skills and English vocabulary, use, proficiency, and exposure. Performance on English outcomes (i.e., picture description and narrative sample) was assessed over time. A series of longitudinal models were tested via multilevel modeling with baseline and posttreatment measures nested within child. Children demonstrated growth on the English outcomes over time. The language of intervention, Spanish skills, English vocabulary, and English use significantly predicted differences in rates of growth across children for specific measures of English development. This study underscores the role of the child's first language skills, the child's level of English vocabulary development, and level of English use for predicting differences in English acquisition in Latino preschoolers with SLI. These factors should be carefully considered in making clinical decisions.
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Memory development in preschool children with disabilities in the game
Viktoriya Shypikova
2013-01-01
The scientific article "Development of memory in preschool children with disabilities in the game" reveals the relevance of the application of the game as the leading activity during the preschool years to optimize the development of the mental process of memory in children with disabilities. Work on the development of children's memory in the form of a game as the most effective form, aimed at attracting the attention of professionals working with preschool children with disabilities, a...
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Choi, Ja Young; Choi, Yoon Seong; Park, Eun Sook
2017-01-01
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate characteristics of language development in relation to brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) characteristics and the other contributing factors to language development in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Method: The study included 172 children with CP who underwent brain MRI and language…
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Rydland, Veslemøy; Grøver, Vibeke; Lawrence, Joshua
2014-03-01
Little research has explored how preschools can support children's second-language (L2) vocabulary development. This study keenly followed the progress of twemty-six Turkish immigrant children growing up in Norway from preschool (age five) to fifth grade (age ten). Four different measures of preschool talk exposure (amount and diversity of teacher-led group talk and amount and diversity of peer talk), as well as the demographic variables of maternal education and co-ethnic concentration in the neighborhood, were employed to predict the children's L2 vocabulary trajectories. The results of growth analyses revealed that maternal education was the only variable predicting children's vocabulary growth during the elementary years. However, teacher-led talk, peer talk, and neighborhood predicted children's L2 vocabulary skills at age five, and these differences were maintained up to age ten. This study underscores the importance of both preschool talk exposure (teacher-led talk and peer talk) and demographic factors on L2 learners' vocabulary development.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Ingrida Balčiūnienė
2016-05-01
Full Text Available The paper deals with micro- and macrostructural static and dynamic narrative characteristics in specifically language-impaired (SLI Russian-speaking preschool children and their typically-developing (TD peers. The study was based on experimental data that included storytelling and retelling elicited by means of wordless picture sequences. First, individual measures of story structure, episode com- pleteness, internal state terms, story productivity, lexical diversity, and syntactic complexity, as well as the percentage of linguistic dysfluencies and errors, were evaluated and compared between the experimental and control groups. Second, the impact of such factors as session (1st vs. 2nd, story complexity, and mode (telling vs. retelling on the dynamic variation of micro- and macrostructural narrative measures was evaluated. Our results highlighted essential dynamic differences between the samples from the perspective of narrative structure, structural complexity, grammaticality, and vocabulary.
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Moody, C T; Baker, B L; Blacher, J
2018-05-10
Despite studies of how parent-child interactions relate to early child language development, few have examined the continued contribution of parenting to more complex language skills through the preschool years. The current study explored how positive and negative parenting behaviours relate to growth in complex syntax learning from child age 3 to age 4 years, for children with typical development or developmental delays (DDs). Participants were children with or without DD (N = 60) participating in a longitudinal study of development. Parent-child interactions were transcribed and coded for parenting domains and child language. Multiple regression analyses were used to identify the contribution of parenting to complex syntax growth in children with typical development or DD. Analyses supported a final model, F(9,50) = 11.90, P < .001, including a significant three-way interaction between positive parenting behaviours, negative parenting behaviours and child delay status. This model explained 68.16% of the variance in children's complex syntax at age 4. Simple two-way interactions indicated differing effects of parenting variables for children with or without DD. Results have implications for understanding of complex syntax acquisition in young children, as well as implications for interventions. © 2018 MENCAP and International Association of the Scientific Study of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Dykstra, Jessica R; Sabatos-Devito, Maura G; Irvin, Dwight W; Boyd, Brian A; Hume, Kara A; Odom, Sam L
2013-09-01
This study describes the language environment of preschool programs serving children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and examines relationships between child characteristics and an automated measure of adult and child language in the classroom. The Language Environment Analysis (LENA) system was used with 40 children with ASD to collect data on adult and child language. Standardized assessments were administered to obtain language, cognitive, and autism severity scores for participants. With a mean of over 5 hours of recording across two days several months apart, there was a mean of 3.6 child vocalizations per minute, 1.0 conversational turns (in which either the adult or child respond to the other within 5 seconds) per minute, and 29.2 adult words per minute. Two of the three LENA variables were significantly correlated with language age-equivalents. Cognitive age-equivalents were also significantly correlated with two LENA variables. Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule severity scores and LENA variables were not significantly correlated. Implications for using the LENA system with children with ASD in the school environment are discussed.
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Loftus-Rattan, Susan M.; Mitchell, Alison M.; Coyne, Michael D.
2016-01-01
Based on its coincidence with a significant period in language development for children, preschool provides a favorable setting to foster vocabulary growth. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of two instructional conditions and an incidental exposure condition for teaching targeted vocabulary words to preschool students…
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Lonigan, Christopher J; Farver, Joann M; Nakamoto, Jonathan; Eppe, Stefanie
2013-10-01
This study utilized latent growth-curve analyses to determine if the early literacy skills of children who were Spanish-speaking language-minority (LM) followed a similar quantitative growth profile over a preschool year as that of a group of children from a comparable socioeconomic (SES) background but who were not LM. Participants, who ranged in age from 37 to 60 months (M = 50.73; SD = 5.04), included 540 Spanish-speaking LM and 408 non-LM children (47% girls) who were enrolled in 30 Head Start classrooms. Scores on a measure of oral language and measures of code-related skills (i.e., phonological awareness, print knowledge) were lower for LM children than for non-LM children. LM children experienced significantly faster growth in oral language skills than did non-LM children. Growth for print knowledge and blending was similar for LM and non-LM children, whereas LM children experienced slightly less growth than non-LM children on elision. The inclusion of child (i.e., initial language scores, age, nonverbal cognitive ability) and family (i.e., maternal/paternal education, 2-parent household, father employment) variables eliminated initial differences between LM and non-LM children on the code-related variables, and the effect was due primarily to children's initial oral language skills. These results indicate that the early risk for reading-related problems experienced by Spanish-speaking LM children is due both to low SES and to their LM status, and they highlight the critical need for the development, evaluation, and deployment of early instructional programs for LM children with limited English oral language proficiency.
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Roul, Sushanta Kumar
2014-01-01
Preschool may not be a place where formal education is imparted but yes, it definitely is a place where children have their first taste of independence. Preschool education is the provision of education for children before the commencement of statutory education usually between the ages of 2 and 5. Thus the purposes of the study were: to study the…
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Cunningham, Barbara Jane; Washington, Karla N.; Binns, Amanda; Rolfe, Katelyn; Robertson, Bernadette; Rosenbaum, Peter
2017-01-01
Purpose: The purpose of this scoping review was to identify current measures used to evaluate speech-language outcomes for preschoolers with communication disorders within the framework of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health-Children and Youth Version (ICF-CY; World Health Organization, 2007). Method: The review…
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Breit-Smith, Allison; Olszewski, Arnold; Swoboda, Christopher; Guo, Ying; Prendeville, Jo-Anne
2017-01-01
This study explores the outcomes of an interactive book reading intervention featuring expository picture books. This small-group intervention was delivered by four practitioners (two early childhood special education teachers and two speech-language pathologists) three times per week for 8 weeks to 6 preschool-age children (3 years 1 month to 4…
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The Relative Importance of Language in Guiding Social Preferences Through Development.
Esseily, Rana; Somogyi, Eszter; Guellai, Bahia
2016-01-01
In this paper, we review evidence from infants, toddlers, and preschoolers to tackle the question of how individuals orient preferences and actions toward social partners and how these preferences change over development. We aim at emphasizing the importance of language in guiding categorization relatively to other cues such as age, race and gender. We discuss the importance of language as part of a communication system that orients infants and older children's attention toward relevant information in their environment and toward affiliated social partners who are potential sources of knowledge. We argue that other cues (visually perceptible features) are less reliable in informing individuals whether others share a common knowledge and whether they can be source of information.
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Age Specifics of Cognitive Activity Development in Preschool Age
Klopotova E.E.; Samkova I.A.
2017-01-01
This paper present results of the research on the specifics of cognitive activity development in preschool children. The hypothesis tested was that content and dynamic components of cognitive activity reveal themselves in a different way depending on the stage of preschool childhood. The authors reviewed the diagnostic tools suitable for studying cognitive activity in preschoolers and selected the techniques. The research proved that content and dynamic components of cognitive activity have t...
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Timing of high-quality child care and cognitive, language, and preacademic development
Li, W; Farkas, G; Duncan, GJ; Burchinal, MR; Vandell, DL
2013-01-01
The effects of high- versus low-quality child care during 2 developmental periods (infant-toddlerhood and preschool) were examined using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care. Propensity score matching was used to account for differences in families who used different combinations of child care quality during the 2 developmental periods. Findings indicated that cognitive, language, and preacademic skills prior to school entry were hig...
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Jump-Starting Preschoolers' Emergent Literacy: The Entomologist Tool Kit
Byington, Teresa A.; Kim, YaeBin
2017-01-01
Young children gain emergent literacy skills during the preschool years. Oral language development is enhanced as students engage in dialogue with teachers and peers. The use of topical vocabulary is linked to greater gains in students' vocabulary development. Students acquire emergent writing skills as they participate in spontaneous and guided…
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Factors of the active listening of preschool children
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Purić Daliborka S.
2016-01-01
Full Text Available Active listening is a communication skill which is crucial for the development of cooperative relationships in the group, culture of friendship and fellowship, it is also important for the development of literacy skills and talent for speaking. Furthermore, it contributes to the improvement of the level of knowledge, skills and school achievement, as well as to the development of self-confidence of children. Developing of active listening is an important task in the activities with children of preschool age. In this paper, the author, wanting to determine the importance of the factors of active listening of preschool children, examines how preschool teachers (N = 198: (a evaluate the importance of certain elements of active listening that relate to the speaker and the listener, and (b estimate their role in the process of developing active listening skills of preschool children as an essential element of successful interpersonal communication. Results of the survey show that preschool teachers attach greater importance to the factors of active listening related to the listener (attention, listening skill, interest in the subject, than to the factors related to the speaker (motivation for listening, quality of the narrative. More than two-thirds of surveyed preschool teachers (172 or 86.9% define its impact on the stimulation of active listening of children as significant. Work experience and professional qualifications as independent variables significantly influence the attitudes of preschool teachers about the importance of their impact in stimulating active listening. Preschool teacher is a key element of the training of preschool children in the area of the basic communication skills of active listening. In this sense, the results of our survey show that in the context of academic study programs for education of preschool teachers special attention is given to the communication skills and to their role in the development of active listening
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Park, Carlie J.; Yelland, Gregory W.; Taffe, John R.; Gray, Kylie M.
2012-01-01
This study investigated the relationship between structural language skills, and communication skills, adaptive behavior, and emotional and behavior problems in pre-school children with autism. Participants were aged 3-5 years with autism (n = 27), and two comparison groups of children with developmental delay without autism (n = 12) and typically…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Yuli Rachmawati
2014-10-01
Full Text Available In this era, the importance of English leads people to introduce English education even in preschools. English education for preschoolers isbelieved to help fosterchildren’s language and cognitive developments. However, to achieve this benefit, a sound curriculum is required.Since creating a sound English curriculum is not an easy thing to do, a careful examination on English in the preschool curriculum needs to be performed. This study therefore aims to find out the goals of integrating English as an intra-school curriculum in a preschool in Bandung and the teacher’s attempts to achieve these goals in terms of four basic components of curriculum taken fromCayadong (2011 and Tyler (Posner,1992; the objectives, the materials, the methods and the assessments. A descriptive study using a document analysis, an interview and an observation as the data collection techniques was employed. The finding showed that English was integrated to help children to be able to communicate using English in school and family context in a simple language. Theme-based teaching and learning using drilling and total physical response (TPR as methods were conducted to achieve the goals. Meanwhile, to make sure of the goals attainment, students wereassessed by using observations and tests.
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Language development and affecting factors in 3- to 6-year-old children.
Muluk, Nuray Bayar; Bayoğlu, Birgül; Anlar, Banu
2014-05-01
The aim of this study was to assess factors affecting language developmental screening test results in 33.0- to 75.0-month-old children. The study group consists of 402 children, 172 (42.8%) boys and 230 (57.2%) girls, aged 33.0-75.0 months who were examined in four age groups: 3 years (33.0-39.0 months), 4 years (45.0-51.0 months), 5 years (57.0-63.0 months) and 6 years (69.0-75.0 months). Demographic data and medical history obtained by a standard questionnaire and Denver II Developmental Test results were evaluated. Maternal factors such as mother's age, educational level, and socioeconomic status (SES) correlated with language items in all age groups. Linear regression analysis indicated a significant effect of mother's education and higher SES on certain expressive and receptive language items at 3 and 4 years. Fine motor items were closely related to language items at all ages examined, while in the younger (3- and 4-year-old) group gross motor items also were related to language development. Maternal and socioeconomic factors influence language development in children: these effects, already discernible with a screening test, can be potential targets for social and educational interventions. The interpretation of screening test results should take into account the interaction between fine motor and language development in preschool children.
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Woodward, Lianne J; Lu, Zhigang; Morris, Alyssa R; Healey, Dione M
2017-02-01
To examine the extent to which preschool emotional and behavioral regulatory difficulties were associated with an increased risk of later mental health and educational problems. Of particular interest was whether early regulatory abilities contributed to later risk once baseline child behavioral adjustment and cognitive function were taken into account. Data were drawn from a prospective longitudinal study of 223 children born very preterm (VPT; Regulation Checklist, and (3) tester ratings of child behavior during neuropsychological testing. At age 9 years, mental health and educational achievement were assessed using the Development and Well-being Assessment interview and the Woodcock Johnson-III Tests of Achievement. VPT-born children had poorer emotional and behavioral regulation across all measures and time points. They also had higher rates of DSM-IV mental health disorder and educational delay at age 9. Across both study groups, poorer self regulation was associated with an increased risk of ADHD, conduct disorder, anxiety disorders and any disorder net of preschool child behavior problems and social risk. In contrast, only associations between early regulation and later language and any educational delay remained significant after adjustment for preschool cognitive functioning and family social risk. Early assessment of regulation in addition to behavioral screening may improve the early identification of preschool children at mental health risk.
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Schwartz, Mila; Moin, Victor
2012-01-01
Parents' assessment of children's development in the first and the second language is an essential part of their family language policy (FLP) and an important component of parent-child communication. This paper presents a pilot study focused on Russian-speaking immigrant parents' assessment of their children's language knowledge in Russian as a…
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Goodrich, J Marc; Lonigan, Christopher J; Farver, Jo Ann M
Spanish-speaking language-minority (LM) children are at an elevated risk of struggling academically and display signs of that risk during early childhood. Therefore, high-quality research is needed to identify instructional techniques that promote the school readiness of Spanish-speaking LM children. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention that utilized an experimental curriculum and two professional development models for the development of English and Spanish early literacy skills among LM children. We also evaluated whether LM children's proficiency in one language moderated the effect of the intervention on early literacy skills in the other language, as well as whether the intervention was differentially effective for LM and monolingual English-speaking children. Five hundred twenty-six Spanish-speaking LM children and 447 monolingual English-speaking children enrolled in 26 preschool centers in Los Angeles, CA participated in this study. Results indicated that the intervention was effective for improving LM children's code-related but not language-related English early literacy skills. There were no effects of the intervention on children's Spanish early literacy skills. Proficiency in Spanish did not moderate the effect of the intervention for any English early literacy outcomes; however, proficiency in English significantly moderated the effect of the intervention for Spanish oral language skills, such that the effect of the intervention was stronger for children with higher proficiency in English than it was for children with lower proficiency in English. In general, there were not differential effects of the intervention for LM and monolingual children. Taken together, these findings indicate that high-quality, evidence-based instruction can improve the early literacy skills of LM children and that the same instructional techniques are effective for enhancing the early literacy skills of LM and monolingual
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Positioning masculinities and femininities in preschool EFLl1 education
CASTAÑEDA-PEÑA, HAROLD
2008-01-01
Positioning Masculinities and Femininities in Preschool EFL Education seeks to describe and interpret how masculinities and femininities are communicated in the preschool EFL classroom and is aimed at discussing whether those masculinities and femininities are likely to have an impact on the preschoolers' learning of English as a foreign language. Preschoolers' classroom interactions taking place in a Colombian kindergarten, videotaped from 2004 to 2006, are analysed via ideas of 'positioning...
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Gremillion, Monica L.; Martel, Michelle M.
2015-01-01
Children with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs) often seem to have poorer language skills compared to same-age peers; however, language as an early risk factor for DBD has received little empirical attention. The present study provides an empirical examination of associations between normal language variation and DBD by investigating receptive, expressive, and pragmatic language skills and preschool DBD symptoms. The sample consisted of 109 preschoolers ages 3 to 6 (M = 4.77 years, SD = 1.10, 59% boys; 73% with DBD, including oppositional defiant disorder [ODD] and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]) along with their primary caregivers, who completed a clinician-administered interview, symptom questionnaires, and a questionnaire measure of pragmatic language, and teacher and/or daycare providers completed symptom questionnaires. Children completed objective tests of receptive and expressive vocabulary. Preschoolers with DBD showed poorer receptive, expressive, and pragmatic skills compared to preschoolers without DBD. Preschoolers with ADHD-only or ADHD+ODD exhibited poorer language skills, compared to ODD and non-DBD groups. Specificity analyses suggested that parent-rated hyperactivity-impulsivity were particularly associated with poorer language skills. Thus, preschoolers with DBD exhibited poorer language skills compared to preschoolers without DBD, and preschoolers with increased hyperactivity-impulsivity exhibited particular problems with language skills. This work suggests the need for early assessment of language in preschoolers, particularly those with ADHD, as well as the possible utility of tailored interventions focused on improving language skills, particularly for those with high hyperactivity-impulsivity. PMID:23924073
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Cross-cultural adaptation of Preschool Language Assessment Instrument: Second Edition.
Lindau, Tâmara Andrade; Rossi, Natalia Freitas; Giacheti, Célia Maria
2014-01-01
In Brazil, formal tools for the evaluation of spoken language are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to translate and adapt to Brazilian Portuguese the Preschool Language Assessment Instrument: Second Edition (PLAI-2). The process of translation and adaptation of this instrument was conducted in two stages - Stage 1: (1a) translation of the original version to Brazilian Portuguese, (1b) comparison of the translated versions and synthesis into a single Portuguese version, (1c) back-translation, (1d) revision of the translated version; and Step 2: (2a) application of the Portuguese version in a pilot project with 30 subjects, and (2b) statistical comparison of three age groups. In the Brazilian version, all items of the original version were kept. However, it was necessary to modify the application order of one item, and the change of one picture was suggested in another. The results obtained after application indicated that the Brazilian version of the PLAI-2 allows us to distinguish the performance of participants belonging to different age groups, and that the raw score tends to increase with age. Semantic and syntactic adjustments were required and made to ensure that PLAI-2 would be used with the same methodological rigor of the original instrument. The adaptation process observed the theoretical, semantic, and cultural equivalences.
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Differential Contributions of Language Skills to Children's Episodic Recall
Klemfuss, J. Zoe
2015-01-01
Theorists have identified language as a critical contributor to children's episodic memory development, yet studies linking language and memory have had mixed results. The present study aimed to clarify the mechanisms linking language and memory and to explain the previous mixed results. Sixty-four preschool children's receptive and productive…
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Kemps, R. J. J. K.; Siebes, R. C.; Gorter, J. W.; Ketelaar, M.; Jongmans, M. J.
2011-01-01
Purpose. This study provides information on the psychometric properties of a newly developed Dutch-language instrument for measuring parental perceptions of participation of preschool children (aged 2+ to 5+ years): the PART. Method. The PART was administered to parents of preschool children with (n
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Kjellmer, Liselotte; Hedvall, Åsa; Fernell, Elisabeth; Gillberg, Christopher; Norrelgen, Fritjof
2012-01-01
This study examined the contribution of cognitive function, severity of autism, and adaptive functioning to the variability in language and communication skills in 129 preschool children (aged 24-63 months) with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Participants were selected from a representative research cohort of 208 preschool children on the basis of caregiver completion of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI). The children were classified into three cognitive groups: (a) Normal intelligence; (b) Developmental delay; and (c) Intellectual disability. Autism symptom severity was measured by the Autistic Behavior Checklist (ABC), and adaptive functioning by the Daily Living Skills (DLS) and Socialization (Soc) subscales from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. For each of five CDI variables (Phrases understood, Words understood, Words produced, Gestures and actions, and Language use), the contribution of cognition, severity of autism symptoms, and adaptive functioning to the variability was examined. Cognition and age explained about half or more of the variance in the four verbal language CDI variables, but only about one fourth of the variance in the non-verbal communication variable Gestures and actions. Severity of autism symptoms and the two adaptive measures (DLS and Soc) each only accounted for a few percent more of the variance in the four CDI language variables; however, for Gestures and actions, an additional 11-21% of the variance was accounted for. In conclusion, for children with ASD, receptive and expressive language is mainly related to cognitive level, whereas non-verbal communication skills seem to also be related to severity of autism symptoms and adaptive functioning. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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PSYCHO-PEDAGOGICAL MAINTENANCE OF SOCIAL AND COMMUNICATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF SENIOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Irina Vasilievna Sklezneva
2017-11-01
Full Text Available In the article the questions of creation of conditions for formation of game rules in children of preschool age and the role of game rules in a socio-communicative development of senior preschool children. Goal. The article is devoted to the work of the teacher-psychologist at psycho-pedagogical support of social-communicative development of senior pre-school educational activities, including the development of senior preschool children in the game rules. Methods and methodology of work. Built in accordance with the cultural-historical approach to the study of child development, the study was conducted on the basis of the observation of the free play of older preschoolers and formative experiment. Results. The results are that the features of psychological and pedagogical support of social and communicative development in different types of activities, including game rules, which involves: business educators in the successful development of children in all activities; work with educators about the organization of subject gaming environment; diagnostic work with the aim of the organization is directly educational work aimed at socio-communicative development. The scope of the results. The results of the study can be applied in the activities of the teacher-psychologist of preschool education.
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PLAYING LEGO INCREASE COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT ON PRESCHOOL CHILD (4-5 YEARS OLD
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sri Utami
2017-07-01
Full Text Available Introduction: The preschool cognitive development can be stimulated with playing activity. The preschool child who stimulateless, their creativity will be checked and it can effect their cognitive development. Playing lego is one of the stimulation which give chance to the preschool child to express creativity and explorate their skill in playing construction. This research was aimed to analyze the effect of playing lego to the preschool cognitive development. Method: Quasy experimental pre post test design was used in this research. Total sample were 18 preschool child (4-5 years old. The independent variable was playing lego and the dependent variable was the cognitive development. Data were analyzed by Wilcoxon Signed Rank Test and Mann Whitney U Test with the significance α<0.05. Result: Result showed that the control group has significance level p=0.059 and the treatment group has significance level p=0.008. The result of Mann Whitney U Test showed p=0.001. Discussion: It can be concluded that playing lego can effect the preschool cognitive development in spatial factor, reasoning, memory, and perceptual speed. It can be suggested to the further research to examine the effect of playing lego to the motoric development or social development.
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The relative importance of language in guiding social preferences through development
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rana Esseily
2016-10-01
Full Text Available In this paper, we review evidence from infants, toddlers and preschoolers to tackle the ques-tion of how individuals orient preferences and actions towards social partners and how these preferences change over development. We aim at emphasizing the importance of language in guiding categorization relatively to other cues such as age, race and gender. We discuss the importance of language as part of a communication system that orients infants and older chil-dren’s attention towards relevant information in their environment and towards affiliated so-cial partners who are potential sources of knowledge. We argue that other cues (visually per-ceptible features are less reliable in informing individuals whether others share a common knowledge and whether they can be source of information.
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Preschool Teachers' Language and Literacy Practices with Dual Language Learners
Sawyer, Brook E.; Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Cycyk, Lauren M.; López, Lisa; Blair, Clancy; Sandilos, Lia; Komaroff, Eugene
2016-01-01
The purposes of this study were to (a) examine the degree to which teachers used linguistically responsive practices to support the language and literacy development of Spanish-speaking Dual Language Learners (DLL) and (b) to investigate the associations between these practices and select teacher-level factors. The sample consisted of 72 preschool…
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Children's Storytelling: The Effect of Preschool and Family Environment
Fekonja-Peklaj, Urska; Marjanovic-Umek, Ljubica; Kranjc, Simona
2010-01-01
Storytelling reflects children's pragmatic language ability, which develops rapidly in early childhood and is related to various characteristics of the child's environment. This study examines the effect of preschool, maternal education and quality of the home environment on children's storytelling skills. The sample included 229 Slovenian…
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Preschool teachers' perception and use of hearing assistive technology in educational settings.
Nelson, Lauri H; Poole, Bridget; Muñoz, Karen
2013-07-01
This study explored how often sound-field amplification and personal frequency-modulated (FM) systems are used in preschool classrooms, teacher perceptions of advantages and disadvantages of using hearing assistive technology, and teacher recommendations for hearing assistive technology use. The study used a cross-sectional survey design. Participants were professionals who provided services to preschool-age children who are deaf or hard of hearing in public or private schools. A total of 306 surveys were sent to 162 deaf education programs throughout the United States; 99 surveys were returned (32%). Simple statistics were used to describe the quantitative survey results; content analysis was completed on open-ended survey comments. Surveys were received from teachers working at listening and spoken language preschool programs (65%) and at bilingual-bicultural and total communication preschool programs (35%). Most respondents perceived that hearing assistive technology improved students' academic performance, speech and language development, behavior, and attention in the classroom. The majority of respondents also reported that they definitely would or probably would recommend a sound-field system (77%) or personal FM system (71%) to other educators. Hearing assistive technology is frequently used in preschool classrooms of children who are deaf or hard of hearing, with generally positive teacher perceptions of the benefits of using such technology.
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Phoon, Hooi San; Abdullah, Anna Christina; Lee, Lay Wah; Murugaiah, Puvaneswary
2014-05-01
To date, there has been little research done on phonological acquisition in the Malay language of typically developing Malay-speaking children. This study serves to fill this gap by providing a systematic description of Malay consonant acquisition in a large cohort of preschool-aged children between 4- and 6-years-old. In the study, 326 Malay-dominant speaking children were assessed using a picture naming task that elicited 53 single words containing all the primary consonants in Malay. Two main analyses were conducted to study their consonant acquisition: (1) age of customary and mastery production of consonants; and (2) consonant accuracy. Results revealed that Malay children acquired all the syllable-initial and syllable-final consonants before 4;06-years-old, with the exception of syllable-final /s/, /h/ and /l/ which were acquired after 5;06-years-old. The development of Malay consonants increased gradually from 4- to 6 years old, with female children performing better than male children. The accuracy of consonants based on manner of articulation showed that glides, affricates, nasals, and stops were higher than fricatives and liquids. In general, syllable-initial consonants were more accurate than syllable-final consonants while consonants in monosyllabic and disyllabic words were more accurate than polysyllabic words. These findings will provide significant information for speech-language pathologists for assessing Malay-speaking children and designing treatment objectives that reflect the course of phonological development in Malay.
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Marín-Méndez, J J; Borra-Ruiz, M C; Álvarez-Gómez, M J; Soutullo Esperón, C
2017-10-01
ADHD symptoms begin to appear at preschool age. ADHD may have a significant negative impact on academic performance. In Spain, there are no standardized tools for detecting ADHD at preschool age, nor is there data about the incidence of this disorder. To evaluate developmental factors and learning difficulties associated with probable ADHD and to assess the impact of ADHD in school performance. We conducted a population-based study with a stratified multistage proportional cluster sample design. We found significant differences between probable ADHD and parents' perception of difficulties in expressive language, comprehension, and fine motor skills, as well as in emotions, concentration, behaviour, and relationships. Around 34% of preschool children with probable ADHD showed global learning difficulties, mainly in patients with the inattentive type. According to the multivariate analysis, learning difficulties were significantly associated with both delayed psychomotor development during the first 3 years of life (OR: 5.57) as assessed by parents, and probable ADHD (OR: 2.34) CONCLUSIONS: There is a connection between probable ADHD in preschool children and parents' perception of difficulties in several dimensions of development and learning. Early detection of ADHD at preschool ages is necessary to start prompt and effective clinical and educational interventions. Copyright © 2016 Sociedad Española de Neurología. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.
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Burgess, Sloane; Audet, Lisa; Harjusola-Webb, Sanna
2013-01-01
The purpose of this research was to begin to characterize and compare the school and home language environments of 10 preschool-aged children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). Naturalistic language samples were collected from each child, utilizing Language ENvironment Analysis (LENA) digital voice recorder technology, at 3-month intervals over the course of one year. LENA software was used to identify 15-min segments of each sample that represented the highest number of adult words used during interactions with each child for all school and home language samples. Selected segments were transcribed and analyzed using Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT). LENA data was utilized to evaluate quantitative characteristics of the school and home language environments and SALT data was utilized to evaluate quantitative and qualitative characteristics of language environment. Results revealed many similarities in home and school language environments including the degree of semantic richness, and complexity of adult language, types of utterances, and pragmatic functions of utterances used by adults during interactions with child participants. Study implications and recommendations for future research are discussed. The reader will be able to, (1) describe how two language sampling technologies can be utilized together to collect and analyze language samples, (2) describe characteristics of the school and home language environments of young children with ASD, and (3) identify environmental factors that may lead to more positive expressive language outcomes of young children with ASD. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Ygual-Fernández, Amparo; Cervera-Merida, José F; Baixauli-Fortea, Inmaculada; Meliá-De Alba, Amanda
2011-03-01
A number of studies have shown that teachers are capable of recognising pupils with language difficulties if they have suitable guidelines or guidance. To determine the effectiveness of an observation-based protocol for pre-school education teachers in the detection of phonetic-phonological, semantic and morphosyntactic difficulties. The sample consisted of 175 children from public and state-subsidised schools in Valencia and its surrounding province, together with their teachers. The children were aged between 3 years and 6 months and 5 years and 11 months. The protocol that was used asks for information about pronunciation skills (intelligibility, articulation), conversational skills (with adults, with peers), literal understanding of sentences, grammatical precision, expression through discourse, lexical knowledge and semantics. There was a significant correlation between the teachers' observations and the criterion scores on intelligibility, literal understanding of sentences, grammatical expression and lexical richness, but not in the observations concerning articulation and verbal reasoning, which were more difficult for the teachers to judge. In general, the observation protocol proved to be effective, it guided the teachers in their observations and it asked them suitable questions about linguistic data that were relevant to the determination of difficulties in language development. The use of this protocol can be an effective strategy for collecting information for use by speech therapists and school psychologists in the early detection of children with language development problems.
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Goldstein, Howard; Kelley, Elizabeth; Greenwood, Charles; McCune, Luke; Carta, Judith; Atwater, Jane; Guerrero, Gabriela; McCarthy, Tanya; Schneider, Naomi; Spencer, Trina
2016-01-01
Purpose: We investigated a small-group intervention designed to teach vocabulary and comprehension skills to preschoolers who were at risk for language and reading disabilities. These language skills are important and reliable predictors of later academic achievement. Method: Preschoolers heard prerecorded stories 3 times per week over the course…
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Spira, Elana Greenfield; Fischel, Janet E
2005-07-01
The literature on the prevalence and stability of preschool problems of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity suggests a number of links to early literacy skills and broader school achievement. Developmental considerations in the assessment of preschool ADHD are reviewed in this paper, along with evidence for the stability of symptoms over time and the relationship between early symptoms of ADHD and elementary school achievement. Emphasis is placed on describing the nature of the connection between preschool ADHD symptoms and academic achievement, as few studies to date have focused specifically on that relationship. Several explanations for the relationship between preschool ADHD symptoms and achievement are analyzed, including an explanation that focuses on the relationship between inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity and the acquisition of emergent literacy and language skills. Finally, the evidence for four models that have been proposed to account for the link between behavior and learning is reviewed and critically analyzed. Suggestions are made for future research that might resolve important questions only partially addressed in studies to date.
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Bedwinek, Anne P.; Kummer, Ann W.; Rice, Gale B.; Grames, Lynn Marty
2010-01-01
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to obtain information regarding the education and experience of preschool and school-based speech-language pathologists (SLPs) regarding the assessment and treatment of children born with cleft lip and/or palate and to determine their continuing education needs in this area. Method: A 16-item mixed-methods…
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Siu, Elaine; Man, David W K
2006-09-01
Children with Specific Language Impairment present with delayed language development, but do not have a history of hearing impairment, mental deficiency, or associated social or behavioral problems. Non-word repetition was suggested as an index to reflect the capacity of phonological working memory. There is a paucity of such studies among Hong Kong Chinese children. This preliminary study aimed to examine the relationship between phonological working memory and Specific Language Impairment, through the processes of non-word repetition and sentence comprehension, of children with Specific Language Impairment and pre-school children with normal language development. Both groups of children were screened by a standardized language test. A list of Cantonese (the commonest dialect used in Hong Kong) multisyllabic nonsense utterances and a set of 18 sentences were developed for this study. t-tests and Pearson correlation were used to study the relationship between non-word repetition, working memory and specific language impairment. Twenty-three pre-school children with Specific Language Impairment (mean age = 68.30 months; SD = 6.90) and another 23 pre-school children (mean age = 67.30 months; SD = 6.16) participated in the study. Significant difference performance was found between the Specific Language Impairment group and normal language group in the multisyllabic nonsense utterances repetition task and the sentence comprehension task. Length effect was noted in Specific Language Impairment group children, which is consistent with the findings of other literature. In addition, correlations were also observed between the number of nonsense utterances repeated and the number of elements comprehended. Cantonese multisyllabic nonsense utterances might be worth further developing as a screening tool for the early detection of children with Specific Language Impairment.
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Han, Myae; Vukelich, Carol; Buell, Martha; Meacham, Sohyun
2014-01-01
Research Findings: The current study reports on the results of a longitudinal investigation of the language and early literacy development of a sample of dual-language learners (DLLs) and monolingual English speakers from low-income families who received an Early Reading First intervention during their Head Start preschool year. A total of 62…
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On Major Developments in Preschoolers' Imagination
Diachenko, Olga M.
2011-01-01
The role of the imagination in adult thinking is to go beyond reality and to express generalised laws. The researcher's job is to specify the cultural tools that preschool children use in the development of their imagination. Previous research has identified two main stages in the development of imagination up until the age of six, a third stage…
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Qi, Cathy H.; Marley, Scott C.
2011-01-01
The purpose of the study was to examine the psychometric properties of the "Preschool Language Scale-4" (PLS-4) with a sample of English-speaking Hispanic and European American children who attended Head Start programs. Participants were 440 children between the ages of 3 and 5 years (52% male; 86% Hispanic and 14% European American).…
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Aguilar-Mediavilla, Eva; Buil-Legaz, Lucía; Pérez-Castelló, Josep A; Rigo-Carratalà, Eduard; Adrover-Roig, Daniel
2014-01-01
Children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI) have severe language difficulties without showing hearing impairments, cognitive deficits, neurological damage or socio-emotional deprivation. However, previous studies have shown that children with SLI show some cognitive and literacy problems. Our study analyses the relationship between preschool cognitive and linguistic abilities and the later development of reading abilities in Spanish-Catalan bilingual children with SLI. The sample consisted of 17 bilingual Spanish-Catalan children with SLI and 17 age-matched controls. We tested eight distinct processes related to phonological, attention, and language processing at the age of 6 years and reading at 8 years of age. Results show that bilingual Spanish-Catalan children with SLI show significantly lower scores, as compared to typically developing peers, in phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid automatized naming (RAN), together with a lower outcome in tasks measuring sentence repetition and verbal fluency. Regarding attentional processes, bilingual Spanish-Catalan children with SLI obtained lower scores in auditory attention, but not in visual attention. At the age of 8 years Spanish-Catalan children with SLI had lower scores than their age-matched controls in total reading score, letter identification (decoding), and in semantic task (comprehension). Regression analyses identified both phonological awareness and verbal fluency at the age of 6 years to be the best predictors of subsequent reading performance at the age of 8 years. Our data suggest that language acquisition problems and difficulties in reading acquisition in bilingual children with SLI might be related to the close interdependence between a limitation in cognitive processing and a deficit at the linguistic level. After reading this article, readers will be able to: identify their understanding of the relation between language difficulties and reading outcomes; explain how processing
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Pragmatic Language Assessment: A Pragmatics-as-Social Practice Model
Hyter, Yvette D.
2007-01-01
Pragmatic language skills are important for developing relationships with others, and for communicating with a range of interlocutors in a variety of contexts, including preschool and elementary school classrooms. Pragmatic language difficulties frequently are a primary area of disability for children diagnosed with autism, Asperger's syndrome,…
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Developing Preschool Teachers' Knowledge of Students' Number Conceptions
Tsamir, Pessia; Tirosh, Dina; Levenson, Esther; Tabach, Michal; Barkai, Ruthi
2014-01-01
This article describes a study that investigates preschool teachers' knowledge of their young students' number conceptions and the teachers' related self-efficacy beliefs. It also presents and illustrates elements of a professional development program designed explicitly to promote this knowledge among preschool teachers. Results…
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Merritt, Darcey H; Klein, Sacha
2015-01-01
Young children under 6 years old are over-represented in the U.S. child welfare system (CWS). Due to their exposure to early deprivation and trauma, they are also highly vulnerable to developmental problems, including language delays. High quality early care and education (ECE) programs (e.g. preschool, Head Start) can improve children's development and so policymakers have begun calling for increased enrollment of CWS-supervised children in these programs. However, it is not a given that ECE will benefit all children who experience maltreatment. Some types of maltreatment may result in trauma-related learning and behavior challenges or developmental deficits that cause children to respond to ECE settings differently. The current study uses data from a nationally representative survey of children in the U.S. child welfare system, the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being II, to assess whether young CWS-supervised children (N=1,652) who were enrolled in ECE had better language development outcomes 18 months later than those not enrolled in ECE. We also explore whether the type of maltreatment that brought children to the CWS' attention moderates the relationship between ECE and children's language development. After controlling for children's initial scores on the Preschool Language Scale (PLS-3), type(s) of maltreatment experienced, and child and caregiver demographics, we found that ECE participation predicted better PLS-3 scores at follow-up, with a positive interaction between ECE participation and supervisory neglect. ECE seems to be beneficial for CWS-involved children's early language development, especially for children referred to the CWS because they lack appropriate parent supervision at home. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Speech and language delay in two children: an unusual presentation of hyperthyroidism.
Sohal, Aman P S; Dasarathi, Madhuri; Lodh, Rajib; Cheetham, Tim; Devlin, Anita M
2013-01-01
Hyperthyroidism is rare in pre-school children. Untreated, it can have a profound effect on normal growth and development, particularly in the first 2 years of life. Although neurological manifestations of dysthyroid states are well known, specific expressive speech and language disorder as a presentation of hyperthyroidism is rarely documented. Case reports of two children with hyperthyroidism presenting with speech and language delay. We report two pre-school children with hyperthyroidism, who presented with expressive speech and language delay, and demonstrated a significant improvement in their language skills following treatment with anti-thyroid medication. Hyperthyroidism must be considered in all children presenting with speech and language difficulties, particularly expressive speech delay. Prompt recognition and early treatment are likely to improve outcome.
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Mughal, Muhammad Kashif; Ginn, Carla S.; Perry, Robert L.; Benzies, Karen M.
2016-01-01
We explored longitudinal effects of a two-generation preschool programme on receptive language scores in children (n = 78) at age 10 years, living with low income. Scores at four time-points, programme intake, exit, age 7, and age 10 years were measured using the "Peabody picture vocabulary test" (3rd ed.). Effects of culture…
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The cognitive bases of the development of past and future episodic cognition in preschoolers.
Ünal, Gülten; Hohenberger, Annette
2017-10-01
The aim of this study was to use a minimalist framework to examine the joint development of past and future episodic cognition and their underlying cognitive abilities in 3- to 5-year-old Turkish preschoolers. Participants engaged in two main tasks, a what-where-when (www) task to measure episodic memory and a future prediction task to measure episodic future thinking. Three additional tasks were used for predicting children's performance in the two main tasks: a temporal language task, an executive function task, and a spatial working memory task. Results indicated that past and future episodic tasks were significantly correlated with each other even after controlling for age. Hierarchical multiple regressions showed that, after controlling for age, the www task was predicted by executive functions, possibly supporting binding of episodic information and by linguistic abilities. The future prediction task was predicted by linguistic abilities alone, underlining the importance of language for episodic past and future thinking. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Peer Effects on Head Start Children’s Preschool Competency
DeLay, Dawn; Hanish, Laura D.; Martin, Carol Lynn; Fabes, Richard A.
2015-01-01
The goals of the present study were to investigate whether young children attending Head Start (N=292; Mage=4.3 years) selected peers based on their preschool competency and whether children’s levels of preschool competency were influenced by their peers’ levels of preschool competency. Children’s peer interaction partners were intensively observed several times a week over one academic year. Social network analyses revealed that children selected peer interaction partners with similar levels of preschool competency and were influenced over time by their partners’ levels of preschool competency. These effects held even after controlling for several child (e.g., sex and language) and family factors (e.g., financial strain and parent education). Implications for promoting preschool competency among Head Start children are discussed. PMID:26479545
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Teachers' Perceptions of Preschool Children's Psychomotor Development in Spain.
Cueto, Sofía; Prieto, José Antonio; Nistal, Paloma; Abelairas-Gómez, Cristian; Barcala-Furelos, Roberto; López, Sergio
2017-08-01
This study analyzed the psychomotor profiles of preschool stage students and to determine how these data agreed with the students' teachers' subjective assessment. We also correlated these data with other variables such as age, gender, and family influence. A total of 211 children aged 3 to 6 years, in the second cycle of preschool from 30 classes of 10 schools in Spain participated. Additionally, 30 preschool teachers from these classes participated. Study results revealed serious teacher misperceptions regarding their students' psychomotor development, with low agreement rates between students and teachers in the motor dimension and slight agreement rates in communicative, cognitive, and social areas. The reasons for and implications of these misperceptions are discussed.
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Bergroth, Mari; Palviainen, Åsa
2017-01-01
The current study examines bilingual children as language policy agents in the interplay between official language policy and education policy at three Swedish-medium preschools in Finland. For this purpose we monitored nine Finnish-Swedish bilingual children aged 3 to 5 years for 18 months. The preschools were located in three different parts of…
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Amalric, Marie; Wang, Liping; Figueira, Santiago; Sigman, Mariano; Dehaene, Stanislas
2017-01-01
During language processing, humans form complex embedded representations from sequential inputs. Here, we ask whether a “geometrical language” with recursive embedding also underlies the human ability to encode sequences of spatial locations. We introduce a novel paradigm in which subjects are exposed to a sequence of spatial locations on an octagon, and are asked to predict future locations. The sequences vary in complexity according to a well-defined language comprising elementary primitives and recursive rules. A detailed analysis of error patterns indicates that primitives of symmetry and rotation are spontaneously detected and used by adults, preschoolers, and adult members of an indigene group in the Amazon, the Munduruku, who have a restricted numerical and geometrical lexicon and limited access to schooling. Furthermore, subjects readily combine these geometrical primitives into hierarchically organized expressions. By evaluating a large set of such combinations, we obtained a first view of the language needed to account for the representation of visuospatial sequences in humans, and conclude that they encode visuospatial sequences by minimizing the complexity of the structured expressions that capture them. PMID:28125595
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Preschool Children (Ages 2 to 4 Years) - NCS Dietary Assessment Literature Review
The preschool years are characterized as a time of increasing autonomy, expanding language skills, increasing ability to control behavior, and broadening social circumstances, such as attending preschool or staying with friends or relatives.
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A Joint Interactive Storybook Intervention Program for Preschool and Kindergarten Children
Vaknin-Nusbaum, Vered; Nevo, Einat
2017-01-01
The effectiveness of a joint interactive storybook reading program delivered by class teachers to develop literacy skills is examined in Hebrew-speaking preschool and kindergarten children. Post-intervention, both groups achieved significantly higher gains in language and print concept skills than age-matched comparison groups that did not have…
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The High/Scope Preschool Key Experiences: Essential Elements of Young Children's Learning.
Hohmann, Mary
2002-01-01
Discusses High/Scope's preschool key experiences (a set of 58 statements that describe young children's social, cognitive, and physical development). The key experiences are grouped into 10 major developmental areas (creative representation, language and literacy, social relations, movement, music, classification, seriation, number, space, and…
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Mentally-Retarded Children of a Pre-School Age and the Development of Movement Skills
Morávková, Šárka
2006-01-01
The diploma work covers the issues of children with mental retardation in pre-school age aimed to the development of the movement abilities. It focuses on the relationships between the pre-school child with mental retardation and possibilities of developing its motor skills in context of an organized pre-school education. Theoretical part of the Diploma work indicates the development specifics of the indi- vidual due to mental retardation, describes mainly the movement development of the chil...
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Su, Yi Esther; Naigles, Letitia R; Su, Lin-Yan
2018-05-21
Data from children with ASD who are learning Indo-European languages indicate that (a) they vary hugely in their expressive language skills and (b) their pragmatic/socially-based language is more impaired than their structural language. We investigate whether similar patterns of language development exist for Mandarin-exposed children with ASD. Parent report data of the Putonghua Communicative Development Inventory-Toddler Form were collected from 160 17-83-month-old children with ASD. These children with ASD demonstrated similar levels of variability as Western children with ASD. In particular, they could be divided into three distinct subgroups (high verbal, middle verbal, low verbal), all of which manifested relative strengths in lexical and grammatical language compared to pragmatic usage of decontextualized language.
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Kim, Yoon Kyong; Curby, Timothy W; Winsler, Adam
2014-12-01
Little is known about 2nd language development among young, low-income, language-minority children. This article examined the longitudinal English development of low-income, dual language learners (DLLs) in Miami (n = 18,532) from kindergarten through 5th grade. Growth curve modeling indicated that social skills, good behavior, Spanish (L1) competence in preschool, having a mother born in the United States, and attending larger schools with fewer DLLs were associated with higher initial levels of English proficiency in kindergarten and/or steeper growth over time. Survival analyses indicated that it took about 2 years for half of the sample to become proficient in English according to the school district's criterion. Higher initial proficiency in kindergarten, not receiving free/reduced lunch, not being Hispanic or Black, strong cognitive, language, and socioemotional skills at age 4, and maternal education were associated with faster attainment of English proficiency. It is important for teachers, parents, researchers, and policy makers to understand that DLL students come from diverse backgrounds and that poverty and other factors influence the speed of English language development for DLLs. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved.
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Stolic, Jasmina
2015-01-01
The goal of the conducted research was to explore how much preschool teachers value certain types of musical activities, which positively influence the development of preschool children's musical abilities. The assumption in the research was that preschool teachers would choose musical games as the most prominent activity type in their educational…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
L. V. Voronina
2013-01-01
Full Text Available The paper deals with the current problem of modern education – developing the many-sided background for preschool children’s learning activities. At the given stage it is necessary to develop the algorithmic skills – the capability of and readiness for solving different kinds of problems in the strict sequence of operations according to the given patterns. Such algorithmic skills have a meta-disciplinary character and can be developed in class and at home. The paper highlights the algorithmic skills components (personal, regulatory, cognitive and communicative and the key indicators of their formation. The method for developing the algorithmic skills of preschool children is given including the three age related stages: ability to perform the linear algorithms (middle group, working with the branched cyclic algorithms (senior group, mastering the acquired skills and ability to perform some self- dependent tasks (preparatory group. The paper is addressed to the specialists working in the preschool educational sphere: preschool teachers, methodists, psychologists, directors of kindergartens.
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Knoche, Lisa L.; Kupzyk, Kevin A.; Edwards, Carolyn Pope; Marvin, Christine A.
2011-01-01
Language and literacy skills established during early childhood are critical for later school success. Parental engagement with children has been linked to a number of adaptive characteristics in preschoolers including language and literacy development, and family-school collaboration is an important contributor to school readiness. This study reports the results of a randomized trial of a parent engagement intervention designed to facilitate school readiness among disadvantaged preschool children, with a particular focus on language and literacy development. Participants included 217 children, 211 parents, and 29 Head Start teachers in 21 schools. Statistically significant differences in favor of the treatment group were observed between treatment and control participants in the rate of change over 2 academic years on teacher reports of children’s language use (d = 1.11), reading (d = 1.25), and writing skills (d = .93). Significant intervention effects on children’s direct measures of expressive language were identified for a subgroup of cases where there were concerns about a child’s development upon entry into preschool. Additionally, other child and family moderators revealed specific variables that influenced the treatment’s effects. PMID:21640249
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Katja Bajc
2005-09-01
Full Text Available In the present study we examined the relationship between parental educational level, joint storybook reading and children's language competence. Our sample included 123 5-year-old children attending one of the Slovenian preschools. Frequency of parent-child joint storybook reading was measured indirectly with the children's book title checklist, which was used in the Slovenian language environment for the first time, and which, in comparison with the parents' report about how often they read to their children, represents a more objective measure of storybook exposure. By using checklist we avoid socially desirable responses, which parents give because they think that reading is important for children's language development. We found out that parental education is positively related to the parental familiarity with the titles of books for children. Furthermore, the results show that storybook exposure is, regardless of parental educational level, a factor of home environment which makes an important contribution to the development of children's language competence.
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Language impairment in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
Therefore the main objective of this work was to evaluate language profile in ADHD children and to determine whether there is a specific ADHD related language profile in preschoolers in comparison with the control group with no ADHD. Fifty-three preschool children were diagnosed as ADHD and then they were evaluated ...
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Hidecker, Mary Jo Cooley; Cunningham, Barbara Jane; Thomas-Stonell, Nancy; Oddson, Bruce; Rosenbaum, Peter
2017-05-01
To evaluate construct and predictive validity of the Communication Function Classification System (CFCS) for use with preschool children with a range of speech and language disorders. Seventy-seven preschool children with speech and language disorders (50 males, 27 females; mean 2y 7mo, standard deviation [SD] 1y) participated in this cohort study. Preschool children had speech and language, language-only, or speech-only disorders. Together with parent input, speech-language pathologists (SLPs) completed the CFCS at time 1. Parents and SLPs then independently completed a validated change-detecting functional communication outcome measure, the Focus on the outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS), three times: at assessment (time 1), at the start of treatment (time 2), and at the end of treatment (time 3). There was a significant negative correlation between CFCS classifications and FOCUS scores at all three measurement points for the ratings by both parents and SLPs (correlations ranged from -0.60 to -0.76). As expected, no correlations between CFCS classifications and FOCUS change scores were statistically significant. This study provides evidence of construct and predictive validity of the CFCS, demonstrating its value as a discriminative tool for use with preschool children with a range of speech and language disorders. © 2017 Mac Keith Press.
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[Development of a mother-preschool child interaction scale].
Park, Sung-Hee; Bang, Kyung-Sook
2013-02-01
This study was done to develop the self-report Mother-Preschool Child Interaction Scale (MPIS) for mothers of preschool children. The scale was based on items derived from literature review and in-depth interviews. A methodological study was used to check reliability and validity and participants were 334 mothers of preschool children enrolled in kindergarten or nursery. Data were analyzed using principal component factor analysis for construct validity, t-test for contrasted group validity, Pearson correlation for criterion related validity and test-retest reliability and Cronbach's α for reliability. In the final MPIS 34 items identified through factor analysis were included, 6 constructs were derived, and explanatory power was 64.2%. Items on the MPIS were verified through correlation with the interaction observation scale of Kim & Mahoney and MPIS. Results were significant as mothers in the normal group exhibited MPIS scores that were significantly higher than those of mothers in the depressed group. Reliability of MPIS was .96 and test-retest reliability was .92. MPIS has the advantage of being easy to use, economical, and useful. Consequently, it is expected to be used as a screening tool for promptly and simply identifying the mother-preschool child interaction in diverse nursing practice and research.
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Mass media and the development of pre-reading of preschool children
GALATÍKOVÁ, Zuzana
2016-01-01
This thesis maps mass media, especially television broadcasting and electronic devices with connection to the Internet, in the lives of pre-school children, and investigates the relationship between mass media and development of initial reading skills. The theoretical part analyses existing literature relevant to pre-school child development elementary reading and mass media, while the empirical research makes an independent investigation into this phenomenon in society using questionnaires f...
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Oral Language Expectations for African American Children in Grades 1 through 5
Craig, Holly K.; Washington, Julie A.; Thompson, Connie A.
2005-01-01
Reference profiles for characterizing the language abilities of elementary-grade African American students are important for assessment and instructional planning. H. K. Craig and J. A. Washington (2002) reported performance for 100 typically developing preschoolers and kindergartners on 5 traditional language measures: mean length of…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maryam Vahab
2012-12-01
Full Text Available Background and Aim: Social interaction plays an essential role in acquisition of speech and language as one of the most important developmental factors. The recent studies indicated that language abilities have a close relationship to social skills. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship of development of expressive language and dimensions of social skills in 4-6-years-old Persian-speaking children.Methods: In this study, 123 normal Persian-speaking 4-6-year-old children (76 boys and 47 girls who had all the specific criteria for normality were randomly selected from several preschools in Shiraz, Iran. During the first stage of testing, test of language development (TOLD was administered to investigate language development of participants; later, the social skills rating system (SSRS including the teachers' and parents' forms were completed by the parents and teachers of participants. The data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficients.Results: The correlations between expressive language and dimensions of social skills were significant (p<0.001, but teachers' form had a greater correlation with language development (p=0.031. Besides, Pearson's correlations between teachers' and parents' forms was not significant (p=0.27.Conclusion: According to our results, expressive language develops along with social skills development. On the other hand, these results are based on the differences between home and educational environment in social skills achievements of children. These findings are to be considered to provide crucial training in both environments for the children to improve the development of their expressive language.
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Brady, Nancy C.; Thiemann-Bourque, Kathy; Fleming, Kandace; Matthews, Kris
2013-01-01
Purpose: To investigate a model of language development for nonverbal preschool-age children learning to communicate with augmentative or alternative communication. Method: Ninety-three preschool children with intellectual disabilities were assessed at Time 1, and 82 of these children were assessed 1 year later, at Time 2. The outcome variable was…
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Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition, Washington, DC.
This Spanish-language booklet outlines the requirements of the Child Development Associate (CDA) credential for preschool teachers or caregivers who work in center-based preschool day care programs. Part 1 provides an overview of the CDA credentialing system and the various options, settings, standards, and stages of the CDA assessment system.…
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The development of executive function and language skills in the early school years.
Gooch, Debbie; Thompson, Paul; Nash, Hannah M; Snowling, Margaret J; Hulme, Charles
2016-02-01
The developmental relationships between executive functions (EF) and early language skills are unclear. This study explores the longitudinal relationships between children's early EF and language skills in a sample of children with a wide range of language abilities including children at risk of dyslexia. In addition, we investigated whether these skills independently predict children's attention/behaviour skills. Data are presented from 243 children at four time points. Children were selected for being at risk of reading difficulties either because of a family history of dyslexia (FR; N = 90) or because of concerns regarding their language development (LI; N = 79) or as typically developing controls (TD; N = 74). The children completed tasks to assess their executive function and language skills at ages 4, 5 and 6 years. At 6 (T4) and 7 years (T5) parents and teachers rated the children's attention/behaviour skills. There was a strong concurrent relationship between language and EF at each assessment. Longitudinal analyses indicated a considerable degree of stability in children's language and EF skills: the influence of language on later EF skills (and vice versa) was weak and not significant in the current sample. Children's EF, but not language, skills at T3 predicted attention/behaviour ratings at T4/T5. There is a strong concurrent association between language and EF skills during the preschool and early school years, when children with language impairment show persistent EF deficits. Latent variables measuring language and EF show high longitudinal stability with little evidence of significant or strong reciprocal influences between these constructs. EF, but not language, skills predict later ratings of children's attention and behaviour. © 2015 The Authors. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
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The Rise and Fall of a Dakota Immersion Pre-school.
Johnston, Bill
2002-01-01
Discusses an attempt to establish a Dakota-language immersion preschool on an Indian reservation in Minnesota. Outlines the historical experience of the Dakota and contrasts the educational success of the preschool program. Describes the final crisis that led to the resignation of the director and to the program's demise. (Author/VWL)
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[Fine motor and self-development assessment of preschool children with epilepsy].
Lendraĭtene, E B; Petrushiavichene, D P; Andronavichiute, Iu P; Vapzhaĭtite, L A; Krishchiunas, A I
2014-01-01
Objective. To assess fine motor and self-care skills in preschool children with epilepsy. Material and methods. The study included 22 children, 12 girls (54.5%) and 10 boys (45.5%), mean age 41.5±19.9 months. Children were tested with DISC and Munchen tests. Results and conclusion. Among preschool children with epilepsy, 50% have impaired and 22.7% - delayed development of fine motor skills. The mean coefficient of fine motor skills was 59.0±28.1. Among preschool children with epilepsy, 36.4% have impaired and 45.5% - delayed development of self-development skills. The coefficient of self-care skills was 57.8±26.1. DISC and Munchen tests for evaluation of small motor and self-care skills are equivalent for assessment in children with epilepsy (pskills were more often disturbed (pfine motor skills (p<0.05).
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The Association between Preschool Children's Social Functioning and Their Emergent Academic Skills
Arnold, David H.; Kupersmidt, Janis B.; Voegler-Lee, Mary Ellen; Marshall, Nastassja A.
2012-01-01
This study examined the relationship between social functioning and emergent academic development in a sample of 467 preschool children (M=55.9 months old, SD=3.8). Teachers reported on children's aggression, attention problems, and prosocial skills. Preliteracy, language, and early mathematics skills were assessed with standardized tests. Better…
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Comorbidities in Preschool Children at Family Risk of Dyslexia
Gooch, Debbie; Hulme, Charles; Nash, Hannah M.; Snowling, Margaret J.
2014-01-01
Background: Comorbidity among developmental disorders such as dyslexia, language impairment, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and developmental coordination disorder is common. This study explores comorbid weaknesses in preschool children at family risk of dyslexia with and without language impairment and considers the role that…
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Sleep Duration and School Readiness of Chinese Preschool Children.
Tso, Winnie; Rao, Nirmala; Jiang, Fan; Li, Albert Martin; Lee, So-Lun; Ho, Frederick Ka-Wing; Li, Sophia Ling; Ip, Patrick
2016-02-01
To examine the average sleep duration in Chinese preschoolers and to investigate the association between sleep duration and school readiness. This is a cross-sectional study that included 553 Chinese children (mean age = 5.46 years) from 20 preschools in 2 districts of Hong Kong. Average daily sleep duration in the last week was reported by parents and school readiness as measured by the teacher-rated Chinese Early Development Instrument (CEDI). Most Chinese preschoolers had 9-10 hours of sleep per day. Only 11% of preschoolers had the recommended 11-12 hours of sleep per day. This group was associated with more "very ready" CEDI domains. Sleep deprivation (≤7 hours per day) was associated with a lower CEDI total score, lower scores in the emotional maturity and language/cognitive domain, and prosocial behaviors subdomain but a greater score in the hyperactivity/inattention subdomain. Children with a lower family socioeconomic index, lower maternal education level, infrequent parent-child interactions, and who used electronic devices for more than 3 hours per day had shortened sleep durations. Optimal sleep duration was associated with better school readiness in preschool children, whereas sleep deprivation was associated with lower school readiness, more hyperactivity and inattention, and less prosocial behavior. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Language development in the early school years: The importance of close relationships with teachers
Spilt, J.L.; Koomen, H.M.Y.; Harrison, L.J.
2015-01-01
This longitudinal study examined developmental links between closeness in teacher-child relationships and children’s receptive language ability from the end of the preschool years into the early elementary years, while controlling for changes in peer interaction quality and child behavioral
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QUESTIONING FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING IN ISLAMIC PRE-SCHOOL
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Rohmani Nur Indah
2011-10-01
Full Text Available This paper questions the urgency of foreign language learning at early age by covering some arguments on the acquisition and bilingualism. Nowadays in Indonesia, under the interest of education, bilingual learning is undertaken by adopting the theory of bilingual acquisition referring to Chomsky’s ideas. In fact, the foreign language learning is not always in line with the principle of language acquisition especially for the early age children. The globalization era requires foreign language mastery so that for many institutions of children education have got the bilingual learning. As the example, some of Islamic educational institutions at the level of playgroup have applied the instruction in English and teaching Arabic words, by considering that the earlier foreign language learning is the better, and the fact that the golden age of brain development occurs at the first five years. This needs to be analyzed further, because there is also important task to have mother tongue language acquisition. For the community of multilingual such as in Indonesia, the acquisition of many languages is unavoidable. Therefore, parents are faced with two choices: To prior the mother tongue and bahasa Indonesia as second language or encourage the bilingual learning of Arabic and English.
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Hooshyar, Nahid T.
Maternal language directed to 21 nonhandicapped, 21 Down syndrome, and 19 language impaired preschool children was examined. The three groups (all Caucasian and middle-class) were matched in mean length of utterance (MLU) and in developmental skills as measured on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scale. Mother-child language interaction was…
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Milburn, Trelani F.; Hipfner-Boucher, Kathleen; Weitzman, Elaine; Greenberg, Janice; Pelletier, Janette; Girolametto, Luigi
2017-01-01
Preschool children begin to represent spoken language in print long before receiving formal instruction in spelling and writing. The current study sought to identify the component skills that contribute to preschool children's ability to begin to spell words and write their name. Ninety-five preschool children (mean age = 57 months) completed a…
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Why do early mathematics skills predict later reading? The role of mathematical language.
Purpura, David J; Logan, Jessica A R; Hassinger-Das, Brenna; Napoli, Amy R
2017-09-01
A growing body of evidence indicates that the development of mathematics and literacy skills is highly related. The importance of literacy skills-specifically language-for mathematics development has been well rationalized. However, despite several prominent studies indicating that mathematics skills are highly predictive of literacy development, the reason for this relation is not well understood. The purpose of this study was to identify how and why early mathematics is predictive of early literacy development. Participants included 125 preschool children 3-5 years old (M = 4 years 3 months). Participants were assessed on mathematics, literacy, and cognitive measures in both the fall and spring of their preschool year. Mediation analyses indicated that the relation between early mathematics and literacy skills is mediated by children's mathematical language skills. These findings suggest that, in prior research identifying mathematical performance as a significant predictor of later literacy skills, mathematical performance may have acted only as a proxy measure for more complex language skills such as those assessed on a mathematical language measure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).
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Positioning masculinities and femininities in preschool EFL education
Castañeda - Peña, Harold; Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
2008-01-01
Positioning Masculinities and Femininities in Preschool EFL Education seeks to describe and interpret how masculinities and femininities are communicated in the preschool EFL classroom and is aimed at discussing whether those masculinities and femininities are likely to have an impact on the preschoolers’ learning of English as a foreign language. Preschoolers’ classroom interactions taking place in a Colombian kindergarten, videotaped from 2004 to 2006, are analysed via ideas of ‘positioning...
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A Qualitative Analysis of Imitation Performances of Preschoolers with Down Syndrome
Vanvuchelen, Marleen
2016-01-01
A number of studies suggest that imitation is a characteristic strength in children with Down Syndrome (DS). The present study aims to discover whether imitation performances are qualitatively phenotypical in DS. Eight preschoolers with DS were matched on chronological, mental, language and imitation age with 8 preschoolers with intellectual…
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The Development of Experimentation and Evidence Evaluation Skills at Preschool Age
Piekny, Jeanette; Grube, Dietmar; Maehler, Claudia
2014-01-01
Researchers taking a domain-general approach to the development of scientific reasoning long thought that the ability to engage in scientific reasoning did not develop until adolescence. However, more recent studies have shown that preschool children already have a basic ability to evaluate evidence and a basic understanding of experimentation. Data providing insights into when exactly in the preschool years significant gains in these abilities occur are scarce. Drawing on a sample of 138 preschool children, this longitudinal study therefore examined how children's ability to evaluate evidence and their understanding of experimentation develop between the ages of four and six. Findings showed that the ability to evaluate evidence was already well developed at age four and increased steadily and significantly over time as long as the pattern of covariation was perfect. In the case of imperfect covariation, the proportion of correct answers was low over the period of observation, but showed a significant increase between the ages of four and five. If the data did not allow relationship between variables to be inferred, the proportion of correct answers was low, with a significant increase between the ages of five and six. The children's understanding of experimentation increased significantly between the ages of five and six. The implications of these findings for age-appropriate science programs in preschool are discussed.
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Speech-Language Dissociations, Distractibility, and Childhood Stuttering
Conture, Edward G.; Walden, Tedra A.; Lambert, Warren E.
2015-01-01
Purpose This study investigated the relation among speech-language dissociations, attentional distractibility, and childhood stuttering. Method Participants were 82 preschool-age children who stutter (CWS) and 120 who do not stutter (CWNS). Correlation-based statistics (Bates, Appelbaum, Salcedo, Saygin, & Pizzamiglio, 2003) identified dissociations across 5 norm-based speech-language subtests. The Behavioral Style Questionnaire Distractibility subscale measured attentional distractibility. Analyses addressed (a) between-groups differences in the number of children exhibiting speech-language dissociations; (b) between-groups distractibility differences; (c) the relation between distractibility and speech-language dissociations; and (d) whether interactions between distractibility and dissociations predicted the frequency of total, stuttered, and nonstuttered disfluencies. Results More preschool-age CWS exhibited speech-language dissociations compared with CWNS, and more boys exhibited dissociations compared with girls. In addition, male CWS were less distractible than female CWS and female CWNS. For CWS, but not CWNS, less distractibility (i.e., greater attention) was associated with more speech-language dissociations. Last, interactions between distractibility and dissociations did not predict speech disfluencies in CWS or CWNS. Conclusions The present findings suggest that for preschool-age CWS, attentional processes are associated with speech-language dissociations. Future investigations are warranted to better understand the directionality of effect of this association (e.g., inefficient attentional processes → speech-language dissociations vs. inefficient attentional processes ← speech-language dissociations). PMID:26126203
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Antopolskaya, Tatyana A.; Zhuravleva, Svetlana S.; Baybakova, Olga Y.
2017-01-01
The article reveals the problem of developing the ability of preschool children to socialize. It covers the theoretical aspects of the issue and draws attention to the association between the social communication of preschool children and their ability to interact and intercommunicate as well as the development of their social and emotional…
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Çelik, Meryem
2017-01-01
This study was carried out to determine whether there is a relationship between the preschool teachers' attitudes towards mathematics and mathematical development in 6-year-old preschool children. The sampling of the study was consisted of 30 teachers working with 6 years old children and their 120 students in public kindergartens and independent…
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Good Talking Words: A Social Communications Skills Program for Preschool and Kindergarten Classes.
Paulson, Lucy Hart; van den Pol, Rick
The "Good Talking Words" program aims to help children develop and demonstrate the social communication skills that are vital to school and life success. It uses an active, direct instructional approach for preschool and kindergarten students that uses language experiences to teach specific, prosocial behaviors that will help children…
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McLeod, S.; Crowe, K.; Masso, S.; Baker, E.; McCormack, J.; Wren, Y.; Roulstone, S.; Howland, C.
2017-01-01
Background: Speech sound disorders are a common communication difficulty in preschool children. Teachers indicate difficulty identifying and supporting these children.\\ud \\ud Aim: To describe speech and language characteristics of children identified by their parents and/or teachers as having possible communication concerns.\\ud \\ud Method: 275 Australian 4- to 5-year-old children from 45 preschools whose parents and teachers were concerned about their talking participated in speech-language p...
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Parents' Spatial Language Mediates a Sex Difference in Preschoolers' Spatial-Language Use.
Pruden, Shannon M; Levine, Susan C
2017-11-01
Do boys produce more terms than girls to describe the spatial world-that is, dimensional adjectives (e.g., big, little, tall, short), shape terms (e.g., circle, square), and words describing spatial features and properties (e.g., bent, curvy, edge)? If a sex difference in children's spatial-language use exists, is it related to the spatial language that parents use when interacting with children? We longitudinally tracked the development of spatial-language production in children between the ages of 14 and 46 months in a diverse sample of 58 parent-child dyads interacting in their homes. Boys produced and heard more of these three categories of spatial words, which we call "what" spatial types (i.e., unique "what" spatial words), but not more of all other word types, than girls. Mediation analysis revealed that sex differences in children's spatial talk at 34 to 46 months of age were fully mediated by parents' earlier spatial-language use, when children were 14 to 26 months old, time points at which there was no sex difference in children's spatial-language use.
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Science in the Eyes of Preschool Children: Findings from an Innovative Research Tool
Dubosarsky, Mia D.
How do young children view science? Do these views reflect cultural stereotypes? When do these views develop? These fundamental questions in the field of science education have rarely been studied with the population of preschool children. One main reason is the lack of an appropriate research instrument that addresses preschool children's developmental competencies. Extensive body of research has pointed at the significance of early childhood experiences in developing positive attitudes and interests toward learning in general and the learning of science in particular. Theoretical and empirical research suggests that stereotypical views of science may be replaced by authentic views following inquiry science experience. However, no preschool science intervention program could be designed without a reliable instrument that provides baseline information about preschool children's current views of science. The current study presents preschool children's views of science as gathered from a pioneering research tool. This tool, in the form of a computer "game," does not require reading, writing, or expressive language skills and is operated by the children. The program engages children in several simple tasks involving picture recognition and yes/no answers in order to reveal their views about science. The study was conducted with 120 preschool children in two phases and found that by the age of 4 years, participants possess an emergent concept of science. Gender and school differences were detected. Findings from this interdisciplinary study will contribute to the fields of early childhood, science education, learning technologies, program evaluation, and early childhood curriculum development.
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Altman, Carmit; Burstein Feldman, Zhanna; Yitzhaki, Dafna; Armon Lotem, Sharon; Walters, Joel
2014-01-01
The relationship between family language policy (FLP) and language choice, language use, proficiency in Russian and Hebrew, codeswitching (CS) and linguistic performance was studied in Russian-speaking immigrant parents and their Russian-Hebrew bilingual preschool children. By means of Glaser's Grounded Theory, the content of sociolinguistic…
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Girolametto, Luigi; Weitzman, Elaine; Greenberg, Janice
2012-01-01
Purpose: This study examined the efficacy of a professional development program for early childhood educators that facilitated emergent literacy skills in preschoolers. The program, led by a speech-language pathologist, focused on teaching alphabet knowledge, print concepts, sound awareness, and decontextualized oral language within naturally…
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Fernandez-Rao, Sylvia; Hurley, Kristen M; Nair, Krishnapillai Madhavan; Balakrishna, Nagalla; Radhakrishna, Kankipati V; Ravinder, Punjal; Tilton, Nicholas; Harding, Kimberly B; Reinhart, Greg A; Black, Maureen M
2014-01-01
This article describes the development, design, and implementation of an integrated randomized double-masked placebo-controlled trial (Project Grow Smart) that examines how home/preschool fortification with multiple micronutrient powder (MNP) combined with an early child-development intervention affects child development, growth, and micronutrient status among infants and preschoolers in rural India. The 1-year trial has an infant phase (enrollment age: 6-12 months) and a preschool phase (enrollment age: 36-48 months). Infants are individually randomized into one of four groups: placebo, placebo plus early learning, MNP alone, and MNP plus early learning (integrated intervention), conducted through home visits. The preschool phase is a cluster-randomized trial conducted in Anganwadi centers (AWCs), government-run preschools sponsored by the Integrated Child Development System of India. AWCs are randomized into MNP or placebo, with the MNP or placebo mixed into the children's food. The evaluation examines whether the effects of the MNP intervention vary by the quality of the early learning opportunities and communication within the AWCs. Study outcomes include child development, growth, and micronutrient status. Lessons learned during the development, design, and implementation of the integrated trial can be used to guide large-scale policy and programs designed to promote the developmental, educational, and economic potential of children in developing countries. © 2013 New York Academy of Sciences.
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DEVELOPMENT OF FINE MOTOR COORDINATION AND VISUAL-MOTOR INTEGRATION IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Haris MEMISEVIC
2013-03-01
Full Text Available Fine motor skills are prerequisite for many everyday activities and they are a good predictor of a child's later academic outcome. The goal of the present study was to assess the effects of age on the development of fine motor coordination and visual-motor integration in preschool children. The sample for this study consisted of 276 preschool children from Canton Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. We assessed children's motor skills with Beery Visual Motor Integration Test and Lafayette Pegboard Test. Data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA, followed by planned comparisons between the age groups. We also performed a regression analysis to assess the influence of age and motor coordination on visual-motor integration. The results showed that age has a great effect on the development of fine motor skills. Furthermore, the results indicated that there are possible sensitive periods at preschool age in which the development of fine motor skills is accelerated. Early intervention specialists should make a thorough evaluations of fine motor skills in preschool children and make motor (rehabilitation programs for children at risk of fine motor delays.
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Sleep Disturbance and Expressive Language Development in Preschool-Age Children with Down Syndrome
Edgin, Jamie O.; Tooley, Ursula; Demara, Bianca; Nyhuis, Casandra; Anand, Payal; Spanò, Goffredina
2015-01-01
Recent evidence has suggested that sleep may facilitate language learning. This study examined variation in language ability in 29 toddlers with Down syndrome (DS) in relation to levels of sleep disruption. Toddlers with DS and poor sleep (66%, n = 19) showed greater deficits on parent-reported and objective measures of language, including…
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Lonigan, Christopher J; Allan, Nicholas P; Lerner, Matthew D
2011-05-01
The importance of the preschool period for becoming a skilled reader is highlighted by a significant body of evidence that preschool children's development in the areas of oral language, phonological awareness, and print knowledge is predictive of how well they will learn to read once they are exposed to formal reading instruction in elementary school. Although there are now a number of empirically supported instructional activities for helping children who are at -risk of later reading difficulties acquire these early literacy skills, limitations in instructional time and opportunities in most preschool settings requires the use of valid assessment procedures to ensure that instructional resources are utilized efficiently. In this paper, we discuss the degree to which informal, diagnostic, screening, and progress-monitoring assessments of preschool early literacy skills can inform instructional decisions by considering the strengths and weaknesses of each approach to assessment.
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Language Development in the Early School Years: The Importance of Close Relationships with Teachers
Spilt, Jantine L.; Koomen, Helma M. Y.; Harrison, Linda J.
2015-01-01
This longitudinal study examined developmental links between closeness in teacher-child relationships and children's receptive language ability from the end of the preschool years into the early elementary years, while controlling for changes in peer interaction quality and child behavioral functioning. The sample included children and their…
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Oladunjoye, Olayemi Kemi
2013-01-01
The title of this thesis is "iPad and Computer devices in Preschool: A tool for literacy development among teachers and children in preschool." The study was an exploration of how teachers and their pupils put iPad and other computer devices into use in early childhood education. This study was a qualitative research study, based on the observation of the pupils and the interviews of the teachers. In this study, observation of the children and interviewing of the teachers over a period of fiv...
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Goodrich, J. Marc; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Farver, JoAnn M.
2014-01-01
The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether the cross-language relations between the phonological awareness (PA) skills of preschool children learning more than one language are dependent upon their first-and second-language oral language skills. Four hundred sixty-six Spanish-speaking language minority children participated in this study.…
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Children with autism spectrum disorders who do not develop phrase speech in the preschool years.
Norrelgen, Fritjof; Fernell, Elisabeth; Eriksson, Mats; Hedvall, Åsa; Persson, Clara; Sjölin, Maria; Gillberg, Christopher; Kjellmer, Liselotte
2015-11-01
There is uncertainty about the proportion of children with autism spectrum disorders who do not develop phrase speech during the preschool years. The main purpose of this study was to examine this ratio in a population-based community sample of children. The cohort consisted of 165 children (141 boys, 24 girls) with autism spectrum disorders aged 4-6 years followed longitudinally over 2 years during which time they had received intervention at a specialized autism center. In this study, data collected at the 2-year follow-up were used. Three categories of expressive language were defined: nonverbal, minimally verbal, and phrase speech. Data from the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-II were used to classify expressive language. A secondary objective of the study was to analyze factors that might be linked to verbal ability, namely, child age, cognitive level, autism subtype and severity of core autism symptoms, developmental regression, epilepsy or other medical conditions, and intensity of intervention. The proportion of children who met the criteria for nonverbal, minimally verbal, and phrase speech were 15%, 10%, and 75%, respectively. The single most important factor linked to expressive language was the child's cognitive level, and all children classified as being nonverbal or minimally verbal had intellectual disability. © The Author(s) 2014.
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Developing Basic Mathematical Skills of Pre-School Children by Using Plasticized Clay
Chumark, Charung; Puncreobutr, Vichian
2016-01-01
The main objective of this research was to study the development of basic mathematical skills in preschool children by using plasticized clay. A pre-test and post-test design was adopted for the study to compare the difference before and after the art activity. The experimental group of 15 preschool children of 3-4 years old, attending…
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The features of comprehensive development of preschool children by means of music
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Alla Kushnir
2017-02-01
Full Text Available The article deals with the influence of music education on mental, artistic and aestheticdevelopment of preschool children; strengthening of their mental and physical health; socialand moral growth of the child. The role of music director at the comprehensive development ofpreschool children by means of music is disclosed. Key words: musical education, music director, preschool children.
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Nix, Robert L; Bierman, Karen L; Domitrovich, Celene E; Gill, Sukhdeep
2013-01-01
This study examined processes of change associated with the positive preschool and kindergarten outcomes of children who received the Head Start REDI intervention, compared to "usual practice" Head Start. In a large-scale randomized-controlled trial (N = 356 children, 42% African American or Latino, all from low-income families), this study tests the logic model that improving preschool social-emotional skills (e.g., emotion understanding, social problem solving, and positive social behavior) as well as language/emergent literacy skills will promote cross-domain academic and behavioral adjustment after children transition into kindergarten. Validating this logic model, the present study finds that intervention effects on three important kindergarten outcomes (e.g., reading achievement, learning engagement, and positive social behavior) were mediated by preschool gains in the proximal social-emotional and language/emergent literacy skills targeted by the REDI intervention. Importantly, preschool gains in social-emotional skills made unique contributions to kindergarten outcomes in reading achievement and learning engagement, even after accounting for the concurrent preschool gains in vocabulary and emergent literacy skills. These findings highlight the importance of fostering at-risk children's social-emotional skills during preschool as a means of promoting school readiness. The REDI (Research-Based, Developmentally-Informed) enrichment intervention was designed to complement and strengthen the impact of existing Head Start programs in the dual domains of language/emergent literacy skills and social-emotional competencies. REDI was one of several projects funded by the Interagency School Readiness Consortium, a partnership of four federal agencies (the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Administration for Children and Families, the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation in the Department of Health and Human Services, and the
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Hachfeld, Axinja; Anders, Yvonne; Kuger, Susanne; Smidt, Wilfried
2016-01-01
Home and educational institutions are children's most important external influences and a positive partnership between the two can positively affect children's cognitive and non-cognitive development. Quality of family-preschool partnership (FPP) can depend on preschool and family characteristics. For Germany, studies show that immigrant parents…
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Klem, Marianne; Hagtvet, Bente; Hulme, Charles; Gustafsson, Jan-Eric
2016-01-01
Purpose: This study investigated the stability and growth of preschool language skills and explores latent class analysis as an approach for identifying children at risk of language impairment. Method: The authors present data from a large-scale 2-year longitudinal study, in which 600 children were assessed with a language-screening tool…
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Werfel, Krystal L
2017-10-05
The purpose of this study was to compare change in emergent literacy skills of preschool children with and without hearing loss over a 6-month period. Participants included 19 children with hearing loss and 14 children with normal hearing. Children with hearing loss used amplification and spoken language. Participants completed measures of oral language, phonological processing, and print knowledge twice at a 6-month interval. A series of repeated-measures analyses of variance were used to compare change across groups. Main effects of time were observed for all variables except phonological recoding. Main effects of group were observed for vocabulary, morphosyntax, phonological memory, and concepts of print. Interaction effects were observed for phonological awareness and concepts of print. Children with hearing loss performed more poorly than children with normal hearing on measures of oral language, phonological memory, and conceptual print knowledge. Two interaction effects were present. For phonological awareness and concepts of print, children with hearing loss demonstrated less positive change than children with normal hearing. Although children with hearing loss generally demonstrated a positive growth in emergent literacy skills, their initial performance was lower than that of children with normal hearing, and rates of change were not sufficient to catch up to the peers over time.
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Developing a health education game for preschoolers: What should we consider?
Arbianingsih; Rustina, Yeni; Krianto, Tri; Ayubi, Dian
2018-02-01
To provide a comprehensive picture of what preschoolers prefer in computer game so that such game may be developed as a medium in health education. This is an important step to attract the children's attention so that the learning objectives from the educational game can be achieved. This study used descriptive qualitative approach and involved seven children aged from three to six years. Purposive sampling was used to choose participants in accordance with the inclusion criteria. Participants were also chosen on the basis of whether they had good communication skills based on evaluation by their teachers. Data were collected through interviews and observation of types and models preferred by preschoolers followed by the analysis process using the Colaizzi method. Research showed there were three characteristic features of games preferred by preschoolers: 1) main character was preferred to be a moving creature, contain elements of fantasy, and have an attractive appearance; 2) game model was favored when it involved activities and rewards, and 3) the use of bright colors, particularly primary and secondary colors. To develop an appealing game for preschoolers, features such as the main character, activities in the games, and bright colors should be considered. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.
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Moll, Kristina; Snowling, Margaret J; Göbel, Silke M; Hulme, Charles
2015-08-01
Two important foundations for learning are language and executive skills. Data from a longitudinal study tracking the development of 93 children at family-risk of dyslexia and 76 controls was used to investigate the influence of these skills on the development of arithmetic. A two-group longitudinal path model assessed the relationships between language and executive skills at 3-4 years, verbal number skills (counting and number knowledge) and phonological processing skills at 4-5 years, and written arithmetic in primary school. The same cognitive processes accounted for variability in arithmetic skills in both groups. Early language and executive skills predicted variations in preschool verbal number skills, which in turn, predicted arithmetic skills in school. In contrast, phonological awareness was not a predictor of later arithmetic skills. These results suggest that verbal and executive processes provide the foundation for verbal number skills, which in turn influence the development of formal arithmetic skills. Problems in early language development may explain the comorbidity between reading and mathematics disorder.
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Solomon, Tracy; Plamondon, Andre; O'Hara, Arland; Finch, Heather; Goco, Geraldine; Chaban, Peter; Huggins, Lorrie; Ferguson, Bruce; Tannock, Rosemary
2017-01-01
Early self-regulation predicts school readiness, academic success, and quality of life in adulthood. Its development in the preschool years is rapid and also malleable. Thus, preschool curricula that promote the development of self-regulation may help set children on a more positive developmental trajectory. We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial of the Tools of the Mind preschool curriculum, a program that targets self-regulation through imaginative play and self-regulatory language (Tools; clinical trials identifier NCT02462733). Previous research with Tools is limited, with mixed evidence of its effectiveness. Moreover, it is unclear whether it would benefit all preschoolers or primarily those with poorly developed cognitive capacities (e.g., language, executive function, attention). The study goals were to ascertain whether the Tools program leads to greater gains in self-regulation compared to Playing to Learn (YMCA PTL), another play based program that does not target self-regulation specifically, and whether the effects were moderated by children's initial language and hyperactivity/inattention. Two hundred and sixty 3- to 4-year-olds attending 20 largely urban daycares were randomly assigned, at the site level, to receive either Tools or YMCA PTL (the business-as-usual curriculum) for 15 months. We assessed self-regulation at pre-, mid and post intervention, using two executive function tasks, and two questionnaires regarding behavior at home and at school, to capture development in cognitive as well as socio-emotional aspects of self-regulation. Fidelity data showed that only the teachers at the Tools sites implemented Tools, and did so with reasonable success. We found that children who received Tools made greater gains on a behavioral measure of executive function than their YMCA PTL peers, but the difference was significant only for those children whose parents rated them high in hyperactivity/inattention initially. The effect of Tools did
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tracy Solomon
2018-01-01
Full Text Available Early self-regulation predicts school readiness, academic success, and quality of life in adulthood. Its development in the preschool years is rapid and also malleable. Thus, preschool curricula that promote the development of self-regulation may help set children on a more positive developmental trajectory. We conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial of the Tools of the Mind preschool curriculum, a program that targets self-regulation through imaginative play and self-regulatory language (Tools; clinical trials identifier NCT02462733. Previous research with Tools is limited, with mixed evidence of its effectiveness. Moreover, it is unclear whether it would benefit all preschoolers or primarily those with poorly developed cognitive capacities (e.g., language, executive function, attention. The study goals were to ascertain whether the Tools program leads to greater gains in self-regulation compared to Playing to Learn (YMCA PTL, another play based program that does not target self-regulation specifically, and whether the effects were moderated by children’s initial language and hyperactivity/inattention. Two hundred and sixty 3- to 4-year-olds attending 20 largely urban daycares were randomly assigned, at the site level, to receive either Tools or YMCA PTL (the business-as-usual curriculum for 15 months. We assessed self-regulation at pre-, mid and post intervention, using two executive function tasks, and two questionnaires regarding behavior at home and at school, to capture development in cognitive as well as socio-emotional aspects of self-regulation. Fidelity data showed that only the teachers at the Tools sites implemented Tools, and did so with reasonable success. We found that children who received Tools made greater gains on a behavioral measure of executive function than their YMCA PTL peers, but the difference was significant only for those children whose parents rated them high in hyperactivity/inattention initially. The
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Effects of Public Preschool Expenditures on the Test Scores of 4 Graders: Evidence from TIMSS.
Waldfogel, Jane; Zhai, Fuhua
2008-02-01
This study examines the effects of public preschool expenditures on the math and science scores of 4(th) graders, holding constant child, family, and school characteristics, other relevant social expenditures, and country and year effects, in seven Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries -- Australia, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, U.K., and U.S -- using data from the 1995 and 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Our results indicate that there are small but significant positive effects of public preschool expenditures on the math and science scores of 4(th) graders and preschool expenditures reduce the risk of children scoring at the low level of proficiency. We also find some evidence that children from low-resource homes and homes where the test language is not always spoken may tend to gain more from increased public preschool expenditures than other children,.
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Adapting a receptive vocabulary test for preschool-aged Greek-speaking children.
Okalidou, Areti; Syrika, Asimina; Beckman, Mary E; Edwards, Jan R
2011-01-01
Receptive vocabulary is an important measure for language evaluations. Therefore, norm-referenced receptive vocabulary tests are widely used in several languages. However, a receptive vocabulary test has not yet been normed for Modern Greek. To adapt an American English vocabulary test, the Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test-II (ROWPVT-II), for Modern Greek for use with Greek-speaking preschool children. The list of 170 English words on ROWPVT-II was adapted by (1) developing two lists (A and B) of Greek words that would match either the target English word or another concept corresponding to one of the pictured objects in the four-picture array; and (2) determining a developmental order for the chosen Greek words for preschool-aged children. For the first task, adult word frequency measures were used to select the words for the Greek wordlist. For the second task, 427 children, 225 boys and 202 girls, ranging in age from 2;0 years to 5;11 years, were recruited from urban and suburban areas of Greece. A pilot study of the two word lists was performed with the aim of comparing an equal number of list A and list B responses for each age group and deriving a new developmental list order. The relative difficulty of each Greek word item, that is, its accuracy score, was calculated by taking the average proportion of correct responses across ages for that word. Subsequently, the word accuracy scores in the two lists were compared via regression analysis, which yielded a highly significant relationship (R(2) = 0.97; p word item from the two lists was a better fit. Finally, new starting levels (basals) were established for preschool ages. The revised word list can serve as the basis for adapting a receptive vocabulary test for Greek preschool-aged children. Further steps need to be taken when testing larger numbers of 2;0 to 5;11-year-old children on the revised word list for determination of norms. This effort will facilitate early identification and remediation
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Many languages, one classroom teaching dual and English language learners
Nemeth, Karen
2009-01-01
Even the most experienced teacher can feel a bit unsure about meeting the unique needs of children from different language backgrounds. Many Languages, One Classroom applies the latest information about best practices to all aspects of a preschool program. Organized by interest areas and times of the day, you'll find everything you need to open the doors of literacy and learning for English language learners during dramatic play, outdoor play, reading, science, blocks, and circle time.
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Kaale, Anett; Fagerland, Morten W; Martinsen, Egil W; Smith, Lars
2014-02-01
This study reports 12-month follow-up data from a randomized controlled trial of preschool-based social communication treatment for young children with autism. A total of 61 children (48 males) with autism, 29 to 60 months of age, had earlier been randomized either to 8 weeks of preschool-based social communication treatment in addition to standard preschool program (n = 34) or to standard preschool program only (n = 27). Significant short-term effects on targeted social communication skills have previously been published. Long-term gains in social communication, language and global social functioning and communication were assessed from video-taped preschool teacher-child and mother-child interactions, Early Social Communication Scales, Reynell Developmental Language Scale, and Social Communication Questionnaire. Compared with those in the control group, the treated children achieved significantly larger improvements in joint attention and joint engagement from baseline to 12-month follow-up. However, no effects were detected on language and global ratings of social functioning and communication. The treatment effect on child initiation of joint attention increased with increasing level of sociability at baseline, whereas nonverbal IQ and expressive language had no moderating effect. This study is the first to show that, similar to specialist-delivered treatment, preschool-based treatment may produce small but possibly clinically important long-term changes in social communication in young children with autism. The treatment did not affect language and global ratings of social functioning and communication. More studies are needed to better understand whether treatment effects may be improved by increasing the intensity and duration of the treatment. Clinical trial registration information--Joint Attention Intervention and Young Children With Autism; http://clinicaltrials.gov/; NCT00378157. Copyright © 2014 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
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Krneta, Željko; Casals, Cristina; Bala, Gustav; Madić, Dejan; Pavlović, Slobodan; Drid, Patrik
2015-07-01
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of an additional, organized, and more intensive kinesiological treatment on "pure" motor abilities in preschool children. In the present study an experimental treatment was carried out on a sample of 37 preschool boys by applying kinesiological activities. The 60 minute treatment was applied over a period of one school year (9 months), twice a week. A control group of 31 boys were trained according to the regular program for preschool institutions. Treatment effects were assessed by 8 motor ability tests and 5 anthropometric measures. The significant differences between the groups, which were observed after the final measurement and compared to the initial one, proved that the kinesiological treatment had a positive impact on the general development of "pure" motor abilities. The most significant effect of experimental kinesiological treatment was the improvement in whole body force, flexibility and coordination of preschool boys. These findings, obtained only in one school year, point to the importance of physical exercise and the application of additional kinesiological activities with various modalities, to improve motor development, even morphological growth and development in preschool children. The effects of the perennial application of kinesiological activities, under the supervision of kinesiological professionals, could be beneficial and could form the basis for a better biological and motor development in older age.
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Lexical and phonological variability in preschool children with speech sound disorder.
Macrae, Toby; Tyler, Ann A; Lewis, Kerry E
2014-02-01
The authors of this study examined relationships between measures of word and speech error variability and between these and other speech and language measures in preschool children with speech sound disorder (SSD). In this correlational study, 18 preschool children with SSD, age-appropriate receptive vocabulary, and normal oral motor functioning and hearing were assessed across 2 sessions. Experimental measures included word and speech error variability, receptive vocabulary, nonword repetition (NWR), and expressive language. Pearson product–moment correlation coefficients were calculated among the experimental measures. The correlation between word and speech error variability was slight and nonsignificant. The correlation between word variability and receptive vocabulary was moderate and negative, although nonsignificant. High word variability was associated with small receptive vocabularies. The correlations between speech error variability and NWR and between speech error variability and the mean length of children's utterances were moderate and negative, although both were nonsignificant. High speech error variability was associated with poor NWR and language scores. High word variability may reflect unstable lexical representations, whereas high speech error variability may reflect indistinct phonological representations. Preschool children with SSD who show abnormally high levels of different types of speech variability may require slightly different approaches to intervention.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Stich Heribert L
2012-12-01
Full Text Available Abstract Background Even minor abnormalities of early child development may have dramatic long term consequences. Accurate prevalence rates for a range of developmental impairments have been difficult to establish. Since related studies have used different methodological approaches, direct comparisons of the prevalence of developmental delays are difficult. The understanding of the key factors affecting child development, especially in preschool aged children remains limited. We used data from school entry examinations in Bavaria to measure the prevalence of developmental impairments in pre-school children beginning primary school in 1997–2009. Methods The developmental impairments of all school beginners in the district of Dingolfing- Landau, Bavaria were assessed using modified “Bavarian School Entry Model” examination from 1997 to 2009 (N=13,182. The children were assessed for motor, cognitive, language and psychosocial impairments using a standardised medical protocol. Prevalence rates of impairments in twelve domains of development were estimated. Using uni- and multivariable logistic regression models, association between selected factors and development delays were assessed. Results The highest prevalence existed for impairments of pronunciation (13.8% followed by fine motor impairments (12.2%, and impairments of memory and concentration (11.3% and the lowest for impairments of rhythm of speech (3.1%. Younger children displayed more developmental delays. Male gender was strongly associated with all developmental impairments (highest risk for fine motor impairments = OR 3.22, 95% confidence interval 2.86-3.63. Preschool children with siblings (vs. children without any siblings were at higher risk of having impairments in pronunciation (OR 1.31, 1.14-1.50. The influence of the non-German nationality was strong, with a maximum risk increase for the subareas of grammar and psychosocial development. Although children with non
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Stich, Heribert L; Baune, Bernhard Th; Caniato, Riccardo N; Mikolajczyk, Rafael T; Krämer, Alexander
2012-12-05
Even minor abnormalities of early child development may have dramatic long term consequences. Accurate prevalence rates for a range of developmental impairments have been difficult to establish. Since related studies have used different methodological approaches, direct comparisons of the prevalence of developmental delays are difficult. The understanding of the key factors affecting child development, especially in preschool aged children remains limited. We used data from school entry examinations in Bavaria to measure the prevalence of developmental impairments in pre-school children beginning primary school in 1997-2009. The developmental impairments of all school beginners in the district of Dingolfing-Landau, Bavaria were assessed using modified "Bavarian School Entry Model" examination from 1997 to 2009 (N=13,182). The children were assessed for motor, cognitive, language and psychosocial impairments using a standardised medical protocol. Prevalence rates of impairments in twelve domains of development were estimated. Using uni- and multivariable logistic regression models, association between selected factors and development delays were assessed. The highest prevalence existed for impairments of pronunciation (13.8%) followed by fine motor impairments (12.2%), and impairments of memory and concentration (11.3%) and the lowest for impairments of rhythm of speech (3.1%). Younger children displayed more developmental delays. Male gender was strongly associated with all developmental impairments (highest risk for fine motor impairments = OR 3.22, 95% confidence interval 2.86-3.63). Preschool children with siblings (vs. children without any siblings) were at higher risk of having impairments in pronunciation (OR 1.31, 1.14-1.50). The influence of the non-German nationality was strong, with a maximum risk increase for the subareas of grammar and psychosocial development. Although children with non-German nationality had a reduced risk of disorders for the rhythm
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The Discourse of a Preschool Education Curriculum
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Lidija Miškeljin
2016-02-01
Full Text Available The paper presents a critical analysis of the discourse of a preschool education curriculum. Its starting point is Foucault’s concept of discourse as language in use, which not only reflects the social order, but also shapes it through a network of conventions, knowledge and practices determining man’s – or, in this case, the reader’s – perception of reality. The analysis is based on identifying the discourse strategies and/or systems of rules laid out in the text The basic principles of the preschool education curriculum for three- to seven-year-old children – model A which make possible certain statements and insights regarding children and thus position the child and the preschool teacher by means of discourse repertoires. This approach helps contextualize the text and leads to an understanding of the basic discourse mechanism involved in the creation of specific versions of preschool education. As discourse analysis itself is related to interpretation and narratology, with the story as a constant, so is this paper a story about a preschool curriculum, for, like any other text, it tells an unfinished story that can yet evolve in different directions.
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Lewis, Kandia; Sandilos, Lia E.; Hammer, Carol Scheffner; Sawyer, Brook E.; Méndez, Lucía I.
2016-01-01
Research Findings: This study explored the relations between Spanish-English dual language learner (DLL) children's home language and literacy experiences and their expressive vocabulary and oral comprehension abilities in Spanish and in English. Data from Spanish-English mothers of 93 preschool-age Head Start children who resided in central…
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Ammons, Kerrie Allen
2013-01-01
With a growing body of research that supports a link between language and literacy, governing bodies in the field of speech and language pathology have recognized the need to reconsider the role of speech-language pathologists in addressing the emergent literacy needs of preschoolers who struggle with literacy and language concepts. This study…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Baklanova Tatiana I.
2016-01-01
Full Text Available This article describes an innovative education system of pre-school music education “Music world” byT. I. Baklanova, and G. P. Novikova included in a new system of Russian preschool education “Paths”.The education system “Music world” consists of an author’s concept, an integrated programme of musical education, training, development and improvement of health of children of preschool age (3-7 years, two grants for children, methodical recommendations for tutors and musical directors of preschool educational organizations. This education system is developed on a successive basis with a set of textbooks “Music” of T.I. Baklanova (“Planet of Knowledge” series.The integrated approach to five main directions of development and education of children included in the new Federal state educational standards of preschool education is applied in the education system “Music world” for the first time. It is social and communicative, informative, speech, art and esthetic and physical development. These directions are realized in “Music world” in several interconnected interdisciplinary contexts: axiological, cultural and historical, ethnocultural, etc. Polycontextual approach to development of maintenance of preschool music education in combination with integration in him all directions of development and education of preschool children causes scientific novelty, practical importance and efficiency of the education system “Music world”.
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Nevill, Rose; Hedley, Darren; Uljarević, Mirko; Sahin, Ensu; Zadek, Johanna; Butter, Eric; Mulick, James A
2017-11-01
This study investigated language profiles in a community-based sample of 104 children aged 1-3 years who had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder using Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.) diagnostic criteria. Language was assessed with the Mullen scales, Preschool Language Scale, fifth edition, and Vineland-II parent-report. The study aimed to determine whether the receptive-to-expressive language profile is independent from the assessment instrument used, and whether nonverbal cognition, early communicative behaviors, and autism spectrum disorder symptoms predict language scores. Receptive-to-expressive language profiles differed between assessment instruments and reporters, and Preschool Language Scale, fifth edition profiles were also dependent on developmental level. Nonverbal cognition and joint attention significantly predicted receptive language scores, and nonverbal cognition and frequency of vocalizations predicted expressive language scores. These findings support the administration of multiple direct assessment and parent-report instruments when evaluating language in young children with autism spectrum disorder, for both research and in clinical settings. Results also support that joint attention is a useful intervention target for improving receptive language skills in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Future research comparing language profiles of young children with autism spectrum disorder to children with non-autism spectrum disorder developmental delays and typical development will add to our knowledge of early language development in children with autism spectrum disorder.
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Effects of Public Preschool Expenditures on the Test Scores of 4th Graders: Evidence from TIMSS
Waldfogel, Jane; Zhai, Fuhua
2011-01-01
This study examines the effects of public preschool expenditures on the math and science scores of 4th graders, holding constant child, family, and school characteristics, other relevant social expenditures, and country and year effects, in seven Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries -- Australia, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, U.K., and U.S -- using data from the 1995 and 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Our results indicate that there are small but significant positive effects of public preschool expenditures on the math and science scores of 4th graders and preschool expenditures reduce the risk of children scoring at the low level of proficiency. We also find some evidence that children from low-resource homes and homes where the test language is not always spoken may tend to gain more from increased public preschool expenditures than other children,. PMID:21442008
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Petersen, Douglas B.
2011-01-01
This systematic review focuses on research articles published since 1980 that assess outcomes of narrative-based language intervention for preschool and school-age children with language impairment. The author conducted a comprehensive search of electronic databases and hand searches of other sources for studies using all research designs except…
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Preschool Deployment of Evidence-Based Social Communication Intervention: JASPER in the Classroom.
Chang, Ya-Chih; Shire, Stephanie Y; Shih, Wendy; Gelfand, Carolyn; Kasari, Connie
2016-06-01
Few research-developed early intervention models have been deployed to and tested in real world preschool programs. In this study, teaching staff implemented a social communication modularized intervention, JASPER, in their daily program. Sixty-six preschool children with autism in twelve classrooms (12 teachers) were randomized to receive immediate JASPER training (IT) or were waitlisted (WL) for 3 months with a 1-month follow up. Measures of core deficits (initiations of joint engagement, joint attention gestures and language, play skills) and standardized cognitive measures were improved for IT over WL children. IT teachers achieved and maintained high fidelity. Teachers can implement evidence-based interventions with significant improvements in core deficits of their children with ASD.
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Developing a medical picture book for reducing venipuncture distress in preschool-aged children.
Tsao, Ying; Kuo, Hui-Chen; Lee, Hsui-Chuan; Yiin, Shuenn-Jiun
2017-10-01
Distress associated with needle-related procedures is a major concern in preschool-aged children nursing. This study developed a medical picture book for supporting preschool-aged children facing a venipuncture and determined the effectiveness of such a book intervention in decreasing behavioural distress. The picture book was designed in 3 stages: developing stories on medical situations, penning the text, and drafting the book. We conducted a quasiexperimental study to examine the effectiveness of the book. The behavioural distress of the control and picture book groups were assessed before, during, and after the intervention by using the Observational Scale of Behavioral Distress-Revised (OSBD-R). We created a 12-page picture book, Sick Rui-Rui Bear, in which cartoon characters were depicted undergoing venipunctures, as a guide for vein injection and for facilitating positive venipuncture outcomes in preschool-aged children. Over time, the OSBD-R scores of the picture book group were significantly lower than those of the control group (P book be routinely read and used during venipunctures to decrease procedural distress in preschool-aged children. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.
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The development of Self-control of Cognitive Activity in Preschool Age
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Chernokova T.E.,
2015-02-01
Full Text Available We discuss the problem of self-control formation in the context of metacognitive development of children. The hypothesis of the study was that in the preschool age, the structure of self-cognition begins to form, which includes anticipating, process and final self-control. The aim of the study was to identify the dynamics of self-control of cognitive activity in the preschool years. We used an experimental technique in which children were asked to identify the problem and plan of the learning activities, implement it and evaluate the results. The study involved 60 children aged 4 to 7 years. In all age groups higher rates of current and total self-control were found, but the most intensive dynamics were identified in terms of predictive self-control. In the preschool age children occasionally show a formal self-control. At the age of 5-6 years old, the children start to develop the self-control structure, and significant correlations were found between the indicators of current and final self. The most advanced children demonstrate meaningful self-control. This is due not only to the development of self-awareness, arbitrariness and traditionally described cognitive processes, but also to the development of dialectical thinking and metacognitions.
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Spencer, Caroline; Weber-Fox, Christine
2014-01-01
Purpose In preschool children, we investigated whether expressive and receptive language, phonological, articulatory, and/or verbal working memory proficiencies aid in predicting eventual recovery or persistence of stuttering. Methods Participants included 65 children, including 25 children who do not stutter (CWNS) and 40 who stutter (CWS) recruited at age 3;9–5;8. At initial testing, participants were administered the Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language, 3rd edition (TACL-3), Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test, 3rd edition (SPELT-3), Bankson-Bernthal Test of Phonology-Consonant Inventory subtest (BBTOP-CI), Nonword Repetition Test (NRT; Dollaghan & Campbell, 1998), and Test of Auditory Perceptual Skills-Revised (TAPS-R) auditory number memory and auditory word memory subtests. Stuttering behaviors of CWS were assessed in subsequent years, forming groups whose stuttering eventually persisted (CWS-Per; n=19) or recovered (CWS-Rec; n=21). Proficiency scores in morphosyntactic skills, consonant production, verbal working memory for known words, and phonological working memory and speech production for novel nonwords obtained at the initial testing were analyzed for each group. Results CWS-Per were less proficient than CWNS and CWS-Rec in measures of consonant production (BBTOP-CI) and repetition of novel phonological sequences (NRT). In contrast, receptive language, expressive language, and verbal working memory abilities did not distinguish CWS-Rec from CWS-Per. Binary logistic regression analysis indicated that preschool BBTOP-CI scores and overall NRT proficiency significantly predicted future recovery status. Conclusion Results suggest that phonological and speech articulation abilities in the preschool years should be considered with other predictive factors as part of a comprehensive risk assessment for the development of chronic stuttering. PMID:25173455
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Intellectual Development Features and Status in the Nursery Group in Preschool Age
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Iliyn V.A.,
2015-12-01
Full Text Available The article presents the results of a study of intellectual development of high-status, middle-status and low-status members of the educational preschool groups. It is shown that the intellectual development of high status and middle status 4-5 years old children is higher than their low-status peers, especially in such aspects as perception, attention, and memory. This integral indicator of high status subjects corresponds to the average or high level of intelligence, and for most of the subjects of this category is characterized by a high level. An integral component of intellectual development of middle-status children is comparable to the one in high-status. In fact, there is only one, but not least, difference between the two categories: among high-status children there is no kids whose integral indicator of intellectual development is below average. Integral indicator of intellectual development of most low-status subjects corresponds to the low intelligence level. We analyzed a dialectical relationship of intellectual, social, and psychological development of preschool children according to the concept of «interpersonal situation of development». The article presents methodical maintenance of structure definition of interpersonal relations in the preschool educational groups. The study proposed a number of scientific and practical recommendations.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Anna Reho
2015-04-01
Full Text Available The rapid tempo of social changes is inherent in the modern Ukrainian society that has resulted in the actual and problematic personality socialization questions in preschool childhood. This period is exactly that sensitive period for the primary child world view formation, consciousness, social features etc. The stay in preschool educational institution plays an important role in preschool age child personality development. Transcarpathian region is the region situated on the southwest of Ukraine within the western part of Ukrainian Carpathians and Transcarpathian lowland. At about 80% of the region’s territory is covered by the Carpathian Mountains. In accordance with the Ukrainian Law “On the Status of Mountainous Settlements in Ukraine”, until recently 192 settlements (31% out of the total quantity belong to the mountainous. Volovets and Mizhgirya districts fully subject to the action of the above indicated law, while in other districts the portion of settlements with the mountainous settlements status is presented from 13,6 (in Mukachevo district up to 84,4 percent (in Rakhiv disctrict. In our publication we will pay attention to four mountainous districts of Transcarpathian region: Velykyi Bereznyi, Volovets, Mizhgirya and Rakhiv districts. This publication presents the comparative status analysis of preschool age children support carried out by the preschool educational institutions in Transcarpathian region in the period starting from the year of 2000 until 2013. In the mountainous districts of Transcarpathian region the preschool educational institutions establishment, quantity of children in them and preschool institutions loading tendency analysis is completed. The distribution of preschool educational institutions as per children educational languages is given in this article.The above mentioned confirms, that in recent years, active attention has been paid to the new preschool institutions creation, namely in mountainous and
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Language Delay in 3-Year-Old Children With ADHD Symptoms.
Rohrer-Baumgartner, Nina; Zeiner, Pål; Eadie, Patricia; Egeland, Jens; Gustavson, Kristin; Reichborn-Kjennerud, Ted; Aase, Heidi
2016-10-01
Little is known about cognition in preschoolers with ADHD and language delay (LD). The objective was to investigate cognitive functions in preschoolers with ADHD symptoms and LD compared with children with ADHD symptoms only and to estimate the frequency of children with ADHD symptoms, co-occurring language delay, and delays on cognitive measures. Participants were recruited from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study. The teacher report of expressive language and the cognitive tests from 119 3-year-old children with parent reported ADHD symptoms and LD were compared with those of 258 children with ADHD symptoms only. The ADHD + LD group performed significantly worse than the ADHD group on most language-related measures. There were no differences between the groups on most nonverbal measures. Single measures had a limited potential of differentiating between the groups. ADHD symptoms and co-occurring LD in preschoolers were characterized by cognitive deficits associated with both disorders, not with global neurodevelopmental delay. © The Author(s) 2013.
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Assessment of Attention in Preschoolers
Mahone, E.M.; Schneider, H.E.
2012-01-01
In the past two decades, there has been an increased interest in the assessment and treatment of preschool children presenting with concerns about attention problems. This article reviews the research and clinical literature involving assessment of attention and related skills in the preschool years. While inattention among preschoolers is common, symptoms alone do not necessarily indicate a disorder, and most often represent a normal variation in typical preschool child development. Thus, accurate identification of “disordered” attention in preschoolers can be challenging, and development of appropriate, norm-referenced tests of attention for preschoolers is also difficult. The current review suggests that comprehensive assessment of attention and related functions in the preschool child should include thorough review of the child’s history, planned observations, and formal psychometric testing. The three primary methods of psychometric assessment that have been used to characterize attentional functioning in preschool children include performance-based tests, structured caregiver interviews, and rating scales (parent, teacher, and clinician). Among performance-based methods for measurement of attention in the preschool years, tests have been developed to assess sustained attention, selective (focused) attention, span of attention (encoding/manipulation), and (top-down) controlled attention—including freedom from distractibility and set shifting. Many of these tests remain experimental in nature, and review of published methods yields relatively few commercially available, nationally normed tests of attention for preschoolers, and an overall dearth of reliability and validity studies on the available measures. PMID:23090646
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Cimpian, Andrei; Cadena, Cristina
2010-10-01
Artifacts pose a potential learning problem for children because the mapping between their features and their functions is often not transparent. In solving this problem, children are likely to rely on a number of information sources (e.g., others' actions, affordances). We argue that children's sensitivity to nuances in the language used to describe artifacts is an important, but so far unacknowledged, piece of this puzzle. Specifically, we hypothesize that children are sensitive to whether an unfamiliar artifact's features are highlighted using generic (e.g., "Dunkels are sticky") or non-generic (e.g., "This dunkel is sticky") language. Across two studies, older-but not younger-preschoolers who heard such features introduced via generic statements inferred that they are a functional part of the artifact's design more often than children who heard the same features introduced via non-generic statements. The ability to pick up on this linguistic cue may expand considerably the amount of conceptual information about artifacts that children derive from conversations with adults. Copyright 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Xiao, Yaqiong; Friederici, Angela D; Margulies, Daniel S; Brauer, Jens
2016-03-01
Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging is a powerful technique to study the whole-brain neural connectivity that underlies cognitive systems. The present study aimed to define the changes in neural connectivity in their relation to language development. Longitudinal resting-state functional data were acquired from a cohort of preschool children at age 5 and one year later, and changes in functional connectivity were correlated with language performance in sentence comprehension. For this, degree centrality, a voxel-based network measure, was used to assess age-related differences in connectivity at the whole-brain level. Increases in connectivity with age were found selectively in a cluster within the left posterior superior temporal gyrus and sulcus (STG/STS). In order to further specify the connection changes, a secondary seed-based functional connectivity analysis on this very cluster was performed. The correlations between resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) and language performance revealed developmental effects with age and, importantly, also dependent on the advancement in sentence comprehension ability over time. In children with greater advancement in language abilities, the behavioral improvement was positively correlated with RSFC increase between left posterior STG/STS and other regions of the language network, i.e., left and right inferior frontal cortex. The age-related changes observed in this study provide evidence for alterations in the language network as language develops and demonstrates the viability of this approach for the investigation of normal and aberrant language development. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Westerveld, Marleen F.; Roberts, Jacqueline M. A.
2017-01-01
Purpose: This study described the oral narrative comprehension and production skills of verbal preschool-age children on the autism spectrum and investigated correlations between oral narrative ability and norm-referenced language test performance. Method: Twenty-nine preschool-age children (aged 4;0-5;9 years;months) with autism, who obtained an…
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Bottema-Beutel, Kristen; Yoder, Paul J.; Hochman, Julia M.; Watson, Linda R.
2014-01-01
This study examined associations between three parent-child engagement states and social communication, expressive language, and receptive language at 8 month follow-up, in 63 preschool-age children with autism spectrum disorder. We extend the literature on supported joint engagement by dividing this state into higher order (HSJE) and lower order…
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Language Development: Understanding Language Diversity in the Classroom
Levey, Sandra; Polirstok, Susan
2010-01-01
Language Development: Understanding Language Diversity in the Classroom offers comprehensive coverage of the language development process for pre- and in-service teachers while emphasizing the factors that further academic success in the classroom, including literacy skills, phonological awareness, and narrative. With chapters written by respected…
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Baikulova, A. M.; Ibrayeva, M. K.; Shalabayeva, L. I.; Abdigapbarova, U. M.; Mynbayeva, A. P.
2017-01-01
This article addresses preschool education as an integral part of the general education system in the Republic of Kazakhstan. This article describes problems related to preschool and certain areas of school development, such as early childhood development, communication, socialisation, creative thinking and leadership. The three studies described…
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Yoshikawa, Hirokazu; Weiland, Christina; Brooks-Gunn, Jeanne
2016-01-01
We have many reasons to invest in preschool programs, including persistent gaps in school readiness between children from poorer and wealthier families, large increases in maternal employment over the past several decades, and the rapid brain development that preschool-age children experience. But what do we know about preschool education's…
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Developing Bigraphical Languages
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Damgaard, Troels Christoffer
In this dissertation, we study bigraphical languages—languages based on the theory for bigraphs and bigraphical reactive systems developed by Milner and coworkers. We begin by examining algebraic theory for binding bigraphs. We give a term language for binding bigraphs and develop a complete......, a prototype tool for experimenting with bigraphical reactive systems. In a second line of work, we study bigraphical reactive systems as a vehicle for developing a language to model biochemical reactions at the level of cells and proteins. We discuss and isolate B,R-calculi, a family of bigraphical reactive...
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Quality in preschool in a cultural context
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Kragh-Müller, Grethe; Ringsmose, Charlotte
What is educational quality i preschools? How can it be evaluated/measured. How can educational quality be developped in everyday life in preschools?......What is educational quality i preschools? How can it be evaluated/measured. How can educational quality be developped in everyday life in preschools?...
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Learning What To Say and When To Say It in the First Days in Preschool.
Martini, Mary
Noting that many instructional routines discourage complex thought and language, a study examined how teachers and children used language in the first 3 weeks in 3 preschools. Specifically it explored how teachers talk to children, what teachers ask children to do with language, and what children say in school. The language features of…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sanja Berčnik
2017-12-01
Full Text Available This paper analyses the importance, role, and methods of cooperation between parents and preschool institutions through the different concepts of preschool education and different educational approaches and formal frameworks. Through educational approaches, the authors analyse how cooperation affects the implementation of preschool education in alternative educational approaches, such as the Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia approaches, and Slovenian public preschool institutions. They envisage that different educational approaches in preschool education perceive the importance and role of cooperation with parents differently and conclude that there are various models of cooperation, which can be demonstrated through a theoretical analysis of the aforementioned alternative preschool approaches. In their view, partnership promotes a shared commitment to the quality realisation of educational goals; it also develops understanding and an ethos of openness in the relationship between all actors in the process of care and education of preschool children.
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Moll, Kristina; Snowling, Margaret J.; Göbel, Silke M.; Hulme, Charles
2015-01-01
Two important foundations for learning are language and executive skills. Data from a longitudinal study tracking the development of 93 children at family-risk of dyslexia and 76 controls was used to investigate the influence of these skills on the development of arithmetic. A two-group longitudinal path model assessed the relationships between language and executive skills at 3–4 years, verbal number skills (counting and number knowledge) and phonological processing skills at 4–5 years, and written arithmetic in primary school. The same cognitive processes accounted for variability in arithmetic skills in both groups. Early language and executive skills predicted variations in preschool verbal number skills, which in turn, predicted arithmetic skills in school. In contrast, phonological awareness was not a predictor of later arithmetic skills. These results suggest that verbal and executive processes provide the foundation for verbal number skills, which in turn influence the development of formal arithmetic skills. Problems in early language development may explain the comorbidity between reading and mathematics disorder. PMID:26412946
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Sun, Lei; Wallach, Geraldine P.
2014-01-01
This article takes readers along the pathway of language learning and disorders across childhood and adolescence, highlighting the complex relationship between early (preschool) language disorders and later (school age) learning disabilities. The discussion starts with a review of diagnostic labels widely used in schools and other professional…
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Speech and language delay in children: A review and the role of a pediatric dentist
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
P Shetty
2012-01-01
Full Text Available Speech and language development is a useful indicator of a child′s overall development and cognitive ability. Identification of children at a risk for developmental delay or related problems may lead to intervention and assistance at a young age, when the chances for improvement are the best. This rationale supports screening of preschool children for speech and language delay or primary language impairment or disorder, which needs to be integrated into routine developmental surveillance practices of clinicians caring for children.
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Van Craeyevelt, Sanne; Verschueren, Karine; Vancraeyveldt, Caroline; Wouters, Sofie; Colpin, Hilde
2017-09-01
Social relationships can serve as important risk or protective factors for child development in general, and academic adjustment in particular. This study investigated the role of teacher-child interactions in academic adjustment among preschool boys at risk of externalizing behaviour, using a randomized controlled trial study with Playing-2-gether (P2G), a 12-week indicated two-component intervention aimed at improving the affective quality of the teacher-child relationship and teacher behaviour management. In a sample of 175 preschool boys showing signs of externalizing behaviour (M age = 4 years, 9 months, SD age = 7 months) and their teachers, we investigated P2G effects on academic engagement as well as on language achievement. Academic engagement was rated by teachers at three occasions within one school year (T1 = pretest, T3 = post-test, and T2 = in-between intervention components). Language achievement was assessed by researchers at pre- and post-test, using a standardized test. Cross-lagged path analyses revealed a direct intervention effect of P2G on academic engagement at Time 2. In addition, a significant indirect intervention effect was found on academic engagement at Time 3 through academic engagement at Time 2. Finally, academic engagement at Time 2 was found to predict language achievement at post-test. A marginally significant indirect intervention effect was found on language achievement at Time 3, through academic engagement at Time 2. This intervention study suggests that teacher-child interactions predict academic engagement over time, which in turn improves language achievement among preschool boys at risk of externalizing behaviour. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.
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Eisenberg, Sarita; Guo, Ling-Yu
2016-05-01
This article reviews the existing literature on the diagnostic accuracy of two grammatical accuracy measures for differentiating children with and without language impairment (LI) at preschool and early school age based on language samples. The first measure, the finite verb morphology composite (FVMC), is a narrow grammatical measure that computes children's overall accuracy of four verb tense morphemes. The second measure, percent grammatical utterances (PGU), is a broader grammatical measure that computes children's accuracy in producing grammatical utterances. The extant studies show that FVMC demonstrates acceptable (i.e., 80 to 89% accurate) to good (i.e., 90% accurate or higher) diagnostic accuracy for children between 4;0 (years;months) and 6;11 in conversational or narrative samples. In contrast, PGU yields acceptable to good diagnostic accuracy for children between 3;0 and 8;11 regardless of sample types. Given the diagnostic accuracy shown in the literature, we suggest that FVMC and PGU can be used as one piece of evidence for identifying children with LI in assessment when appropriate. However, FVMC or PGU should not be used as therapy goals directly. Instead, when children are low in FVMC or PGU, we suggest that follow-up analyses should be conducted to determine the verb tense morphemes or grammatical structures that children have difficulty with. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.
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Prelock, P A
1993-01-01
If a proactive approach to assessment and intervention had been used in the case study presented at the beginning of this article, the following might have occurred: The SLP would have asked the parents and brother of the 3 1/2-year-old child referred for a communication evaluation to participate in the assessment activities. The parents would have been asked to prioritize their expectations for their daughter's communication, behavior, and school success. They would have been told the SLP would do the same based on her knowledge of performance expectations in these areas for a 3 1/2-year old. Both the parents and the SLP would have agreed to consider describing the child's communication, behavior, and potential for school success in more than a single setting or context. The child would have been seen in her home as well as in a preschool setting. The clinician would have observed the child's play with both familiar and unfamiliar children and adults. The parents would have kept a log of their child's communication successes and failures for one week. The clinician would have used those situations the parents identified as successful and unsuccessful to specify the child's strengths and weaknesses. The parents would have been asked to write down ideas they had on the type of intervention, if any, they felt their daughter needed to meet the expectations they set. The clinician would do the same and would have consulted with an educational specialist and a psychologist to obtain their perspective on the educational and cognitive needs of a preschooler. The speech-language pathologist would have asked other professionals to assist in assessment of this child. The psychologist would have completed some testing in the home with the SLP providing help in interpreting the child's responses. The educational specialist would have invited the SLP to observe the child in a diagnostic preschool setting to assess the child's ability to understand and communicate in an
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Developing a Treatment Program for Obesity in Preschool Age Children: Preliminary Data
Boles, Richard E.; Scharf, Cynthia; Stark, Lori J.
2010-01-01
We developed and tested the feasibility of a behavioral intervention that utilizes clinic and home visitations to reduce overweight in preschool children above the 95th BMI percentile. Five families of preschool children ages 2 to 5 years with a BMI above the 95th percentile and one overweight parent were enrolled in a 24-week behavioral weight management program. Phase I, Intensive Treatment included 12 weekly sessions, alternating group-based clinic sessions and home settings. Phase II, Mai...
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Co-occurring motor, language and emotional-behavioral problems in children 3-6 years of age.
King-Dowling, Sara; Missiuna, Cheryl; Rodriguez, M Christine; Greenway, Matt; Cairney, John
2015-02-01
Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) has been shown to co-occur with behavioral and language problems in school-aged children, but little is known as to when these problems begin to emerge, or if they are inherent in children with DCD. The purpose of this study was to determine if deficits in language and emotional-behavioral problems are apparent in preschool-aged children with movement difficulties. Two hundred and fourteen children (mean age 4years 11months, SD 9.8months, 103 male) performed the Movement Assessment Battery for Children 2nd Edition (MABC-2). Children falling at or below the 16th percentile were classified as being at risk for movement difficulties (MD risk). Auditory comprehension and expressive communication were examined using the Preschool Language Scales 4th Edition (PLS-4). Parent-reported emotional and behavioral problems were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Preschool children with diminished motor coordination (n=37) were found to have lower language scores, higher externalizing behaviors in the form of increased aggression, as well as increased withdrawn and other behavior symptoms compared with their typically developing peers. Motor coordination, language and emotional-behavioral difficulties tend to co-occur in young children aged 3-6years. These results highlight the need for early intervention. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY ON LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT.
Harvard Univ., Cambridge, MA. Graduate School of Education.
THIS BIBLIOGRAPHY LISTS MATERIAL ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT. APPROXIMATELY 65 UNANNOTATED REFERENCES ARE PROVIDED TO DOCUMENTS DATING FROM 1958 TO 1966. JOURNALS, BOOKS, AND REPORT MATERIALS ARE LISTED. SUBJECT AREAS INCLUDED ARE THE NATURE OF LANGUAGE, LINGUISTICS, LANGUAGE LEARNING, LANGUAGE SKILLS, LANGUAGE PATTERNS, AND…
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Input and language development in bilingually developing children.
Hoff, Erika; Core, Cynthia
2013-11-01
Language skills in young bilingual children are highly varied as a result of the variability in their language experiences, making it difficult for speech-language pathologists to differentiate language disorder from language difference in bilingual children. Understanding the sources of variability in bilingual contexts and the resulting variability in children's skills will help improve language assessment practices by speech-language pathologists. In this article, we review literature on bilingual first language development for children under 5 years of age. We describe the rate of development in single and total language growth, we describe effects of quantity of input and quality of input on growth, and we describe effects of family composition on language input and language growth in bilingual children. We provide recommendations for language assessment of young bilingual children and consider implications for optimizing children's dual language development. Thieme Medical Publishers 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, USA.
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design guidelines for High/Scope methodology in pre-schools
African Journals Online (AJOL)
increase in language skills” and the “ability to control their behavior” (Brown, Isaacs,. Krinke ... period. The influence of preschool learning skills on a child's success in school has ...... Understanding the brain: The birth of a learning science.
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Preschool education studentsʼ attitude towards inclusion in preschool educational context
Skubic, Darija; Vidrih, Alenka
2015-01-01
The purpose of the current study was to investigate the attitudes of preschool education students regarding inclusive teaching/inclusive practices. As a research instrument a questionnaire with 17 statements, referred to education, practices and policies of inclusion was developed. 118 students of the preschool education study programme at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana participated in the study. There were 3 different groups of students: 25 students of the 2nd year of preschool educat...
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Dual Language Learners: Effective Instruction in Early Childhood
Goldenberg, Claude; Hicks, Judy; Lit, Ira
2013-01-01
Preschool teachers can best educate youngsters learning their home language and English by using children's primary language where possible, adopting effective practices for building English language skills, and involving families in supporting children's learning. This article surveys the growing body of research on improving preschool…
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Hirst, Kath
1998-01-01
Discusses a survey of family literacy in which 30 Asian families with preschool children, whose first language is Urdu, Punjabi, or Gujerati, shared their home literacy experiences. Reports that parents encourage extensive preschool activities in the home, have high aspirations for the their children's education, and show an interest in…
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Lonigan, Christopher J; Goodrich, J Marc; Farver, JoAnn M
2018-04-01
Despite acknowledgment that language-minority children come from a wide variety of home language backgrounds and have a wide range of proficiency in their first (L1) and second (L2) languages, it is unknown whether differences across language-minority children in relative and absolute levels of proficiency in L1 and L2 predict subsequent development of literacy-related skills. The purpose of this study was to identify subgroups of language-minority children and evaluate whether differences in level and rate of growth of early literacy skills differed across subgroups. Five-hundred and twenty-six children completed measures of Spanish and English language and early literacy skills at the beginning, middle, and end of the preschool year. Latent growth models indicated that children's early literacy skills were increasing over the course of the preschool year. Latent profile analysis indicated that language-minority children could be classified into nine distinct groups, each with unique patterns of absolute and relative levels of proficiency in L1 and L2. Results of three-step mixture models indicated that profiles were closely associated with level of early literacy skills at the beginning of the preschool year. Initial level of early literacy skills was positively associated with growth in code-related skills (i.e., print knowledge, phonological awareness) and inversely associated with growth in language skills. These findings suggest that language-minority children are a diverse group with regard to their L1 and L2 proficiencies and that growth in early literacy skills is most associated with level of proficiency in the same language. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).
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Preschool Teachers' Attitudes toward Internet Applications for Professional Development in Taiwan
Chen, Ru-Si
2016-01-01
This study focuses on preschool teachers' attitudes toward integrated Internet applications for professional development by a survey in Taiwan. The researcher developed a survey questionnaire consisting of five factors: usefulness, effectiveness, behavioral intention, Internet connection, and professional competence. This study analyzed the survey…
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DEVELOPMENT OF FINE MOTOR COORDINATION AND VISUAL-MOTOR INTEGRATION IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
MEMISEVIC Haris; HADZIC Selmir
2015-01-01
Fine motor skills are prerequisite for many everyday activities and they are a good predictor of a child's later academic outcome. The goal of the present study was to assess the effects of age on the development of fine motor coordination and visual-motor integration in preschool children. The sample for this study consisted of 276 preschool children from Canton Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. We assessed children's motor skills with Beery Visual Motor Integration Test and Lafayette Pegbo...
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The Development of Preschoolers' Appreciation of Communicative Ambiguity
Nilsen, Elizabeth S.; Graham, Susan A.
2012-01-01
Using a longitudinal design, preschoolers' appreciation of a listener's knowledge of the location of a hidden sticker after the listener was provided with an ambiguous or unambiguous description was assessed. Preschoolers (N = 34) were tested at 3 time points, each 6 months apart (4, 4 1/2, and 5 years). Eye gaze measures demonstrated that…
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Fuhs, Mary Wagner; Farran, Dale C; Nesbitt, Kimberly Turner
2013-12-01
This research focuses on the associations between interactive processes of early childhood classrooms and gains in children's cognitive self-regulation (CSR) across the preschool year. Data from 803 children (45.8% female; M = 54 months; 39.1% Caucasian, 26.3% African American, 24.6% Hispanic, 9.9% Other) were collected at fall and spring of the preschool year, and classroom observations were conducted three times throughout the year. Multilevel models tested associations between classroom behaviors of teachers and students using the Classroom Observation in Preschool and the Teacher Observation in Preschool and gains children made in a CSR composite score (Dimensional Change Card Sort, Peg Tapping, Head Toes Knees Shoulders, Copy Design, and Corsi Blocks) across the preschool year. After controlling for demographic covariates and children's pretest scores, both affective and cognitive classroom processes were associated with gains. More teacher behavior approving, less disapproving, and more positive emotional tone were associated with gains. The proportion of observed time teachers spent delivering instruction as well as the proportion of time children were involved with mathematics and literacy were also related to CSR gains, as was the quality of teacher instruction. Although exploratory, these results highlight the potential for modifications in classroom practices to aid in children's CSR development. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved.
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Gray, Shelley
2006-01-01
Purpose: This study assessed the fast mapping performance of children with specific language impairment (SLI) across the preschool to kindergarten age span in relation to their phonological memory and vocabulary development. Method: Fifty-three children diagnosed with SLI and 53 children with normal language (NL) matched for age and gender (30…
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Intelligence development of socio-economically disadvantaged pre-school children
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Sefa Bulut
2013-10-01
Full Text Available The intellectual development of socioeconomically disadvantaged preschool children is influenced by several factors. The development of intelligence is a multidimensional concept that is determined by biological, social, and environmental factors. In this literature review, however, only the social and environmental factors are discussed. Some of the factors that have profound effect on children's cognitive development are as follows: environmental stimulation, parental attitudes, maternal age, and education. Successful intervention and prevention programs aimed at enhancing children's cognitive development are also exemplified. It appears that early intervention programs in the second and third year of an infant's life have fundamental effects on the cognitive development of disadvan-taged children. It is clear that learning starts with birth. Longitudinal studies revealed that the most effective period for intervention is early childhood. Those who received early day-care and preschool intervention programs have sustained these gains in adolescence and adulthood. Those benefits include higher IQ scores, better achievement test scores, better reading and math skills, more educational attainment, more college degrees, and fewer psychosocial and mental health problems. Therefore, it appears that investing in early high-quality programs provide multiple advantages for individuals and society. Social activists, psychologists, and counsellors should make every effort to affect the allocation of governmental funds and policies.
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Diamanti, Vassiliki; Mouzaki, Angeliki; Ralli, Asimina; Antoniou, Faye; Papaioannou, Sofia; Protopapas, Athanassios
2017-01-01
Different language skills are considered fundamental for successful reading and spelling acquisition. Extensive evidence has highlighted the central role of phonological awareness in early literacy experiences. However, many orthographic systems also require the contribution of morphological awareness. The goal of this study was to examine the morphological and phonological awareness skills of preschool children as longitudinal predictors of reading and spelling ability by the end of first grade, controlling for the effects of receptive and expressive vocabulary skills. At Time 1 preschool children from kindergartens in the Greek regions of Attika, Crete, Macedonia, and Thessaly were assessed on tasks tapping receptive and expressive vocabulary, phonological awareness (syllable and phoneme), and morphological awareness (inflectional and derivational). Tasks were administered through an Android application for mobile devices (tablets) featuring automatic application of ceiling rules. At Time 2 one year later the same children attending first grade were assessed on measures of word and pseudoword reading, text reading fluency, text reading comprehension, and spelling. Complete data from 104 children are available. Hierarchical linear regression and commonality analyses were conducted for each outcome variable. Reading accuracy for both words and pseudowords was predicted not only by phonological awareness, as expected, but also by morphological awareness, suggesting that understanding the functional role of word parts supports the developing phonology-orthography mappings. However, only phonological awareness predicted text reading fluency at this age. Longitudinal prediction of reading comprehension by both receptive vocabulary and morphological awareness was already evident at this age, as expected. Finally, spelling was predicted by preschool phonological awareness, as expected, as well as by morphological awareness, the contribution of which is expected to
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Vassiliki Diamanti
2017-11-01
Full Text Available Different language skills are considered fundamental for successful reading and spelling acquisition. Extensive evidence has highlighted the central role of phonological awareness in early literacy experiences. However, many orthographic systems also require the contribution of morphological awareness. The goal of this study was to examine the morphological and phonological awareness skills of preschool children as longitudinal predictors of reading and spelling ability by the end of first grade, controlling for the effects of receptive and expressive vocabulary skills. At Time 1 preschool children from kindergartens in the Greek regions of Attika, Crete, Macedonia, and Thessaly were assessed on tasks tapping receptive and expressive vocabulary, phonological awareness (syllable and phoneme, and morphological awareness (inflectional and derivational. Tasks were administered through an Android application for mobile devices (tablets featuring automatic application of ceiling rules. At Time 2 one year later the same children attending first grade were assessed on measures of word and pseudoword reading, text reading fluency, text reading comprehension, and spelling. Complete data from 104 children are available. Hierarchical linear regression and commonality analyses were conducted for each outcome variable. Reading accuracy for both words and pseudowords was predicted not only by phonological awareness, as expected, but also by morphological awareness, suggesting that understanding the functional role of word parts supports the developing phonology–orthography mappings. However, only phonological awareness predicted text reading fluency at this age. Longitudinal prediction of reading comprehension by both receptive vocabulary and morphological awareness was already evident at this age, as expected. Finally, spelling was predicted by preschool phonological awareness, as expected, as well as by morphological awareness, the contribution of which is
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Ortiz-Mantilla, Silvia; Choe, Myong-sun; Flax, Judy; Grant, P Ellen; Benasich, April A
2010-02-01
Recently, structural MRI studies in children have been used to examine relations between brain volume and behavioral measures. However, most of these studies have been done in children older than 2 years of age. Obtaining volumetric measures in infants is considerably more difficult, as structures are less well defined and largely unmyelinated, making segmentation challenging. Moreover, it is still unclear whether individual anatomic variation across development, in healthy, normally developing infants, is reflected in the configuration and function of the mature brain and, as importantly, whether variation in infant brain structure might be related to later cognitive and linguistic abilities. In this longitudinal study, using T1 structural MRI, we identified links between amygdala volume in normally developing, naturally sleeping, 6-month infants and their subsequent language abilities at 2, 3 and 4 years. The images were processed and manually segmented using Cardviews to extract volumetric measures. Intra-rater reliability for repeated segmentation was 87.73% of common voxel agreement. Standardized language assessments were administered at 6 and 12 months and at 2, 3 and 4 years. Significant and consistent correlations were found between amygdala size and language abilities. Children with larger right amygdalae at 6 months had lower scores on expressive and receptive language measures at 2, 3, and 4 years. Associations between amygdala size and language outcomes have been reported in children with autism. The findings presented here extend this association to normally developing children, supporting the idea that the amygdalae might play an important but as yet unspecified role in mediating language acquisition. Copyright (c) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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Parental Writing Support and Preschoolers' Early Literacy, Language, and Fine Motor Skills
Bindman, Samantha W.; Skibbe, Lori E.; Hindman, Annemarie H.; Aram, Dorit; Morrison, Frederick J.
2014-01-01
The current study examines the nature and variability of parents' aid to preschoolers in the context of a shared writing task, as well as the relations between this support and children's literacy, vocabulary, and fine motor skills. In total, 135 preschool children (72 girls) and their parents (primarily mothers) in an ethnically diverse, middle-income community were observed while writing a semi-structured invitation for a pretend birthday party together. Children's phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, word decoding, vocabulary, and fine motor skills were also assessed. Results revealed that parents provided variable, but generally low–level, support for children's approximation of sound-symbol correspondence in their writing (i.e., graphophonemic support), as well as for their production of letter forms (i.e., print support). Parents frequently accepted errors rather than asking for corrections (i.e., demand for precision). Further analysis of the parent-child dyads (n = 103) who wrote the child's name on the invitation showed that parents provided higher graphophonemic, but not print, support when writing the child's name than other words. Overall parental graphophonemic support was positively linked to children's decoding and fine motor skills, whereas print support and demand for precision were not related to any of the child outcomes. In sum, this study indicates that while parental support for preschoolers' writing may be minimal, it is uniquely linked to key literacy-related outcomes in preschool. PMID:25284957
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Hassidov, Dina; Ilany, Bat-Sheva
2018-01-01
This article presents a mixed-method study of the innovative "Senso-Math" preschool program and the reactions of both the facilitators, who underwent a special training program, and the preschool teachers in whose classes the program was implemented. The goal of the program is to enhance mathematical development in preschool children…
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Spencer, Caroline; Weber-Fox, Christine
2014-09-01
In preschool children, we investigated whether expressive and receptive language, phonological, articulatory, and/or verbal working memory proficiencies aid in predicting eventual recovery or persistence of stuttering. Participants included 65 children, including 25 children who do not stutter (CWNS) and 40 who stutter (CWS) recruited at age 3;9-5;8. At initial testing, participants were administered the Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language, 3rd edition (TACL-3), Structured Photographic Expressive Language Test, 3rd edition (SPELT-3), Bankson-Bernthal Test of Phonology-Consonant Inventory subtest (BBTOP-CI), Nonword Repetition Test (NRT; Dollaghan & Campbell, 1998), and Test of Auditory Perceptual Skills-Revised (TAPS-R) auditory number memory and auditory word memory subtests. Stuttering behaviors of CWS were assessed in subsequent years, forming groups whose stuttering eventually persisted (CWS-Per; n=19) or recovered (CWS-Rec; n=21). Proficiency scores in morphosyntactic skills, consonant production, verbal working memory for known words, and phonological working memory and speech production for novel nonwords obtained at the initial testing were analyzed for each group. CWS-Per were less proficient than CWNS and CWS-Rec in measures of consonant production (BBTOP-CI) and repetition of novel phonological sequences (NRT). In contrast, receptive language, expressive language, and verbal working memory abilities did not distinguish CWS-Rec from CWS-Per. Binary logistic regression analysis indicated that preschool BBTOP-CI scores and overall NRT proficiency significantly predicted future recovery status. Results suggest that phonological and speech articulation abilities in the preschool years should be considered with other predictive factors as part of a comprehensive risk assessment for the development of chronic stuttering. At the end of this activity the reader will be able to: (1) describe the current status of nonlinguistic and linguistic predictors for
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Intuitive and Informal Knowledge in Preschoolers' Development of Probabilistic Thinking
Nikiforidou, Zoi; Pange, Jenny; Chadjipadelis, Theodore
2013-01-01
Preschoolers develop a wide range of mathematical informal knowledge and intuitive thinking before they enter formal, goal-oriented education. In their everyday activities young children get engaged with situations that enhance them to develop skills, concepts, strategies, representations, attitudes, constructs and operations concerning a wide…
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SUGGESTOPEDIA AS THE METHOD OF THE MUSIC EXPERIENCE FORMATION OF PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN
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Natalya T. Таgiltseva
2015-01-01
Full Text Available The article aims to consider the possibility of suggestopedia methods use that are successfully practiced in foreign language teaching, pedagogy of music education of preschool children, in starting schools; to find out the degree of methods efficiency of suggestopedia in shaping the musical experience of preschool children in various activities at music lessons. Methods. The theoretical foundations of the article are views and concepts of the Bulgarian researcher, teacher and psychologist, G. Lozanov; he had studied out the suggestopedia method for foreign language teaching, and the theory of meta-subject education on the basis of artistic-creative activity and appeal to masterpieces of art. Monitoring and surveillance over non-verbal behavior of children, surveys and discussions were used as practical methods. Results. Musical experience of the child is considered as the process of the development of musical memory. Many suggestopedia techniques developed by Bulgarian and Russian researchers were selected and tested; those that involve the use of involuntary memorization of music when performing creative tasks: free movement or plastic intonation, paint color schemes, music and organizational tasks related to the preparation and conduct music lessons. Three series of diagnostic tasks associated with memory, remembering and recognition of classical pieces of music unknown for preschoolers were worked out to test the effectiveness of these methods and its integration into the process of preschoolers’ music education. The conducted experiment has shown that methods of suggestopedia provide memory activation – children keep in memory classical music. Scientific novelty. The research demonstrates the application reasonability of suggestopedia methods used at foreign language teaching, music education of preschool children and juniors. It has been proved that involuntary memorizing of classical music by children listening to background
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Pollard-Durodola, Sharolyn D.; Gonzalez, Jorge E.; Simmons, Deborah C.; Taylor, Aaron B.; Davis, Matthew J.; Simmons, Leslie; Nava-Walichowski, Miranda
2012-01-01
Shared book reading is a prominent practice in preschools; however, limited research has examined this practice in classrooms with English language learners (ELLs). This study investigated the shared book reading practices of seven preschool teachers of Spanish-speaking ELLs to describe their vocabulary instructional practices before and after…
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The Arts in Turkish Preschool Education
Acer, Dilek
2015-01-01
One of the most important factors determining a nation's level of development in the modern world is preschool education. When preschool education is perceived as an entity that affects every aspect of childhood development, this fact is undeniable. Several aspects of preschool education, including art education, play a significant role in a…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Scott McConnell
2015-06-01
Full Text Available This study evaluated the extent to which existing measures met standards for a continuous suite of general outcome measures (GOMs assessing children’s early literacy from preschool through early elementary school. The study assessed 316 children from age 3 years (2 years prekindergarten through Grade 2, with 8 to 10 measures of language, alphabetic principle, phonological awareness, and beginning reading. We evaluated measures at each grade group against six standards for GOMs extracted from earlier work. We found that one measure of oral language met five or six standards at all grade levels, and several measures of phonological awareness and alphabetic principle showed promise across all five grade levels. Results are discussed in relation to ongoing research and development of a flexible and seamless system to assess children’s academic progress across time for effective prevention and remediation, as well as theoretical and empirical analyses in early literacy, early reading, and GOMs.
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Language learning experience in school context and metacognitive awareness of multilingual children
Le Pichon Vorstman, E.; de Swart, H.; Ceginskas, V.; van den Bergh, H.
2009-01-01
What is the influence of a language learning experience (LLE) in a school context on the metacognitive development of children? To answer that question, we presented 54 multilingual preschoolers with two movie clips and examined their reactions to an exolingual situation of communication. These
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LANGUAGE CHANGE AND DEVELOPMENT: HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Trisna Dinillah Dinillah Harya
2016-04-01
Full Text Available Language can change and develop by itself slowly. Language can change and development because of adaptation of development and pattern change and system of society life, such as level of education, social, culture and technology mastery. Language change and development can occur internally and externally. In this article the changes internally and language development will be reviewed by looking through the study of historical change and development language based on the history of its development. While changes in external and development will be explored through the study of Sociolinguistics by examining and looking at changes and developments that language is influenced by socio-cultural factors that occur in society. Changes internally initially occurred in the behavior of speakers in their everyday lives to adjust to each other, and followed by a tendency to innovate in groups of people who are already familiar, then followed by other changes in sequence, which ultimately makes a language different each other, although originally derived from a single language family. Changes in the external language change and language development is caused by the contact of a language with other languages, where humans as social beings who have been cultured either interconnected or inter-ethnic nations in the world in a country. Key words: Language Changes, Internal Change, External Change, Historical linguistics
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Lateralized theta wave connectivity and language performance in 2- to 5-year-old children.
Kikuchi, Mitsuru; Shitamichi, Kiyomi; Yoshimura, Yuko; Ueno, Sanae; Remijn, Gerard B; Hirosawa, Tetsu; Munesue, Toshio; Tsubokawa, Tsunehisa; Haruta, Yasuhiro; Oi, Manabu; Higashida, Haruhiro; Minabe, Yoshio
2011-10-19
Recent neuroimaging studies support the view that a left-lateralized brain network is crucial for language development in children. However, no previous studies have demonstrated a clear link between lateralized brain functional network and language performance in preschool children. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a noninvasive brain imaging technique and is a practical neuroimaging method for use in young children. MEG produces a reference-free signal, and is therefore an ideal tool to compute coherence between two distant cortical rhythms. In the present study, using a custom child-sized MEG system, we investigated brain networks while 78 right-handed preschool human children (32-64 months; 96% were 3-4 years old) listened to stories with moving images. The results indicated that left dominance of parietotemporal coherence in theta band activity (6-8 Hz) was specifically correlated with higher performance of language-related tasks, whereas this laterality was not correlated with nonverbal cognitive performance, chronological age, or head circumference. Power analyses did not reveal any specific frequencies that contributed to higher language performance. Our results suggest that it is not the left dominance in theta oscillation per se, but the left-dominant phase-locked connectivity via theta oscillation that contributes to the development of language ability in young children.
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Peck, Lucy; And Others
This guide presents a curriculum designed to promote resiliency in Hispanic preschool children whose parents are undergoing treatment for substance abuse, and includes a 12-week parent and child component. The curriculum focuses on increasing cultural awareness, motor skills, language skills, early childhood coping strategies, and social…
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Language Planning and Development Aid: The (In)Visibility of Language in Development Aid Discourse
Taylor-Leech, Kerry; Benson, Carol
2017-01-01
Despite the essential role of local, regional, national and international languages in human development, there is little reference to language planning in development aid discourse. Beginning with definitions of development aid and language planning, the paper examines how the two were linked in pre- and post-colonial times, showing how language…
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Struck, James T
2003-01-01
Mathematics, according to Lancelot Hogben, is the language of size, shape, and order. This note adds two words to the language of mathematics. First, a verb, develop or develops, is introduced to describe a development pattern or development string. These are patterns of development with examples from fibrillation, spread of electric changes in muscles and nerves, and matter changing into energy. The relevance of this idea to the idea in physics called String Theory is discussed. A critical comment on the use of the String, rather than other objects like circles, boxes, or spheres is made. Second, an adjective or adverb called conditions language is introduced. Equations like E=mc2, Coulomb's law, Newton's law of Gravitation, the equation for the definition of pie and the path to peace and war are discussed with relevance to the idea of conditions language. Conditions language is nothing more than including the relevant conditions where the equation works or when it applies in parentheses with the equation. V...
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Preschool Language Variation, Growth, and Predictors in Children on the Autism Spectrum
Ellis Weismer, Susan; Kover, Sara T.
2015-01-01
Background: There is wide variation in language abilities among young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), with some toddlers developing age-appropriate language while others remain minimally verbal after age 5. Conflicting findings exist regarding predictors of language outcomes in ASD and various methodological issues limit the…
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Maria Regina Maluf
1997-01-01
Full Text Available Esta pesquisa tem por objetivo estudar a relação entre consciência fonológica e aquisição da linguagem escrita, a partir de uma perspectiva psicogenética. Um grupo de 55 pré-escolares de 4 a 6 anos foi analisado através da aplicação individual de um instrumento elaborado pelas pesquisadoras. Os resultados mostraram uma correlação positiva bastante significativa entre os níveis de consciência fonológica e de aquisição da linguagem escrita, sobretudo no que se refere às crianças de 5 e 6 anos. Esses níveis mostraram-se correlacionados positivamente à idade e independentes do sexo dos sujeitos. Alguns níveis de consciência fonológica parecem preceder a aquisição da linguagem escrita, o que sugere a importância da realização de atividades pedagógicas voltadas para o desenvolvimento dessa capacidade em pré-escolares.This research aimed to study the relationship between phonological awareness and written language acquisition through a psychogenetic perspective. Participants were 55 preschool children of both sexes, between 4 and 6 years old. They were assessed with an instrument developed by the researcher. The results showed a positive and significant correlation between phonological awareness and literacy levels, especially for 5 and 6 years-old children. These levels were correlated positively with age and independent of the sex of the subjects. The results also pointed to the existence of different levels of phonological awareness, involving different degrees of complexity, which suggests the importance of pedagogic activities that aim to develop phonological awareness in preschool children.
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Gomes, Judith; Fleer, Marilyn
2017-07-01
There are a growing number of studies that have examined science learning for preschool children. Some research has looked into children's home experiences and some has focused on transition, practices, routines, and traditions in preschool contexts. However, little attention has been directed to the relationship between children's learning experiences at preschool and at home, and how this relationship can assist in the development of science concepts relevant to everyday life. In drawing upon Hedegaard's (Learning and child development, 2002) cultural-historical conception of motives and Vygotsky's (The collected works of L.S. Vygotsky: problems of general psychology, 1987) theory of everyday and scientific concept formation, the study reported in this paper examines one child, Jimmy (4.2 years), and his learning experiences at home and at preschool. Data gathering featured the video recording of 4 weeks of Jimmy's learning in play at home and at preschool (38.5 h), parent questionnaire and interviews, and researcher and family gathered video observations of home play with his parents (3.5 h). Findings show how a scientific motive develops through playful everyday learning moments at home and at preschool when scientific play narratives and resources are aligned. The study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the science learning of young children and a conception of pedagogy that takes into account the reciprocity of home and school contexts for learning science.
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Language performance and auditory evoked fields in 2- to 5-year-old children.
Yoshimura, Yuko; Kikuchi, Mitsuru; Shitamichi, Kiyomi; Ueno, Sanae; Remijn, Gerard B; Haruta, Yasuhiro; Oi, Manabu; Munesue, Toshio; Tsubokawa, Tsunehisa; Higashida, Haruhiro; Minabe, Yoshio
2012-02-01
Language development progresses at a dramatic rate in preschool children. As rapid temporal processing of speech signals is important in daily colloquial environments, we performed magnetoencephalography (MEG) to investigate the linkage between speech-evoked responses during rapid-rate stimulus presentation (interstimulus interval language performance in 2- to 5-year-old children (n = 59). Our results indicated that syllables with this short stimulus interval evoked detectable P50m, but not N100m, in most participants, indicating a marked influence of longer neuronal refractory period for stimulation. The results of equivalent dipole estimation showed that the intensity of the P50m component in the left hemisphere was positively correlated with language performance (conceptual inference ability). The observed positive correlations were suggested to reflect the maturation of synaptic organisation or axonal maturation and myelination underlying the acquisition of linguistic abilities. The present study is among the first to use MEG to study brain maturation pertaining to language abilities in preschool children. © 2012 The Authors. European Journal of Neuroscience © 2012 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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MORE MINUTES OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION CLASSES SUPPORT MOTOR DEVELOPMENT IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Judith Jiménez Díaz
2010-12-01
Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the effect of physical education classes in 12 fundamental motor skills (FMS. Preschool students (M = 6.09±0.5 years old were randomly assigned to a control group (6 boys and 7 girls who performed the regular preschool class (which includes one 30- minutes session per week; experimental group 1 (6 boys and 6 girls who received the regular preschool class plus 1 session of 30 minutes per week of the intervention program; or experimental group 2 (6 boys and 7 girls, who received the regular preschool class plus 1 session of 60 minutes per week of the intervention program; during 8 weeks (n=38. All participants performed the Test of Gross Motor Development (TGMD-2 before and after the study. A one-way MANOVA reflected a similar behavior in al FMS in the pre-test. A two-way MANOVA (group x time reflected no interaction in the 12 FMS; also in the 6 object control FMS; but there was an interaction in the 6 locomotor FMS. In conclusion, 90-minutes of physical education classes per week only benefit the FMS of galloping and hopping.
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Howard, Steven J; Melhuish, Edward
2017-06-01
Several methods of assessing executive function (EF), self-regulation, language development, and social development in young children have been developed over previous decades. Yet new technologies make available methods of assessment not previously considered. In resolving conceptual and pragmatic limitations of existing tools, the Early Years Toolbox (EYT) offers substantial advantages for early assessment of language, EF, self-regulation, and social development. In the current study, results of our large-scale administration of this toolbox to 1,764 preschool and early primary school students indicated very good reliability, convergent validity with existing measures, and developmental sensitivity. Results were also suggestive of better capture of children's emerging abilities relative to comparison measures. Preliminary norms are presented, showing a clear developmental trajectory across half-year age groups. The accessibility of the EYT, as well as its advantages over existing measures, offers considerably enhanced opportunities for objective measurement of young children's abilities to enable research and educational applications.
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Cao, Yuan
2013-01-01
This study enlisted language immersion practitioners in highlighting and exploring the issues and challenges that accompany language immersion education. Comprehensive focused personal interviews of preschool Mandarin Chinese language immersion educators in a private school provided the basis of the study. The research literature reviewed…
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Emotional state talk and emotion understanding: a training study with preschool children.
Gavazzi, Ilaria Grazzani; Ornaghi, Veronica
2011-11-01
ABSTRACTThe present study investigates whether training preschool children in the active use of emotional state talk plays a significant role in bringing about greater understanding of emotion terms and improved emotion comprehension. Participants were 100 preschool children (M=52 months; SD=9·9; range: 35-70 months), randomly assigned to experimental or control conditions. They were pre- and post-tested to assess their language comprehension, metacognitive language comprehension and emotion understanding. Analyses of pre-test data did not show any significant differences between experimental and control groups. During the intervention phase, the children were read stories enriched with emotional lexicon. After listening to the stories, children in the experimental group took part in conversational language games designed to stimulate use of the selected emotional terms. In contrast, the control group children did not take part in any special linguistic activities after the story readings. Analyses revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the understanding of inner state language and in the comprehension of emotion.
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Deep and shallow water effects on developing preschoolers' aquatic skills.
Costa, Aldo M; Marinho, Daniel A; Rocha, Helena; Silva, António J; Barbosa, Tiago M; Ferreira, Sandra S; Martins, Marta
2012-05-01
The aim of the study was to assess deep and shallow water teaching methods in swimming lessons for preschool children and identify variations in the basic aquatic skills acquired. The study sample included 32 swimming instructors (16 from deep water programs and 16 from shallow water programs) and 98 preschool children (50 from deep water swimming pool and 48 from shallow water swimming pool). The children were also studied regarding their previous experience in swimming (6, 12 and 18 months or practice). Chi-Square test and Fisher's exact test were used to compare the teaching methodology. A discriminant analysis was conducted with Λ wilk's method to predict under what conditions students are better or worse (aquatic competence). Results suggest that regardless of the non-significant variations found in teaching methods, the water depth can affect aquatic skill acquisition - shallow water lessons seem to impose greater water competence particularly after 6 months of practice. The discriminant function revealed a significant association between groups and all predictors for 6 months of swimming practice (pdeep and shallow water programs for preschoolers is not significantly different. However, shallow water lessons could be preferable for the development of basic aquatic skills.
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Nelson, Heidi D; Nygren, Peggy; Walker, Miranda; Panoscha, Rita
2006-02-01
PEDIATRICS (ISSN Numbers: Print, 0031-4005; Online, 1098-4275). Published in the public domain by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Speech and language development is a useful indicator of a child's overall development and cognitive ability and is related to school success. Identification of children at risk for developmental delay or related problems may lead to intervention services and family assistance at a young age, when the chances for improvement are best. However, optimal methods for screening for speech and language delay have not been identified, and screening is practiced inconsistently in primary care. We sought to evaluate the strengths and limits of evidence about the effectiveness of screening and interventions for speech and language delay in preschool-aged children to determine the balance of benefits and adverse effects of routine screening in primary care for the development of guidelines by the US Preventive Services Task Force. The target population includes all children up to 5 years old without previously known conditions associated with speech and language delay, such as hearing and neurologic impairments. Studies were identified from Medline, PsycINFO, and CINAHL databases (1966 to November 19, 2004), systematic reviews, reference lists, and experts. The evidence review included only English-language, published articles that are available through libraries. Only randomized, controlled trials were considered for examining the effectiveness of interventions. Outcome measures were considered if they were obtained at any time or age after screening and/or intervention as long as the initial assessment occurred while the child was birth order, and family size. The performance characteristics of evaluation techniques that take or =2 screening techniques in 1 population, and comparisons of a single screening technique across different populations are lacking. Fourteen good- and fair-quality randomized, controlled trials of interventions
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Oral language skills intervention in pre-school-a cautionary tale.
Haley, Allyson; Hulme, Charles; Bowyer-Crane, Claudine; Snowling, Margaret J; Fricke, Silke
2017-01-01
While practitioners are increasingly asked to be mindful of the evidence base of intervention programmes, evidence from rigorous trials for the effectiveness of interventions that promote oral language abilities in the early years is sparse. To evaluate the effectiveness of a language intervention programme for children identified as having poor oral language skills in preschool classes. A randomized controlled trial was carried out in 13 UK nursery schools. In each nursery, eight children (N = 104, mean age = 3 years 11 months) with the poorest performance on standardized language measures were selected to take part. All but one child were randomly allocated to either an intervention (N = 52) or a waiting control group (N = 51). The intervention group received a 15-week oral language programme in addition to their standard nursery curriculum. The programme was delivered by trained teaching assistants and aimed to foster vocabulary knowledge, narrative and listening skills. Initial results revealed significant differences between the intervention and control group on measures of taught vocabulary. No group differences were found on any standardized language measure; however, there were gains of moderate effect size in listening comprehension. The study suggests that an intervention, of moderate duration and intensity, for small groups of preschool children successfully builds vocabulary knowledge, but does not generalize to non-taught areas of language. The findings strike a note of caution about implementing language interventions of moderate duration in preschool settings. The findings also highlight the importance of including a control group in intervention studies. © 2016 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
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Indonesia : Can Community Preschools Improve Poor Children’s Development?
World Bank
2016-01-01
In Indonesia, researchers evaluated a project to expand access to early childhood services in the country’s poorest areas by giving communities grants for preschools and providing teacher training and facilitators to encourage use of services. The evaluation found that this project boosted enrollment and children’s development, especially for those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds. ...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Makovetskaya N.V.
2011-01-01
Full Text Available Priority directions modernization of activity of preschool educational establishments are shown. The analysis of publications, devoted creation of terms for educationally-health activity, and also professional development of specialists on its organization is resulted. In this connection light up possibilities of the use of pedagogical management. The value of management of the first and second levels is certain in professional development of specialists of preschool educational establishments. The types of organizational structures of management preschool educational establishment are appraised.
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Gifted Education in Preschool: Perceived Barriers and Benefits of Program Development
Kettler, Todd; Oveross, Mattie E.; Bishop, James C.
2017-01-01
Substantial evidence supports the benefits of quality preschool education for children of all levels and backgrounds. However, early childhood gifted education services rarely exist in preschool centers. This study included 263 preschool centers representing geographic diversity in a southern state in the United States. Narrative data were…
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The Effectiveness of Computers on Vocabulary Learning among Preschool Children: A Semiotic Approach
Basoz, Tutku; Can, Dilek Tüfekci
2016-01-01
Semiotics has recently achieved some prominence as a theoretical foundation for foreign language learning/teaching. Though there have been a number of research on the semiotics in foreign language learning, the practical use of semiotics in preschool classroom environment still remains unanswered. What is more, the effectiveness of computers on…
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ICF-CY as a Framework for Understanding Child Engagement in Preschool
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Margareta Adolfsson
2018-05-01
Full Text Available Engagement in preschool predicts children's development, learning, and wellbeing in later school years. The time children engage in activities and social interactions is conditional for preschool inclusion. Engagement is part of the construct participation, which is determined by attendance and involvement. Two suggested underlying dimensions of engagement had been identified as essential when assessing children's participation in preschool activities. As engagement is a key question in inclusion of all children, and preschool becomes a common context for them, it is increasingly important to understand the concept of engagement in those settings. In Sweden most children attend preschool but children in need of special support tend not to receive enough support for their everyday functioning. This study aimed to conceptualize child engagement in preschool with ICF-CY as a framework to clarify core and developmental engagement dimensions included in Child Engagement Questionnaire (CEQ. The content of CEQ was identified through linking processes based on ICF linking rules with some exceptions. Specific challenges and solutions were acknowledged. To identify engagement dimensions in the ICF-CY, CEQ items related to ICF-CY chapters were integrated in the two-dimensional model of engagement. Findings showed that engagement measured for preschool ages was mostly related to Learning and Applying knowledge belonging to Activities and Participation but the linkage detected missing areas. Broader perspectives of children's everyday functioning require extended assessment with consideration to mutual influences between activities, participation, body functions, and contextual factors. Related to core and developmental engagement, findings highlight the importance for preschool staff to pay attention to how children do things, not only what they do. Activities related to core engagement include basic skills; those related to developmental engagement set
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Preschool Gifted Education: Perceived Challenges Associated with Program Development
Kettler, Todd; Oveross, Mattie E.; Salman, Rania C.
2017-01-01
This descriptive study investigated the challenges related to implementing gifted education services in preschool centers. Participants were 254 licensed preschool center directors in a southern state. Participants completed a researcher-created survey including both selected response items and constructed response items to examine the perceived…
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Screening for Autism in Iranian Preschoolers: Contrasting M-CHAT and a Scale Developed in Iran
Samadi, Sayyed Ali; McConkey, Roy
2015-01-01
Suitable screening instruments for the early diagnosis of autism are not readily available for use with preschoolers in non-Western countries. This study evaluated two tools: M-CHAT which is widely used internationally and one developed in Iran called Hiva. A population sample was recruited of nearly 3000 preschoolers in one Iranian city. Parents…
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Hansson, K; Forsberg, J; Löfqvist, A; Mäki-Torkko, E; Sahlén, B
2004-01-01
Working memory is considered to influence a range of linguistic skills, i.e. vocabulary acquisition, sentence comprehension and reading. Several studies have pointed to limitations of working memory in children with specific language impairment. Few studies, however, have explored the role of working memory for language deficits in children with hearing impairment. The first aim was to compare children with mild-to-moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing impairment, children with a preschool diagnosis of specific language impairment and children with normal language development, aged 9-12 years, for language and working memory. The special focus was on the role of working memory in learning new words for primary school age children. The assessment of working memory included tests of phonological short-term memory and complex working memory. Novel word learning was assessed according to the methods of. In addition, a range of language tests was used to assess language comprehension, output phonology and reading. Children with hearing impairment performed significantly better than children with a preschool diagnosis of specific language impairment on tasks assessing novel word learning, complex working memory, sentence comprehension and reading accuracy. No significant correlation was found between phonological short-term memory and novel word learning in any group. The best predictor of novel word learning in children with specific language impairment and in children with hearing impairment was complex working memory. Furthermore, there was a close relationship between complex working memory and language in children with a preschool diagnosis of specific language impairment but not in children with hearing impairment. Complex working memory seems to play a significant role in vocabulary acquisition in primary school age children. The interpretation is that the results support theories suggesting a weakened influence of phonological short-term memory on novel word
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Associations between musical abilities and precursors of reading in preschool aged children
Degé, Franziska; Kubicek, Claudia; Schwarzer, Gudrun
2015-01-01
The association between music and language, in particular, the overlap in their processing results in the possibility to use one domain for the enhancement of the other. Especially in the preschool years music may be a valuable tool to train language abilities (e.g., precursors of reading). Therefore, detailed knowledge about associations between musical abilities and precursors of reading can be of great use for designing future music intervention studies that target language-related abiliti...
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Taranindya Zulhi Amalia
2017-04-01
This musical drama was used ―A Ba Ta Tsa‖ Music Album composed by Nenno Warism an. Moreover, the bilingual album consists of ten songs that are sung by Nenno and Aulad e Gemintang Choir. The song lyrics helped the Preschool Education students creating a m usical drama script and practice how to play it. The students got ideas by listening to the songs and developed English dialogues in the drama script. Then, this process could incre ase the speaking skill of the preschool teacher candidates. According to Preschool Curriculum, there are some aspects related to this educational lev el. They are religious and moral development aspect, Physical development aspect, Langu age development aspect, Cognitive development aspect, socio-emotional development as pect, and art Development aspect. In addition, this research focuses on all aspects, especially religious and language aspects. Hopefully, it will facilitate preschool teacher candidates in teaching English for Young Learner while enclosing religious values.
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Lonigan, Christopher J; Spiegel, Jamie A; Goodrich, J Marc; Morris, Brittany M; Osborne, Colleen M; Lerner, Matthew D; Phillips, Beth M
2017-11-01
Findings from prior research have consistently indicated significant associations between self-regulation and externalizing behaviors. Significant associations have also been reported between children's language skills and both externalizing behaviors and self-regulation. Few studies to date, however, have examined these relations longitudinally, simultaneously, or with respect to unique clusters of externalizing problems. The current study examined the influence of preschool self-regulation on general and specific externalizing behavior problems in early elementary school and whether these relations were independent of associations between language, self-regulation, and externalizing behaviors in a sample of 815 children (44% female). Additionally, given a general pattern of sex differences in the presentations of externalizing behavior problems, self-regulation, and language skills, sex differences for these associations were examined. Results indicated unique relations of preschool self-regulation and language with both general externalizing behavior problems and specific problems of inattention. In general, self-regulation was a stronger longitudinal correlate of externalizing behavior for boys than it was for girls, and language was a stronger longitudinal predictor of hyperactive/impulsive behavior for girls than it was for boys.
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Technology Enhanced Instruction: An Example of English Language Learning in the Context of Peace
Sasi, Sabri; Chang, Maiga; Altinay-Aksal, Fahriye; Kayimbasioglu, Dervis; Dervis, Huseyin; Kinshuk; Altinay-Gazi, Zehra
2017-01-01
Early childhood quality education is a cornerstone in educational development. Many countries have started to develop their own preschool educational system in accordance with the European Union Standards, where learning English language and using technology are prerequisites. In this research, the peace context was used as a mediator for learning…
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Improving Spoken Language Outcomes for Children With Hearing Loss: Data-driven Instruction.
Douglas, Michael
2016-02-01
To assess the effects of data-driven instruction (DDI) on spoken language outcomes of children with cochlear implants and hearing aids. Retrospective, matched-pairs comparison of post-treatment speech/language data of children who did and did not receive DDI. Private, spoken-language preschool for children with hearing loss. Eleven matched pairs of children with cochlear implants who attended the same spoken language preschool. Groups were matched for age of hearing device fitting, time in the program, degree of predevice fitting hearing loss, sex, and age at testing. Daily informal language samples were collected and analyzed over a 2-year period, per preschool protocol. Annual informal and formal spoken language assessments in articulation, vocabulary, and omnibus language were administered at the end of three time intervals: baseline, end of year one, and end of year two. The primary outcome measures were total raw score performance of spontaneous utterance sentence types and syntax element use as measured by the Teacher Assessment of Spoken Language (TASL). In addition, standardized assessments (the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals--Preschool Version 2 (CELF-P2), the Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (EOWPVT), the Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (ROWPVT), and the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation 2 (GFTA2)) were also administered and compared with the control group. The DDI group demonstrated significantly higher raw scores on the TASL each year of the study. The DDI group also achieved statistically significant higher scores for total language on the CELF-P and expressive vocabulary on the EOWPVT, but not for articulation nor receptive vocabulary. Post-hoc assessment revealed that 78% of the students in the DDI group achieved scores in the average range compared with 59% in the control group. The preliminary results of this study support further investigation regarding DDI to investigate whether this method can consistently
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Lauritsen, Maj-Britt Glenn; Söderström, Margareta; Kreiner, Svend; Dørup, Jens; Lous, Jørgen
2016-01-01
We tested "the Galker test", a speech reception in noise test developed for primary care for Danish preschool children, to explore if the children's ability to hear and understand speech was associated with gender, age, middle ear status, and the level of background noise. The Galker test is a 35-item audio-visual, computerized word discrimination test in background noise. Included were 370 normally developed children attending day care center. The children were examined with the Galker test, tympanometry, audiometry, and the Reynell test of verbal comprehension. Parents and daycare teachers completed questionnaires on the children's ability to hear and understand speech. As most of the variables were not assessed using interval scales, non-parametric statistics (Goodman-Kruskal's gamma) were used for analyzing associations with the Galker test score. For comparisons, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used. Interrelations were adjusted for using a non-parametric graphic model. In unadjusted analyses, the Galker test was associated with gender, age group, language development (Reynell revised scale), audiometry, and tympanometry. The Galker score was also associated with the parents' and day care teachers' reports on the children's vocabulary, sentence construction, and pronunciation. Type B tympanograms were associated with a mean hearing 5-6dB below that of than type A, C1, or C2. In the graphic analysis, Galker scores were closely and significantly related to Reynell test scores (Gamma (G)=0.35), the children's age group (G=0.33), and the day care teachers' assessment of the children's vocabulary (G=0.26). The Galker test of speech reception in noise appears promising as an easy and quick tool for evaluating preschool children's understanding of spoken words in noise, and it correlated well with the day care teachers' reports and less with the parents' reports. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Tomaž Zupančič
2015-12-01
Full Text Available This article presents preschool teachers’ and assistant teachers’ opinions on the importance of selected fields of educational work in kindergartens. The article first highlights the importance of activities expressing artistic creativity within modern curriculums. Then, it presents an empirical study that examines the preschool teachers’ and assistant teachers’ opinions on the importance of the educational fields, art genres, and visual arts fields. In research hypotheses, we presumed that preschool teachers find individual educational fields, individual art genres, and individual visual arts activities to be of different importance; consequently, education in kindergarten does not achieve the requisite holism. The study is based on the descriptive and causal-non-experimental method. We have determined that the greatest importance is attributed to movement and language, followed by nature, society, art and mathematics. Within art genres, the greatest importance is attributed to visual arts and music and the least to audio-visual activities. Within visual arts, drawing and painting are considered to be the most important and sculpting the least. These findings can support future studies and deliberation on the possible effects on practice in terms of requisitely holistically planned preschool education.
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The efficacy of a vocabulary intervention for dual-language learners with language impairment.
Restrepo, Maria Adelaida; Morgan, Gareth P; Thompson, Marilyn S
2013-04-01
In this study, the authors evaluated the efficacy of a Spanish-English versus English-only vocabulary intervention for dual-language learners (DLLs) with language impairment compared to mathematics intervention groups and typically developing controls with no intervention. Further, in this study the authors also examined whether the language of instruction affected English, Spanish, and conceptual vocabulary differentially. The authors randomly assigned 202 preschool DLLs with language impairment to 1 of 4 conditions: bilingual vocabulary, English-only vocabulary, bilingual mathematics, or English-only mathematics. Fifty-four DLLs with typical development received no intervention. The vocabulary intervention consisted of a 12-week small-group dialogic reading and hands-on vocabulary instruction of 45 words. Postintervention group differences and linear growth rates were examined in conceptual, English, and Spanish receptive and expressive vocabulary for the 45 treatment words. Results indicate that the bilingual vocabulary intervention facilitated receptive and expressive Spanish and conceptual vocabulary gains in DLLs with language impairment compared with the English vocabulary intervention, mathematics intervention, and no-intervention groups. The English-only vocabulary intervention differed significantly from the mathematics condition and no-intervention groups on all measures but did not differ from the bilingual vocabulary intervention. Vocabulary growth rates postintervention slowed considerably. Results support the idea that bilingual interventions support native- and second-language vocabulary development. English-only intervention supports only English. Use of repeated dialogic reading and hands-on activities facilitates vocabulary acquisition.
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Pham, Giang; Kohnert, Kathryn; Mann, Deanine
2011-01-01
Purpose: This project examined receptive vocabulary treatment outcomes in the two languages of a bilingual preschooler with moderate to severe language impairment. Method: A series of single-subject experimental designs was used to compare English-only (EO) and bilingual (BI) approaches to receptive vocabulary treatment. The participant, Nam, was…
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The Effect of Institutionalization on Psychomotor Development of Preschool Aged Children
Giagazoglou, Paraskevi; Kouliousi, Chrysoula; Sidiropoulou, Maria; Fahantidou, Anna
2012-01-01
Development can be altered by several factors which can either facilitate or obstruct development. The aim of the current study was the examination and the detection of differences in the developmental profiles of preschool aged children living in conventional institution facilities (N = 28), in SOS villages (N = 20) and in natural family…
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Kentucky Preschool Evaluation Project, 1998-1999. Final Report.
Hemmeter, Mary Louise; Townley, Kim; Wilson, Stephen; Epstein, Ann; Hines, Huyi
This evaluation of the Kentucky Preschool Program (KPP) focused on two broad areas: (1) readiness for kindergarten; and (2) promotion of language and literacy in the classroom and at home. Key findings include the following: (1) most children who were ineligible because of family income status successfully transitioned to kindergarten; (2) several…
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The Effect of Preschool on Children's School Readiness
Marjanovic Umek, Ljubica; Kranjc, Simona; Fekonja, Urska; Bajc, Katja
2008-01-01
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of preschool on children's school readiness in connection with their intellectual abilities, language competence and parents' education. The sample included 219 children from 68 to 83 months old attending the first year of primary school, differentiated by whether or not they had attended…
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Stimulation of language in the preschool. Role of the family
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
María del Pilar Silva Rodríguez
2013-03-01
Full Text Available This article makes reference about the study of the problems related with language and its stimul ation, approaching different focuses offered by those in favor of philosophical, psychological, pedagogic approaches, etc. It a lso stands out the necessity to prepare the family so that it can favor the stimulation of the language, because only with its ac tive conscious participation it is that one can maximize the integral development in the infants.
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Integrating Mobile Technologies into Very Young Second Language Learners' Curriculum
Sadykova, Gulnara; Gimaletdinova, Gulnara; Khalitova, Liliia; Kayumova, Albina
2016-01-01
This report is based on an exploratory case study of a private multilingual preschool language program that integrated a Mobile-Assisted Language Learning (MALL) project into the curriculum of five/six year-old children whose native language(s) is/are Russian and/or Tatar. The purpose of the study was to reveal teachers' and parents' perceptions…
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Gorev, Pavel M.; Bichurina, Svetlana Y.; Yakupova, Rufiya M.; Khairova, Irina V.
2016-01-01
Cognitive development of personality can be considered as one of the key directions of preschool education presented in the world practice, where preschool programs are educational ones, and preschool education is the first level of the general education. Thereby the purpose of the research is to create a model of reliable estimation of cognitive…
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Use of language in symbolic play of toddlers
Knap, Petra
2015-01-01
The purpose of the thesis is to determine which materials encourage language development during symbolic play, how often do children in the first age group engage in symbolic play, and how can the teacher influence speech development during this activity. The theoretical part defines play, focusing on symbolic play. It also describes the role of the preschool teacher during play and explores the speech of younger children during symbolic play. The empirical part of the thesis examines whic...
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Spannenkrebs, M; Crispin, A; Krämer, D
2013-12-01
The new examination before primary school enrollment in Baden-Wuerttemberg aims at detecting problems in infant development with regard to later school success in time to initiate supporting measures, especially to improve the language skills of children with other native languages. By a 2-level process composed of a screening of language skills (HASE and KVS) and an additional test (SETK 3-5) of children who did not pass the screening, the school physicians attested special needs for language promotion in the kindergarten. This study looked for associated risks of children with special needs for language promotion. The degree of test quality of the 2-level process for identifying special needs for language promotion was determined. This cross-sectional analysis explored findings of n=80,781 children in the new examination before primary school enrollment of the data-set of Baden-Wuerttemberg (children with school enrollment 2011). 56,352 children (69.8%) were speaking German, 24,429 children (30.2%) had other family languages. 20,461 children (25.3%) had special needs for language promotion in the kindergarten. A logistic regression model to determine main risks of special needs for language promotion was developed. Main effects were other native languages (OR 5.1 [4.8; 5.2]), problems in subitising (OR 2.8 [2.7; 3.0]) and language development lags in the questionnaire of the nursery school teachers (OR 3.5 [3.3; 3.7]). Protective effects were an elevated graduation of the mother (OR 0.7 [0.7; 0.7]) or the father (OR 0.8 [0.7; 0.8]). Risk scores of the effects were defined. The corresponding predictive probability to different levels of risk scores was calculated. The true positive rate of the screening of language skills (HASE/KVS) in regard to special needs for language promotion was 0.95, the true negative rate was 0.72 and the -positive predictive value was 0.53. The school physician's findings of special needs for language promotion acted as gold standard
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SUGGESTOPEDIA AS THE METHOD OF THE MUSIC EXPERIENCE FORMATION OF PRE-SCHOOL CHILDREN
Natalya T. Таgiltseva; Filip D. Shavov
2015-01-01
The article aims to consider the possibility of suggestopedia methods use that are successfully practiced in foreign language teaching, pedagogy of music education of preschool children, in starting schools; to find out the degree of methods efficiency of suggestopedia in shaping the musical experience of preschool children in various activities at music lessons. Methods. The theoretical foundations of the article are views and concepts of the Bulgarian researcher, teacher and psychologist, G...
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Funk, Jeanne B; Brouwer, Jason; Curtiss, Kathleen; McBroom, Evan
2009-03-01
Given the increase in screen media targeted at the very young, the purpose of this study was to examine preschooler parents' knowledge about expert recommendations for young children's screen media experience, their knowledge of specific screen media ratings, their beliefs about screen media effects, and actual monitoring practices. Parents of 94 children education, age and gender of child, and parents' perceptions of their child's favorite television show and favorite video or computer game. Eleven multiple-choice questions assessed the respondent's knowledge of expert recommendations for screen media for preschoolers and the meaning of television and video game content ratings. Fourteen questions addressed the typical amount of their preschooler's screen media exposure, parental rules regarding screen media use, and parents' beliefs about appropriate use of screen media for preschoolers. Preschoolers were exposed to an average of approximately 12 hours of screen media in a typical week. Parents believe that media do have either short- or long-term effects on preschoolers. Performance on factual questions was poor (mean score: 2.83 of 11). In particular, only 34% of the parents correctly identified the expert recommendation for children >2 years of age. Parents should continue to be educated about the need for preschoolers to participate in activities that promote language development, socialization, imagination, and physical activity. Although professionals should work to improve the ratings, and ultimately to implement a universal ratings system for all screen media, parents need to be encouraged to improve their understanding of current recommendations for screen media exposure and television and video game ratings.
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Oral Narratives in Monolingual and Bilingual Preschoolers with SLI
Rezzonico, Stefano; Chen, Xi; Cleave, Patricia L.; Greenberg, Janice; Hipfner-Boucher, Kathleen; Johnson, Carla J.; Milburn, Trelani; Pelletier, Janette; Weitzman, Elaine; Girolametto, Luigi
2015-01-01
Background: The body of literature on narratives of bilingual children with and without specific language impairment (SLI) is growing. However, little is known about the narrative abilities of bilingual preschool children with SLI and their patterns of growth. Aims: To determine the similarities and differences in narrative abilities between…
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Early lexical development and risk of verbal and nonverbal cognitive delay at school age
Ghassabian, A.; Rescorla, L.; Henrichs, J.; Jaddoe, V.W.; Verhulst, F.C.; Tiemeier, H.W.
2014-01-01
Aim To characterise the relationship between preschool lexical delay and language comprehension and nonverbal intelligence at school age. Methods The mothers of 2724 children completed the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory when their child reached 1.5 years and the Language Development
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Awakening to World Languages: Intercultural Awareness in Very Young Learners
Kearney, Erin; Ahn, So-Yeon
2013-01-01
In a non-immersion, preschool world language program, what learning outcomes are reasonable to expect? Since exposure to and engagement with new languages is typically limited in these so-called "low-input" programs, we should anticipate no more than modest gains in linguistic proficiency. Rather, early childhood language programs can,…
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Balance Toward Language Mastery
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Virginia R. Heslinga
2017-01-01
Full Text Available Problems in attaining language mastery with students from diverse language backgrounds and levels of ability confront educators around the world. Experiments, research, and experience see positive effects of adding sign language in communication methods to pre-school and K-12 education. Augmentative, alternative, interactive, accommodating, and enriching strategies using sign language aid learners in balancing the skills needed to mastery of one language or multiple languages. Theories of learning that embrace play, drama, motion, repetition, socializing, and self-efficacy connect to the options for using sign language with learners in inclusive and mainstream classes. The methodical use of sign language by this researcher-educator over two and a half decades showed signing does build thinking skills, add enjoyment, stimulate communication, expand comprehension, increase vocabulary acquisition, encourage collaboration, and helps build appreciation for cultural diversity.
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The impact of the home learning environment in native- vs. second-language acquisition
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Bleses, Dorthe; Højen, Anders; Dale, Philip S.
., 2007). However, little is known about the relative importance of the HLE for native- vs. second-language acquisition. This question was examined in 1,200 second-language and 8,000 native-language learners of Danish. The parents of the 3-5-year-old children completed a HLE questionnaire......The home literacy environment (HLE) has been shown to impact language and literacy skills in preschool-aged children via factors such as availability of books, frequency of reading and child age when parents began reading to the child (Burgess, Hecht, & Lonigan, 2002; Payne, Whitehurst, & Angell......, 1994). Many dual language learners (DLL) rely on interactions in the second language outside the home to acquire second-language proficiency, but the HLE also influences second-language development in DLL, whether the native language or the second language is the primary home language (Duursma et al...
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Early Childhood Stuttering and Electrophysiological Indices of Language Processing
Weber-Fox, Christine; Wray, Amanda Hampton; Arnold, Hayley
2013-01-01
We examined neural activity mediating semantic and syntactic processing in 27 preschool-age children who stutter (CWS) and 27 preschool-age children who do not stutter (CWNS) matched for age, nonverbal IQ and language abilities. All participants displayed language abilities and nonverbal IQ within the normal range. Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) were elicited while participants watched a cartoon video and heard naturally spoken sentences that were either correct or contained semantic or syntactic (phrase structure) violations. ERPs in CWS, compared to CWNS, were characterized by longer N400 peak latencies elicited by semantic processing. In the CWS, syntactic violations elicited greater negative amplitudes for the early time window (150–350 ms) over medial sites compared to CWNS. Additionally, the amplitude of the P600 elicited by syntactic violations relative to control words was significant over the left hemisphere for the CWNS but showed the reverse pattern in CWS, a robust effect only over the right hemisphere. Both groups of preschoolage children demonstrated marked and differential effects for neural processes elicited by semantic and phrase structure violations; however, a significant proportion of young CWS exhibit differences in the neural functions mediating language processing compared to CWNS despite normal language abilities. These results are the first to show that differences in event-related brain potentials reflecting language processing occur as early as the preschool years in CWS and provide the first evidence that atypical lateralization of hemispheric speech/language functions previously observed in the brains of adults who stutter begin to emerge near the onset of developmental stuttering. PMID:23773672
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Becker, Birgit
2011-03-01
Children start school with differing levels of skills. Thus, children of different social origin have different probabilities of educational success right from the start of their school career. This paper analyses how the gap in language abilities of children with different social backgrounds develops from age three to five. A focus lies on the question whether pre-school education can help to close this gap. The data of the UK Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) show that children's score on a standardized vocabulary test strongly depends on their parents' education. These social differences remain stable or even increase slightly over the two-year period. Using fixed effect models, it is demonstrated that children of higher educated parents can improve their vocabulary more strongly than children whose parents have a lower educational level. Participation in an early education institution positively affects the vocabulary development of children with lower educated parents while there is no significant pre-school effect for children of higher educated parents. The results indicate that pre-school attendance does not lead to a catching-up process of children with lower educated parents. But without pre-school attendance, the gap between children of higher and lower educated parents widens even further. © London School of Economics and Political Science 2011.
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The Traditional in Contemporary Curricula of Preschool Education
Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)
Kopas-Vukašinović Emina
2016-02-01
Full Text Available Contemporary curricula of preschool education are the result of the improvement of pedagogical and didactic theories. They imply a technical plan with which it is possible to achieve measurable objectives of preschool education. The curriculum is also defined as a tool for quality and equal education for all. It represents a reflection of the time, society and culture in which it exists, but also a model for future society and education. Thus an important research question arises as to what extent we recognize traditional ideas about learning and the development of a preschool child in contemporary preschool programs. Are traditional ideas about educating young children unjustly neglected or do we recognize them in contemporary pedagogical theory even today, at the same time forgetting about the past and declaring them innovations? This paper deals with the starting points for the development of a curriculum. The goal of the research was to determine to what extent can the starting points for the development of preschool children, which have existed in the first preschool programs in Serbia in the late 19th century, be recognized in contemporary preschool programs. A descriptive method was applied as well as a procedure for content analysis of program documents. Research results confirm that the elements of the first preschool programs, which remain relevant until today, can be recognized in contemporary preschool programs. They are related to target orientations, principles and functions of preschool education. However, these ideas are defined as contemporary tendencies, and the fact that they existed in preschool programs that were developed a long time ago is unjustly ignored.
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Schwartz, Mila; Gorbatt, Naomi
2016-01-01
Language-focused listening to young children's talk provides insight into their internal thinking mechanisms regarding language as they engage in language learning. The aim of this exploratory longitudinal study was to examine and analyze children's meta-linguistic talk and its main characteristics in a bilingual Arabic-Hebrew-speaking preschool.…
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Validation of the Intelligibility in Context Scale for Jamaican Creole-Speaking Preschoolers.
Washington, Karla N; McDonald, Megan M; McLeod, Sharynne; Crowe, Kathryn; Devonish, Hubert
2017-08-15
To describe validation of the Intelligibility in Context Scale (ICS; McLeod, Harrison, & McCormack, 2012a) and ICS-Jamaican Creole (ICS-JC; McLeod, Harrison, & McCormack, 2012b) in a sample of typically developing 3- to 6-year-old Jamaicans. One-hundred and forty-five preschooler-parent dyads participated in the study. Parents completed the 7-item ICS (n = 145) and ICS-JC (n = 98) to rate children's speech intelligibility (5-point scale) across communication partners (parents, immediate family, extended family, friends, acquaintances, strangers). Preschoolers completed the Diagnostic Evaluation of Articulation and Phonology (DEAP; Dodd, Hua, Crosbie, Holm, & Ozanne, 2006) in English and Jamaican Creole to establish speech-sound competency. For this sample, we examined validity and reliability (interrater, test-rest, internal consistency) evidence using measures of speech-sound production: (a) percentage of consonants correct, (b) percentage of vowels correct, and (c) percentage of phonemes correct. ICS and ICS-JC ratings showed preschoolers were always (5) to usually (4) understood across communication partners (ICS, M = 4.43; ICS-JC, M = 4.50). Both tools demonstrated excellent internal consistency (α = .91), high interrater, and test-retest reliability. Significant correlations between the two tools and between each measure and language-specific percentage of consonants correct, percentage of vowels correct, and percentage of phonemes correct provided criterion-validity evidence. A positive correlation between the ICS and age further strengthened validity evidence for that measure. Both tools show promising evidence of reliability and validity in describing functional speech intelligibility for this group of typically developing Jamaican preschoolers.
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Preston, Jonathan L.; Hull, Margaret; Edwards, Mary Louise
2013-01-01
Purpose: To determine if speech error patterns in preschoolers with speech sound disorders (SSDs) predict articulation and phonological awareness (PA) outcomes almost 4 years later. Method: Twenty-five children with histories of preschool SSDs (and normal receptive language) were tested at an average age of 4;6 (years;months) and were followed up…
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Multi-language Development Enviroments
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pfeiffer, Rolf-Helge
-language software systems are heavily interrelated, existing development environments do not sufficiently support developers in development of such systems. In particular, handling relations between heterogeneous artifacts is not supported at development time. This thesis (a) studies the characteristics...... environments. I address these research goals by applying tool prototyping, technical experiments, user experiments, surveys, and literature survey as ethodological tools. The main results of this thesis are (a) a taxonomy for construction, comparison, and characterization of multi-language development...
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Wren, Yvonne; Harding, Sam; Goldbart, Juliet; Roulstone, Sue
2018-05-01
Multiple interventions have been developed to address speech sound disorder (SSD) in children. Many of these have been evaluated but the evidence for these has not been considered within a model which categorizes types of intervention. The opportunity to carry out a systematic review of interventions for SSD arose as part of a larger scale study of interventions for primary speech and language impairment in preschool children. To review systematically the evidence for interventions for SSD in preschool children and to categorize them within a classification of interventions for SSD. Relevant search terms were used to identify intervention studies published up to 2012, with the following inclusion criteria: participants were aged between 2 years and 5 years, 11 months; they exhibited speech, language and communication needs; and a primary outcome measure of speech was used. Studies that met inclusion criteria were quality appraised using the single case experimental design (SCED) or PEDro-P, depending on their methodology. Those judged to be high quality were classified according to the primary focus of intervention. The final review included 26 studies. Case series was the most common research design. Categorization to the classification system for interventions showed that cognitive-linguistic and production approaches to intervention were the most frequently reported. The highest graded evidence was for three studies within the auditory-perceptual and integrated categories. The evidence for intervention for preschool children with SSD is focused on seven out of 11 subcategories of interventions. Although all the studies included in the review were good quality as defined by quality appraisal checklists, they mostly represented lower-graded evidence. Higher-graded studies are needed to understand clearly the strength of evidence for different interventions. © 2018 Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
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McCormick, Meghan; Hsueh, JoAnn; Weiland, Christina; Bangser, Michael
2017-01-01
Early childhood interventions can be highly cost effective when positive impacts are sustained into adulthood. Yet while many recent preschool interventions have been found to have short-term effects on young children's language, literacy, mathematics, executive function, and social-emotional development, studies show that impacts on cognitive and…
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Salmon, Karen; O'Kearney, Richard; Reese, Elaine; Fortune, Clare-Ann
2016-12-01
In this narrative review, we suggest that children's language skill should be targeted in clinical interventions for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties in the preschool years. We propose that language skill predicts childhood emotional and behavioral problems and this relationship may be mediated by children's self-regulation and emotion understanding skills. In the first sections, we review recent high-quality longitudinal studies which together demonstrate that that children's early language skill predicts: (1) emotional and behavioral problems, and this relationship is stronger than the reverse pattern; (2) self-regulation skill; this pattern may be stronger than the reverse pattern but moderated by child age. Findings also suggest that self-regulation skill mediates the relation between early language skill and children's emotional and behavioral problems. There is insufficient evidence regarding the mediating role of emotion understanding. In subsequent sections, we review evidence demonstrating that: (1) particular kinds of developmentally targeted parent-child conversations play a vital role in the development of language skill, and (2) some current clinical interventions, directly or indirectly, have a beneficial impact on children's vocabulary and narrative skills, but most approaches are ad hoc. Targeting language via parent-child conversation has the potential to improve the outcomes of current clinical interventions in the preschool years.
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Warsito, Oktarina; Khomsan, Ali; Hernawati, Neti; Anwar, Faisal
2012-10-01
The purposes of the study were to analyze nutritional status, psychosocial stimulation, and factors affecting the cognitive development of preschool-age children. This study was conducted in the Village of Babakan, Sub-District of Dramaga, Bogor Regency, West Java. This cross-sectionally designed study was conducted with mothers who had preschool children aged 3-5 years as respondents. Fifty-eight children were included. The distribution of mother's educational level was quite diverse, and the largest percentage (44.8%) had senior high school education. Approximately 78% of the family income per capita was classified into the non-poor category and 22.4% into the poor category. The average mother's nutritional knowledge score was 76.7 ± 2.5 (moderate category). Most of the preschool children (84.4%) had psychosocial stimulation scores in the moderate category (30-45). The nutritional status of children showed that 15.5% were underweight, 5.2% were wasted, 3.4% were severely wasted, and 19% of the children were in the short and very short categories (stunted). The stepwise regression results showed that psychosocial stimulation (P education (P = 0.002) and nutritional status based on the height index for age (P = 0.028) had a positive and significant effect on cognitive development of the preschool children (adjusted R(2), 0.434; P = 0.028).
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A Report on Language Materials Development for Seven Philippine Languages.
McKaughan, Howard; Mirikitani, Leatrice
This report, a follow up to H. McKaughan's article "Language Materials Development" (Philippine Journal for Language Teaching; v2 n1-2 1969), reports on a project at the Pacific and Asian Linguistic Institute (PALI) of the University of Hawaii to develop a set of materials for seven Philippine languages: Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon,…
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Specific Language Impairment and Executive Functioning: Parent and Teacher Ratings of Behavior
Wittke, Kacie; Spaulding, Tammie J.; Schechtman, Calli J.
2013-01-01
Purpose: The current study used the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function--Preschool Version (BRIEF-P; Gioia, Espy, & Isquith, 2003), a rating scale designed to investigate executive behaviors in everyday activities, to examine the executive functioning of preschool children with specific language impairment (SLI) relative to their…
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Benzies, Karen; Tough, Suzanne; Edwards, Nancy; Mychasiuk, Richelle; Donnelly, Carlene
2011-06-01
The development of preschool children of Aboriginal heritage is jeopardized by the inter-generational transmission of risk that has created, and continues to create, social disadvantage. Early intervention programs are intended to mitigate the impact of social disadvantage. Yet, evidence of the effectiveness of these programs for children of Aboriginal heritage is limited. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a two-generation, multi-cultural preschool program on 45 children of Aboriginal heritage and their caregivers. We used a single-group, pretest (program intake)/posttest (program exit) design with follow-up when the children were 7 years old. We used an observational measure of child receptive language (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III) and caregiver-reported measures of child development (Nipissing District Developmental Screen), risk for child maltreatment (Adult-Adolescent Parenting Inventory; AAPI), parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index; PSI), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem scale; RSE), and life skills (Community Life Skills scale; CLS). Using paired t-tests we found statistically significant increases in child receptive language scores between intake and exit, and repeated-measures ANOVA showed that these improvements were maintained up to age 7 years. For caregivers, Pearson's correlations demonstrated that risk for child maltreatment, parenting stress, self-esteem, and life skills were stable over time. Results of this study suggest that children of Aboriginal heritage can benefit from participation in a two-generation, multi-cultural preschool program. Their caregivers may have received greater benefit if issues of intergenerational transmission of the negative influences of residential schools were addressed as part of programming.
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The language scripts of pre-school children and of the language ...
African Journals Online (AJOL)
It reflects on the lessons learnt from a language stimulation programme implemented by a dedicated volunteer in a childcare centre in an isolated farming valley in the Stellenbosch area. Some children attending this centre received deliberate language stimulation in a small-group setting on a weekly basis for 18 weeks ...
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[Language acquisition in preterm infants during the first year of life].
Nazzi, T; Nishibayashi, L L; Berdasco-Muñoz, E; Baud, O; Biran, V; Gonzalez-Gomez, N
2015-10-01
Previous studies have shown that preterm children are at a higher risk for cognitive and language delays than full-term children. Most of these studies have concentrated on the effects of prematurity during the preschool or school years, while the effect of preterm birth on the early development of language, much of which occurs during the first year of life, remains very little explored. This article focuses on this crucial period and reviews the studies that have explored early phonological and lexical development in preterm infants. The results of these studies show uneven proficiency in different language subdomains in preterm infants. This raises the possibility that different constraints apply to the acquisition of different linguistic subcomponents in this population, in part as a result of a complex interaction between maturation, experience, and language subdomains. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
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Factors Influencing Verbal Intelligence and Spoken Language in Children with Phenylketonuria.
Soleymani, Zahra; Keramati, Nasrin; Rohani, Farzaneh; Jalaei, Shohre
2015-05-01
To determine verbal intelligence and spoken language of children with phenylketonuria and to study the effect of age at diagnosis and phenylalanine plasma level on these abilities. Cross-sectional. Children with phenylketonuria were recruited from pediatric hospitals in 2012. Normal control subjects were recruited from kindergartens in Tehran. 30 phenylketonuria and 42 control subjects aged 4-6.5 years. Skills were compared between 3 phenylketonuria groups categorized by age at diagnosis/treatment, and between the phenylketonuria and control groups. Scores on Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence for verbal and total intelligence, and Test of Language Development-Primary, third edition for spoken language, listening, speaking, semantics, syntax, and organization. The performance of control subjects was significantly better than that of early-treated subjects for all composite quotients from Test of Language Development and verbal intelligence (Pphenylketonuria subjects.
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Anders, Yvonne; Grosse, Christiane; Rossbach, Hans-Gunther; Ebert, Susanne; Weinert, Sabine
2013-01-01
Few studies have investigated how preschool and primary school interact to influence children's cognitive development. The present investigation explores German children's numeracy skills between age 3 (1st year of preschool) and age 7 (1st year of primary school). We first identified the influence of preschool experience on development while…
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Baklanova Tatiana I.; Novikova Galina P.
2016-01-01
This article describes an innovative education system of pre-school music education “Music world” byT. I. Baklanova, and G. P. Novikova included in a new system of Russian preschool education “Paths”.The education system “Music world” consists of an author’s concept, an integrated programme of musical education, training, development and improvement of health of children of preschool age (3-7 years), two grants for children, methodical recommendations for tutors and musical directors of presc...
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The Correlation between Early Second Language Learning and Native Language Skill Development
Caccavale, Terry
2007-01-01
It has long been the assumption of many in the field of second language teaching that learning a second language helps to promote and enhance native language skill development, and that this correlation is direct and positive. Language professionals have assumed that learning a second language directly supports the development of better skills,…
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A Demonstration Project of Speech Training for the Preschool Cleft Palate Child. Final Report.
Harrison, Robert J.
To ascertain the efficacy of a program of language and speech stimulation for the preschool cleft palate child, a research and demonstration project was conducted using 137 subjects (ages 18 to 72 months) with defects involving the soft palate. Their language and speech skills were matched with those of a noncleft peer group revealing that the…
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Divergent Thinking and Hemispheric Dominance for Language Function among Preschool Children.
Tegano, Deborah Walker; And Others
1983-01-01
An investigation of the relationship of hemispheric dominance (dichotic listening) and divergent thinking (Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking) with 27 preschool children indicates that divergent thinking is associated with right hemispheric dominance in children as young as four years. (Author/PN)
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Neonatal thyroid-stimulating hormone concentration and psychomotor development at preschool age.
Trumpff, Caroline; De Schepper, Jean; Vanderfaeillie, Johan; Vercruysse, Nathalie; Van Oyen, Herman; Moreno-Reyes, Rodrigo; Tafforeau, Jean; Vandevijvere, Stefanie
2016-12-01
Thyroid hormones are essential for normal brain development. The aim of this study is to assess if high concentration of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) that is below the clinical threshold (5-15 mIU/L) at neonatal screening is linked to psychomotor development impairments in the offspring at preschool age. A total of 284 Belgian preschool children 4-6 years old and their mothers were included in the study. The children were randomly selected from the total list of neonates screened in 2008, 2009 and 2010 by the Brussels newborn screening centre. The sampling was stratified by gender and TSH range (0.45-15 mIU/L). Infants with congenital hypothyroidism (>15 mIU/L), low birth weight and/or prematurity were excluded. Psychomotor development was assessed using the Charlop-Atwell scale of motor coordination. The iodine status of children was determined using median urinary iodine concentration. Socioeconomic, parental and child potential confounding factors were measured through a self-administered questionnaire. TSH level was not significantly associated with total motor score (average change in z-score per unit increase in TSH is 0.02 (-0.03, 0.07), p=0.351), objective motor score (p=0.794) and subjective motor score (p=0.124). No significant associations were found using multivariate regression model to control confounding factors. Mild thyroid dysfunction in the newborn-reflected by an elevation of TSH that is below the clinical threshold (5-15 mIU/L)-was not associated with impaired psychomotor development at preschool age. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.
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TexMo: A Multi-language Development Environment
DEFF Research Database (Denmark)
Pfeiffer, Rolf-Helge; Wasowski, Andrzej
2012-01-01
Contemporary software systems contain a large number of artifacts expressed in multiple languages, ranging from domain-specific languages to general purpose languages. These artifacts are interrelated to form software systems. Existing development environments insufficiently support handling...... relations between artifacts in multiple languages. This paper presents a taxonomy for multi-language development environments, organized according to language representation, representation of relations between languages, and types of these relations. Additionally, we present TexMo, a prototype of a multi-language...... development environment, which uses an explicit relation model and implements visualization, static checking, navigation, and refactoring of cross-language relations. We evaluate TexMo by applying it to development of a web-application, JTrac, and provide preliminary evidence of its feasibility by running...
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Visual Support in Intervention for Preschoolers with Specific Language Impairment
Washington, Karla N.; Warr-Leeper, Genese A
2013-01-01
This study was conducted as a follow-up analysis to two prior studies using existing data gathered in those original studies. In the current study, we focus on those preschoolers who received one of two interventions that varied in terms of the level of visual supports for grammatical elements (n = 22 of the original 34 participants). Utilizing…
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Chuthapisith, Jariya; Wantanakorn, Pornchanok; Roongpraiwan, Rawiwan
2015-08-01
To develop a parental questionnaire for screening children with delayed language development in primary care settings. Ramathibodi Language Development (RLD) questionnaire was developed and completed by groups of 40 typically developing children age 18 to 30 months old and 30 children with delayed language development. The mean score was significantly lower in the delay language group (6.7 ± 1.9), comparing with the typically developing group (9.6 ± 0.7). The optimal ROC curve cut-off score was 8 with corresponding sensitivity and specificity were 98% and 72%, respectively. The corresponding area under the curve was 0.96 (95% CI = 0.92-0.99). The RLD questionnaire was the promising language developmental screening instrument that easily utilized in well-child examination settings.
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Vanvuchelen, Marleen; Roeyers, Herbert; De Weerdt, Willy
2011-01-01
The present study sought to examine imitation difficulties as a risk factor for autism. Imitation aptitude was examined in 86 preschoolers suspected of autism (1.9-4.5 years) using the Preschool Imitation and Praxis Scale (PIPS). Differences between imitation, language, motor age-equivalents and nonverbal mental age were used to predict the…
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Guasti, Maria Teresa; Palma, Silvia; Genovese, Elisabetta; Stagi, Paolo; Saladini, Gabriella; Arosio, Fabrizio
2016-01-01
Third-person direct object (DO) clitic pronoun production is examined through an elicited production method in pre-school- and primary school-aged groups of Italian children with specific language impairment (SLI) to establish whether there is an improvement from age 5 years to age 7 years and whether there are qualitative differences in the two groups' responses. It was found that 5- and 7-year-old Italian children with SLI produce fewer third-person DO clitics than same-age peers. The kind of responses they provide changes: at 5 years, children with SLI tend to omit clitics, while at 7 years, they use a full noun. Production of third-person DO clitics is a persistent challenge for children with SLI and is confirmed to be a good clinical marker both at 5 and 7 years of age.
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Gender Differences in Emotional Language in Children's Picture Books.
Tepper, Clary A.; Cassidy, Kimberly Wright
1999-01-01
Examined gender differences in emotional language in children's picture books, using 178 books read to or by preschool children. Males had higher representations on titles, pictures, and central roles, but males and females were associated with equal amounts of emotional language and similar types of emotional words. (SLD)
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Child Development in the Context of Multicultural Pre-School Education.
Umek, Ljubica Marjanovic; Kranjc, Simona; Fekonja, Urska
This study examined the impact of a multicultural preschool curriculum in Slovenia on preschool children's sensitization to cultural differences and understanding of themselves, others, and different cultures. The curriculum was implemented for a 1-month period for 6.6- to 7-year-olds. Multicultural enrichment was evident in wall decorations, toys…