Carol Scheffner Hammer

Exposure to English Before and After Entry into Head Start: Bilingual Children's Receptive Language Growth in Spanish and English.

Abstract This investigation examined the Spanish and English receptive vocabulary and language comprehension abilities of bilingual preschoolers who attended Head Start over a two-year period. It was hypothesised that bilingual childrens development would follow linear trajectories and that the development of children who were only exposed to Spanish in the home prior to school entry would differ from children with exposure to Spanish and English from birth. Results revealed that the two groups’ language abilities in Spanish and English differed at the beginning of the study as measured by raw and standard scores and that these differences were maintained over the two years. The exceptions to this were found in the childrens vocabulary abilities, with the difference between the two groups’ English standard scores narrowing over time and the difference between their Spanish standard scores increasing during the two-year period. Similar to research on monolingual and bilingual children with low socioeconomic status (SES), childrens development in both languages essentially followed linear trajectories. Childrens raw scores on the English receptive vocabulary test accelerated, similar to research findings on monolingual children of middle SES. Also, childrens standard scores on the Spanish language comprehension measure decelerated after an initial period of linear growth. Future directions for research are discussed.

The Effect of Maternal Language on Bilingual Children's Vocabulary and Emergent Literacy Development during Head Start and Kindergarten.

This investigation examined the impact of maternal language and childrens gender on bilingual childrens vocabulary and emergent literacy development during 2 years in Head Start and kindergarten. Seventy-two mothers and their children who attended English immersion programs participated. Questionnaires administered annually over a 3-year period revealed that mothers increased their usage of English to their children. In addition, more mothers of sons reported using “More or All English” with their children than mothers of daughters. Growth curve modeling indicated that increased usage of English did not impact childrens English vocabulary or emergent literacy development. However, increased usage of English slowed the growth of childrens Spanish vocabulary. Despite differences in mother-to-child language usage, gender did not impact growth in either language. These findings provide evidence that maternal usage of Spanish does not negatively affect childrens developing English vocabulary or emergent literacy abilities. Maternal usage of Spanish appears necessary to maximize childrens developing Spanish vocabulary.

Co-occurring disorders in children who stutter

UNLABELLED This study used a mail survey to determine the (a) percentage of children who stutter with co-occurring non-speech disorders, speech disorders, and language disorders, and (b) frequency, length of sessions, and type of treatment services provided for children who stutter with co-occurring disorders. Respondents from a nationwide sample included 1184 speech-language pathologists (SLPs). Of the 2628 children who stuttered, 62.8% had other co-occurring speech disorders, language disorders, or non-speech-language disorders. Articulation disorders (33.5%) and phonology disorders (12.7%) were the most frequently reported co-occurring speech disorders. Only 34.3% of the children who stuttered had co-occurring non-speech-language disorders. Of those children with co-occurring non-speech-language disorders, learning disabilities (15.2%), literacy disorders (8.2%), and attention deficit disorders (ADD) (5.9%) were the most frequently reported. Chi-square analyses revealed that males were more likely to exhibit co-occurring speech disorders than females, especially articulation and phonology. Co-occurring non-speech-language disorders were also significantly higher in males than females. Treatment decisions by SLPs are also discussed. LEARNING OUTCOMES As a result of this activity, the participant should: (1) have a better understanding of the co-occurring speech disorders, language disorders, and non-speech disorders in children who stutter; (2) identify the speech disorders, language disorders, and non-speech disorders with the highest frequency of occurrence in children who stutter; and (3) be aware of the subgroups of children with co-occurring disorders and their potential impact on assessment and treatment.

Book reading interactions between African American and Puerto Rican Head Start children and their mothers

In keeping with a sociocultural view of children’s literacy development, this study investigated the book reading behaviors of African American and Puerto Rican mothers and their Head Start children. Ten African American and 10 Puerto Rican mothers and their children participated. The communicative behaviors of the mothers and children produced during book reading were analyzed and the book reading styles of the dyads were also identified. Results revealed that mothers read the text from the books, responded to their children and asked questions most frequently. The children responded to their mothers’ utterances, produced labels/comments, and asked questions most frequently. Puerto Rican mothers produced significantly more labels/comments than did African American mothers. Puerto Rican children had higher assertiveness ratios than their African American counterparts. Four book reading styles were identified in the two groups. Implications for developing interventions that incorporate families’ literacy practices are discussed.

24‐Month‐Old Children With Larger Oral Vocabularies Display Greater Academic and Behavioral Functioning at Kindergarten Entry

Data were analyzed from a population-based, longitudinal sample of 8,650 U.S. children to (a) identify factors associated with or predictive of oral vocabulary size at 24 months of age and (b) evaluate whether oral vocabulary size is uniquely predictive of academic and behavioral functioning at kindergarten entry. Children from higher socioeconomic status households, females, and those experiencing higher quality parenting had larger oral vocabularies. Children born with very low birth weight or from households where the mother had health problems had smaller oral vocabularies. Even after extensive covariate adjustment, 24-month-old children with larger oral vocabularies displayed greater reading and mathematics achievement, increased behavioral self-regulation, and fewer externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors at kindergarten entry.

The effect of maternal rate reduction on the stuttering, speech rates and linguistic productions of children who stutter: evidence from individual dyads

The clinical literature in childhood stuttering contains numerous suggestions for parents to use both a reduced speech rate and longer turn-switching pauses when talking with their children who stutter. To date, empirical support for these recommendations has been sparse. In addition, the few studies which have examined the effects of maternal speech rate reduction on the speech and language of stuttering and non-stuttering children have yielded inconsistent results. These equivocal findings are most likely related to the differences among investigations, in both subject characteristics and study design. In this paper we present the results from a preliminary study of maternal speech rate reduction, using young children who stutter and their mothers. Our purpose was to reveal individual patterns of response to a slowed maternal speech rate, through observation of specific speech and language behaviours and behaviour changes in separate dyads. Findings suggest that the relationship between childrens stutt...

Relationship between parenting behaviours and specific language impairment in children

This study investigated the relationship between parenting behaviours and specific language impairment (SLI) in children. Using a case-control design, data on 177 kindergarten children with SLI and 925 kindergarten children who were typically developing were collected using a parental questionnaire. Parents were interviewed about parenting practices classified into the following categories: conversing with children, teaching behaviours, the childs daily routine and discipline. The results revealed that parents of children who were normally developing had engaged their children in particular conversational activities more frequently than had parents with children with SLI. Parents of children diagnosed with SLI tended to teach their children school readiness skills (the alphabet and colours) and discipline their children more frequently. These relationships continued to hold after controlling for maternal education and family economic need with the exception of teaching children colour names. The results suggested that additional investigations that examine the association between these parental behaviours and childrens language status through direct observation are warranted.

African American Mothers’ Views of Their Infants’ Language Development and Language-Learning Environment

The purpose of this investigation was to develop an understanding of how African American mothers living in an urban setting in the South (a) viewed their children’s language development and (b) st...

Depression, Control, and Climate: An Examination of Factors Impacting Teaching Quality in Preschool Classrooms.

Research Findings: This study investigated the relationship of preschool teachers’ self-reported depressive symptomatology, perception of classroom control, and perception of school climate to classroom quality as measured by the Classroom Assessment Scoring System Pre-K. The sample consisted of 59 urban preschool classrooms serving low-income and linguistically diverse students in the northeastern and southeastern United States. Results of hierarchical linear modeling revealed that teachers’ individual reports of depressive symptomatology were significantly and negatively predictive of the observed quality of their instructional support and classroom organization. Practice or Policy: The findings of this study have implications for increasing access to mental health supports for teachers in an effort to minimize depressive symptoms and potentially improve classroom quality.

Lexicalization of idioms in urban fifth graders: a reaction time study

Idioms are an important aspect of language that comprises a sizeable portion of our vocabulary. However, lexical access research has largely been limited to understanding how literal words are accessed and processed in the mental lexicon. Adult data show that idioms are quickly accessed from the lexicon and are likely processed as long words [J. Verbal Learn. Verbal Behav. 18 (1979) 523]. The purpose of this study was to examine lexicalization of idioms in a group of school-aged children. Using a phrase classification design, this research tested the Lexical Representation Hypothesis [J. Verbal Learn. Verbal Behav. 18 (1979) 523] in 19 urban fifth graders (5 boys, 14 girls; M age=10.16 years). On a computer, the students classified 54 phrases, including 24 idioms (high, moderate, and low familiarity [J. Speech Hear. Res. 36 (1993) 728]), 24 grammatical control word strings and 6 unrelated foils as either idioms or nonidioms. The idioms were identified with 62% accuracy. Unexpectedly, the boys tended to show higher rates of accuracy than the girls. Response latencies were shorter on the idioms compared to the controls and high familiarity idioms were processed faster than moderate and low familiarity idioms. These findings provide developmental data for lexicalization of idioms and the relationship between lexicalization and familiarity. At the cocnlusion of this articel, the reader will be able to: (1). discuss the various theories of idiom access and processing, (2). discuss how lexical access relates to idiom knowledge in school-aged children, and (3). consider the association between lexical access and familiarity relative to idiom comprehension in school-aged children.