Jon F. Miller

Measures of Reading Comprehension: A Latent Variable Analysis of the Diagnostic Assessment of Reading Comprehension

This study compares 2 measures of reading comprehension: (a) the Woodcock-Johnson Passage Comprehension test, a standard in reading research, and (b) the Diagnostic Assessment of Reading Comprehension (DARC), an innovative measure. Data from 192 Grade 3 Spanish-speaking English language learners (ELLs) were used to fit a series of latent variable analyses designed to explicitly test the discriminant validity and differential determinants of the 2 measures. Findings indicated that the 2 measures are related (r =. 61) but distinct, and influenced by different factors. The DARC is less strongly related to word-level skills and more strongly related to measures of narrative language production and memory. Both tests are equally influenced by measures of nonverbal reasoning. These differential patterns of relations, which cannot be explained on the basis of differential reliabilities, reflect true differences in the processing demands of the tests for 3rd-grade ELLs.

Narrative Transcription Accuracy and Reliability in Two Languages.

Recent research documents the power of oral narrative language samples to predict reading achievement in both Spanish and English in English language learners (ELLs; J. Miller et al., 2006). To document their clinical utility, this article addresses issues of accuracy and reliability for transcription and analysis of oral narratives elicited from Spanish–English bilingual children. We first reviewed the unique considerations that must be made when transcribing narratives elicited from ELLs. To demonstrate that narrative transcription is clinically feasible, we documented that a single clinician can accurately transcribe childrens oral narratives and that the measures acquired from these samples are reliable. Forty oral narratives were first transcribed by a single transcriber, and then checked and retranscribed by additional transcribers. High levels of accuracy and agreement between transcribers were observed across both the English and the Spanish transcripts. Test–retest reliability was documented for 241 transcripts produced by the ELL children. Significant correlations were observed between Time 1 and Time 2 for 4 narrative measures. These data demonstrate that oral narrative data from ELL children can be accurately transcribed and the narrative measures are stable over time, providing the research foundation for clinical use of narrative language samples.

Spoken language samples of New Zealand children in conversation and narration

A New Zealand (NZ) database has been created comprising conversational and narrative spoken language samples from 268 children aged between 4;5 and 7;6 years. This paper addresses several questions related to the development and validation of the database and provides a comparison of this NZ database with an American database of language samples. Analyses of the spoken language samples contained in the database revealed a clear developmental trend of increasing syntactic complexity, semantic diversity and verbal productivity with increasing age of the participants. In addition, elicitation context for the language samples had a significant impact on language production measures obtained. The narrative language sampling contexts elicited more syntactically complex language samples. To ascertain if the New Zealand database is useful in identifying children with language impairment, oral narrative transcripts from 21 children with identified reading comprehension difficulties and mild spoken language impairment were compared to the database. The results indicated that the database was sensitive to language impairment. These children showed a much higher incidence of errors at word-level and generally produced shorter sentences compared to the language samples in the database. Comparisons between the NZ and American databases of language samples revealed that six-year-old NZ children showed stronger expressive language skills than the American children.

Use of cognitive state predicates by language-impaired children.

Two studies of the use of cognitive state predicates by children with specific language impairment (SLI) were conducted. Study I analysed longitudinal language samples collected from 26 children with SLI and 25 children with normal language (NL) development, aged 4;4 and 2;11, respectively, at Time I. Study II analysed samples from SLI children with more severe delays at an earlier language stage. There were 10 SLI children and 10 NL children, aged 4;11 and 2;8, respectively, matched by MLU. All cognitive state predicates were identified using both broad and narrow definitions. In Study 1, the SLI children used cognitive state predicates less frequently than their mental age peers, and with no greater frequency or variety than their younger, language peers. In Study II, children with SLI used more predicates referring to communication events, but there were no further group differences. These findings are discussed as they relate to two current psycholinguistic issues: the possible dissociation of grammar and the lexicon, and the role of language in the development of childrens theory of mind.

Mothers' speech to their 1-year-old infants in home and laboratory settings

The speech of mothers and their 1-year-old infants was compared in the home and in the laboratory playroom. The home and laboratory settings were similar for measuring the number of actual words that infants spoke and were similar for measuring the complexity of the mothers speech, including the number of different words, the type-token ratio, and the length of the utterances. Infants vocalized at similar rates in the two settings, but mothers spoke at a faster rate in the laboratory playroom. The usefulness of a preliminary warm-up period was supported by the finding that for the second half of the sessions, mothers slowed their rate of speech and increased the complexity of their speech.

Sentence Imitation in Pre-School Children.

Surface structure complexity, transformational sentence type and sentence length were investigated as variables in a sentence imitation task with pre-school children. Sentences were varied on Yngve depth (High-Low), transformational sentence type (active, negative, wh- question and passive) and sentence length (5-9 words). Sentence length was found to affect sentence imitation in a consistent manner. As sentence length increased, correct imitation decreased. There was an interaction between Yngve depth and transformational sentence type.

Authentic Assessment as an Approach to Preschool Speech-Language Screening

Authentic assessment procedures have been advocated to evaluate speech and language skills of preschool children from multicultural, low-socioeconomic backgrounds. In this article we discuss our us...

Using Language Sample Analysis to Assess Spoken Language Production in Adolescents

PURPOSE This tutorial discusses the importance of language sample analysis and how Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software can be used to simplify the process and effectively assess the spoken language production of adolescents. METHOD Over the past 30 years, thousands of language samples have been collected from typical speakers, aged 3-18 years, in conversational and narrative contexts. These samples have been formatted as reference databases included with SALT. Using the SALT software, individual samples are compared with age- and grade-matched samples selected from these databases. RESULTS Two case studies illustrate that comparison with database samples of typical adolescents, matched by grade and elicitation context, highlights language measures that are higher or lower than the database mean values. Differences in values are measured in standard deviations. CONCLUSION Language sample analysis remains a powerful method of documenting language use in everyday speaking situations. A sample of talking reveals an individuals ability to meet specific speaking demands. These demands vary across contexts, and speakers can have difficulty in any one or all of these communication tasks. Language use for spoken communication is a foundation for literacy attainment and contributes to success in navigating relationships for school, work, and community participation.

Language intervention software: myth or rea I ity

This paper takes issue with the current trend towards establishing universal criteria for the development and review of software designed for children with speech and language problems. Language intervention is a unique teaching activity, and computer applications require tailored solutions. We propose a shift in perspective, moving away from computer-aided language intervention as automated learning, and argue for the use of computers for establishing the social context for learning, with the clinician and child interacting around the program content.

Using microcomputers to advance research in language disorders

We are at a critical point in advancing our knowledge of language disorders in both children and adults. The past decade of research has made clear that human verbal communication can no longer be productively studied in isolation from cognitive, social, and physiological developments. The complexity of verbal communication, the length of the acquisition period, the basis of its origins, and the variety of disorders documented to date require broad-based, interdisciplinary research efforts in the future.