Self-generated and retold narratives as a tool of language assessment Cover Image

Vahendamata ja vahendatud narratiiv laste kõnearengu hindamisel
Self-generated and retold narratives as a tool of language assessment

Author(s): Sirli Parm, Eve Kikas, Piret Soodla, Aive Adamka, Renate Pajusalu
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Eesti Rakenduslingvistika Ühing (ERÜ)
Keywords: linguistic development; speech disorders; narrative; syntax; morphology; textual structure; Estonian

Summary/Abstract: The article explores oral narratives of 6−7 year old typically developing (TD) children (N = 162) and children with language impairment (LI) (N = 27). Narratives were elicited by three methods: generated stories without previous narrative model and with previous narrative model, and retold stories. The analysis comprises narrative microstructure (mean length of utterances, grammatical errors) and macrostructure (quantity of information units, complexity). The purpose is to find out which method suits best for the identification of LI in language assessment. The results show that for microstructure level, all three kinds of stories distinguish children with LI from their peers with TD. For macrostructure level, retold stories enable better distinction between LI and TD as compared to self-generated stories, likewise generated stories with previous narrative model, as compared to stories without previous model.

  • Issue Year: 2010
  • Issue No: 6
  • Page Range: 277-296
  • Page Count: 21
  • Language: Estonian