Young children are limited in their usage of comparative adjectives and ordinal numbers, typical ways of describing ordinal relationships. However, research in a number of areas suggests the possibility of a precursor level of ordinal concept. To facilitate the search for precursor ordinal skills, ordinal ability was defined in ordinal measurement terms. Only "greater than - less than," asymmetric judgements were required. Additionally, linguistic demands were reduced by using family-role terms as size designators. Experimental manipulations included variations in scale size and in the complexity level of ordinal conceptualization. Solution strategies based on "good form" and on "pairwise comparison" were precluded by using pictures of randomly placed objects which could not be manipulated by the child. Ninety-six 3-6 year old children pointed to "Daddy," "Mommy," "Big boy/girl," "Little boy/girl," and "Baby" when shown sets of 3 to 5 circles or squares which differed only in size. Tasks were of three types: Identification, mapping labels onto a single set of objects; Coordination, mapping labels onto two identical sets of objects in which corresponding "family members" are the same size; and Transposition, mapping labels onto two separate sets in which corresponding family members are of different sizes. Data were analyzed in an Age (3), by Scale Size (3), by Complexity Level (3), by Shape (2) mixed design ANOVA, and significant main effects were obtained for all variables. Tasks became more difficult with increases in scale size, and in complexity level. Square objects were slightly more difficult than circular, and older children were more proficient than younger ones. Post hoc tests generally supported the obtained main effects. Finer grained analysis using Latent Trait procedures supported the global ANOVA results, and supported the hypothesis that the end points of a scale are easier than the central positions. Response patterns indicated that errors were size-related, and suggested transitional levels of performance. The present study demonstrates that children as young as three can demonstrate a precursor ordinal concept when the task is framed in familiar terms and is placed in a context which is meaningful for them.

The problem of this study was to compare the relative gains made in the development of oral language skills in two groups of first grade pupils when two different approaches to beginning reading instruction were used. The two approaches were: (a) the language experience approach, Approach A, and (b) the traditional basal reader approach, Approach B. The six aspects of oral language development considered were: extent of verbalization, spoken vocabulary, expressions of tentativeness, use of structural patterns, colorful and vivid expressions, and use of mazes.

The problem of this research is to determine the similarities and differences related to the psycholinguistic abilities of Anglo-American, Negro, and Latin-American preschool children.

M.A. (Afrikaans Nederlands) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.Ed. (Education) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

by Wong Mui Fong. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-48). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS --- p.2 / TABLE OF CONTENT --- p.3 / LIST OF TABLES --- p.4 / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.5 / ABSTRACT --- p.6 / ABSTRACT (CHI) --- p.7 / Chapter CHAPTER 1 --- PROCESSING OF SPEECH IN CHINESE CHILDREN WITH DIFFERENT READING ABILITIES: AN FMRI STUDY --- p.8 / Chapter CHAPTER 2 --- METHOD --- p.18 / Participants --- p.18 / Imaging Technique --- p.18 / Other Apparatus --- p.18 / Procedure --- p.19 / Testing --- p.19 / Data Analysis --- p.22 / Chapter CHAPTER 3 --- RESULTS --- p.23 / Behavior data --- p.23 / Functional MRI data-group data --- p.24 / Functional MRI data-individual data --- p.32 / Chapter CHAPTER 4 --- DISCUSSION --- p.36 / REFERENCES --- p.41 / APPENDIX 1 --- p.49

Yang Xiaolu. / "December 1999." / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 259-268). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. Ann Arbor, MI : ProQuest Information and Learning Company, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / Abstracts in English and Chinese.

The experimenter conducted three experiments to compare incidental language acquisition of familiar and non-familiar stimuli, and asses the effects of specific pairing experiences on the emergence of bidirectional naming (BiN) for familiar and non-familiar stimuli. In Experiment I the experimenter assessed the numbers of accurate untaught listener and speaker responses for familiar and non-familiar stimuli emitted by 20 first-grade participants following incidental naming experiences. A statistical comparison of the results using a dependent paired samples t-tests revealed significant differences across familiar and non-familiar stimuli for: (a) listener responses, (b) speaker tact responses, and (c) speaker intraverbal tact responses. In Experiment II, the experimenter tested the effectiveness of a repeated probe procedure on the emergence of BiN for familiar and non-familiar stimuli using a combined multiple probe and simultaneous treatment design. Six participants were selected from Experiment I based on their absence of BiN for non-familiar stimuli. The experimenter implemented a repeated probe intervention procedure across two treatment conditions: (1) non-familiar stimuli sets and (2) mixed (non-familiar and familiar) stimuli sets. Following each intervention phase, post-intervention naming probe results demonstrated increased numbers of accurate untaught listener and speaker responses for familiar and non-familiar stimuli by all participants. Time constraints of the school year limited completion of the intervention for 2 participant dyads. Findings suggested the potential effectiveness of the repeated probe procedure. Experiment III was a systematic replication of Experiment II with 6 different participants. Results demonstrated the emergence of: (a) BiN for non-familiar stimuli by five participants; and (b) BiN for familiar stimuli by all participants who demonstrated absence during pre-intervention probe sessions. Findings from Experiments II and III suggested that the repeated probe procedure effectively functioned as a conditioning procedure for the emergence of conditioned reinforcement for observing responses to visual and vocal familiar and non-familiar stimuli. That is, the repeated probe procedure shifted the reinforcement effects of conditioned stimuli to previously neutral stimuli, bringing one’s observing responses under a new stimulus control. This stimulus control (i.e., reinforcement effects) embedded within functioned to select out the participant’s observing responses during incidental naming experiences.

Most of the previous published research involving intelligibility has focused on persons with various disabilities or delays. Minimal research has been conducted on intelligibility in young children with no diagnosed speech and/ or language disorders. The result is a gap in normative data by which to set a standard to judge speech as being at an acceptable level of intelligibility for a particular age group. The focus of this pilot study was to collect normative data on the intelligibility of young children, ages 3:6 ±2 months, with no diagnosed speech and/or language disorder. ~ Thirteen subjects, ages 3:6 ±2 months, were recruited from the greater Portland/Vancouver area. These subjects were screened for normal development in speech sound production, expressive/receptive language, and hearing. It was also established that English was the primary language spoken in the home. Resonance, voice quality, and fluency were informally assessed by the researcher during the course of the session and found to be normal. The 100-word speech samples were collected by the researcher on audiotape and later played back to two listeners, who were familiar with the topic but unfamiliar with the speaker. The listeners orthographically transcribed the samples and a comparison was made by the researcher between the two sets of written transcriptions. This comparison provided the percentage of intelligible words, out of a possible 100, which were understood by both listeners. The results showed the mean intelligibility percentage for 31/2-year-old children with no diagnosed speech and/or language disorders to be 88% (SD = 5.7%) with a range of intelligibility from 76% to 96 % . Both the mode and the median for this sample were 90 % . Several other variables were addressed as points of interest but the comparisons were not investigated in depth. The focus of this study was to collect, in a methodically documented manner, normative data on intelligibility in 3 1/2-year-olds. When the results from this study are compared to the only other available data (Weiss, 1982), they were found to fall within 1 SD of each other (SD = 5.7%), indicating that there are no measurable differences between the findings.

Assessment of language abilities is an integral part of accruing information on the development of concept formation and the learning of grammatical rules. The maturity and complexity of a child's language can be assessed through the use of a language sample. The sample consists of a specified number of utterances which are emitted spontaneously and then analyzed according to a given procedure. The purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference among the scores obtained from language samples of 25, 50, and 75 utterances when using the DSS procedure for ages 4.0 through 4.6 years. Twelve children, selected on the basis of chronological age, normal receptive vocabulary skills, normal hearing, and a monolingual background, participated as subjects.