No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Canterbury, 2009. / Typescript (photocopy). Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-222). Also available via the World Wide Web.

No description available.

Thesis (B.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2003. / "A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, April 30, 2003." Includes bibliographical references (p. 28-30) Also available in print.

Thesis (M.Med.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 2004. / Also available in print.

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / "A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, May 10, 2000." Also available in print.

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / "A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, May 10, 2002." Also available in print.

Thesis (B.Sc)--University of Hong Kong, 1999. / "A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Bachelor of Science (Speech and Hearing Sciences), The University of Hong Kong, 14 May 1999." Also available in print.

Over the past decade, there have been diverse theoretical perspectives and increasing empirical literature on bilingualism and specific language impairment (SLI), some of which highlighted the complex nature of accurately diagnosing SLI in bilingual populations. The goal of the current study is to enhance our understanding of morphosyntax development in an understudied bilingual population - Mandarin-English children who are growing up in an L2-dominant environment (English) in the United States. The study included a total of 55 bilingual Mandarin-English children between the ages of four and seven years, including 53 typically developing (TD) children and 2 children diagnosed with SLI. Using a newly developed screening test - the Bilingual English-Mandarin Oral Screener (BEMOS), we compared Mandarin performance in both TD and SLI children on 7 morphosyntax tasks which respectively measure passive -bei, possessive -de, prepositional phrases, noun classifiers, quantifier and scope, aspects (imperfective “-zai” and perfective “-le”), and sentence repetition. Our analysis of TD bilingual children revealed a trend towards a significant age effect in the total score and a near-significant effect in the preposition and the aspect sub-sections of the screener. When age was considered, perceived Mandarin proficiency by parents was associated with TD bilingual children’s performance. All students performed poorly on the classifier section, but our error analysis showed a predominant response pattern of imitation, suggesting bilingual children have growing sensitivity and are attentive to semantic similarity of nouns. Overgeneralized use of the general classifier “ge” was also observed in the errors. Both children with SLI scored lower overall compared to their age- and gender-matched TD peers, especially in the classifier and quantifier & scope sections. Reliable clinical markers were not identified due to the two SLI children’s distinct performance. Clinical implications and future research needs were also discussed. / text

This study examined the use of music as an intervention tool with primary school aged children with Specific Language Impairment, specifically in the linguistic areas of semantics, pragmatics and oral narrative. As teachers and speech pathologists have the most professional contact with children with language impairment, they would benefit from access to suitable music activities. As it cannot be assumed that they have musical training, activities must be designed to be easy to use and adapt. The main aims of the study were (1) to determine whether a range of music activities designed to teach specific language skills were suitable for language intervention programmes, and (2) to ascertain the extent to which teachers and speech pathologists could use these activities (and similar activities) in language intervention. A preliminary survey of Grade Two teachers in Language Development Centres (LDCs) in Perth, Western Australia provided the basis for specific skills to be targeted. Music activities were designed and implemented with a Grade Two class in a Language Development Centre. Four of the students were selected as case studies in order to evaluate the impact of the activities. The classroom teacher was also studied as a case example to determine the usefulness of the activities for professionals with no musical training. Additionally, surveys of teachers in LDCs and speech pathologists (both public facilities and private practice) working with children in the Perth metropolitan region were conducted. Evaluations by the researcher, classroom teacher, a speech pathologist and the four student case studies indicated that the activities designed in this study addressed the specific language goals appropriately, were suitable for use with groups, and that the students were learning and developing the targeted language skills. In addition, the activities were suitable for use by professionals with little musical background, and were perceived by the teacher to be adaptable for different skill levels and age groups. This suggests that music can be effectively used in semantic, pragmatic and oral narrative intervention for primary school aged children with specific language impairment.