Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University / It 1a the purpose of this study (1) to analyze the pronunciation errors of Italian speaking people learning English and ( 2) to determine whether or not a native dialectical language has any effect on the individual's learning situation. Using the case study method the writer has selected twenty persona of Italian extraction-- ten native of northern Italy and ten native of southern Italy-- each speaking a native dialect as a primary language and exposed to the English language and pronunciation only through the regional dialect or western Connecticut.

The problem with which this investigation was concerned was that of determining the efficacy of child-centered group play therapy with pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children with speech difficulties as an intervention strategy for improving specific speech problems in the areas of articulation, receptive language, and expressive language. A second purpose was that of determining the efficacy of child-centered group play therapy in improving self-esteem, positive social interaction, and in decreasing anxiety and withdrawal behaviors among pre-kindergarten and kindergarten children with speech difficulties. The experimental group consisted of 11 children who received 25 group play therapy sessions one time a week in addition to their directive speech therapy sessions. The comparison group consisted of 10 children who received only their directive speech therapy sessions. The Goldman Fristoe Test of Articulation, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - Revised, and the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals - 3 were used to measure receptive and expressive language skills. The Burks' Behavior Rating Scale was used to measure symptoms of anxiety, withdrawal, poor self-esteem, and poor social skills as observed by parents and teachers. Twelve hypotheses were tested using ANCOVA and Eta Squared. Child-centered group play therapy was shown to have a large practical significance in helping children improve their expressive language skills. Child-centered group play therapy was shown to have a medium practical significance in increasing children's receptive language skills. Small sample size may have contributed to the lack of statistical significance as calculated by the analysis of covariance. Child-centered group play therapy was shown to have a small yet positive impact upon children's articulation skills and anxiety. Although not significant at the .05 level, these results indicate a slightly larger increase in articulation skills and a slightly larger decrease in symptoms of anxiety among those children who received group play therapy as compared to those who did not. Child-centered group play therapy was shown to have a mixed effect upon children's self-esteem, withdrawal behaviors, and positive social interactions. This study supports the use of child-centered group play therapy as an effective intervention strategy for children with speech difficulties to improve expressive and receptive language skill development.

Bakgrund: Kommunikation handlar om att förmedla information mellan individer. Det kan uppstå talsvårigheter till följd av afasi eller dysartri. Dysartri innebär att artikulationen påverkas på grund av förlamning i talmuskulatur medan afasi beror på en skada i hjärnans talcentrum. För att uppnå en god omvårdnad av personer med talsvårigheter var det viktigt att individen fick känna sig sedd och hörd. Stor vikt lades på sjuksköterskan och hens förmåga att uppfatta vad personen med talsvårigheter ville förmedla både verbalt och icke-verbalt. Det var därför viktigt att uppmärksamma personers erfarenheter av att leva med talsvårigheter. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturstudien var att beskriva personers erfarenheter av att leva med försämrad talfunktion på grund av afasi eller dysartri. Metod: En beskrivande litteraturstudie där 12 vetenskapliga artiklar låg till grund för resultatet. Samtliga artiklar var av kvalitativ ansats. Huvudresultat: Resultatet har påvisat att livssituationen har förändrats för personer med talsvårigheter, de påverkades emotionellt negativt samt tvingades att hitta nya strategier och hanteringssätt för att handskas med sina talsvårigheter. Synen på framtiden var mycket individuell och skildes från person till person. Personer med talsvårigheter erfor både positiva och negativa förändringar i relationer till familj, vänner och omgivningen. I kontakten med vården har personer med talsvårigheter erfarit både positiva och negativa upplevelser. Slutsats: Gott bemötande och goda relationer till vårdpersonal har spelat en viktig roll i återhämtningsprocessen för personer med afasi och dysartri, därför bör sjuksköterskor vara medveten om detta för att ha möjligheten kunna skapa de bästa förutsättningar för patienten. / Background: Communication is about mediate information between individuals. Speech difficulties can occur as a result of aphasia or dysarthria. Dysarthria means that articulation is affected due to paralysis in speech muscles while aphasia is due to an injury in the brain's speech center. In order to achieve good nursing of people with speech difficulties, it was important for the individual to feel seen and heard. Great emphasis was then placed on the nurse and her ability to perceive what the person with aphasia wants to convey both verbally and non-verbally. It was therefore important to pay attention to people's experiences of living with speech difficulties. Aim: The aim of this literature study was to describe people's experiences of living with impaired speech function due to aphasia or dysarthria. Method: A descriptive literature study where 12 scientific articles were the basis for the result. All articles were of a qualitative approach. Main result: The result has shown that the life situation has changed for people with speech difficulties, they were affected emotionally negatively and forced to find new strategies and ways of dealing with their speech difficulties. The view of the future was very individual. People with speech difficulties experience both positive and negative changes in relationships with family, friends and the environment. In contact with health care, people with speech difficulties have experienced both positive and negative experiences. Conclusion: Good encounters and good relationships with health care professionals has played an important role in the recovery process for people with speech difficulties, therefore the nurse should be aware of this in order to be able to create the best conditions for the patient.

Syftet med denna studie är att bidra med kunskap om och ge perspektiv på barns talsvårigheter i relation till hur arbetet på förskolan utförs och kan vidareutvecklas, via utsagor från förskollärare, specialpedagog och logopeder. Studien utgår från tre frågeställningar: på vilka sätt kan arbetet med barns talsvårigheter vidareutvecklas, enligt förskollärare, specialpedagog och logopeder, hur resonerar förskollärare, specialpedagog och logopeder om samarbete och dess betydelse mellan de olika yrkesgrupperna samt vilka perspektiv på talsvårigheter synliggörs i förskollärares, specialpedagogs och logopeders utsagor?  Den metod som används för denna studie är kvalitativa intervjuer med två förskollärare, två logopeder och en specialpedagog. Den data som samlades in genom intervjuerna kodades och kategoriserades i fem olika kategorier. Dessa kategorier tar upp förskolans arbete, barns talsvårigheter, kontakter och samverkan, briser i arbetet samt hjälpsamma arbetsmetoder.  Studiens resultat visar på vilka sätt logopeder ansvarar för att hjälpa barn med talsvårigheter. Resultatet visar också på förskolans ansvar att ge barn goda möjligheter till utveckling oavsett barnens förutsättningar, enligt förskollärarna i studien. Dessutom visar resultatet på de brister som respondenterna tar upp i arbetet med barns talsvårigheter och dessa är: okunskap, brist på personal, ekonomisk brist samt bristen på stöd från skollagen.

This diploma thesis discusses the possible influences that media especialy television has on langugage development in pre-school children. In first part we talk about speech development, speech difficulties, history of media, studies about influence of watching TV on the personality of the child. Practical part examines influence of watching TV on child and his speech.

Cette recherche se propose d’étudier les configurations syntaxiques impliquant le présentatif il y a. Une de ces constructions, la construction présentative clivée en il y a (il y a un cygne qu’a mordu les fesses à mon grand papa) est bien documentée (Lambrecht, 1988, 2002). Le segment [il y a SN] peut faire partie d’un large éventail de configurations syntaxiques, abordées principalement du point de vue de la syntaxe, de la sémantique ou de la structure informationnelle (Cappeau, Deulofeu, 2001, Berrendonner, 2003). Très peu de recherches rendent compte de ces configurations en interaction. Selon la Linguistique Interactionnelle (Ochs et al., 1996, Ono, Thompson, 1996, Helasvuo, 2004), les productions langagières et la syntaxe sont configurées pas à pas au fil de l’alternance des tours de parole et des activités réalisées par les participants au cours de l’échange. Dans le même temps, dans cette perspective, les unités linguistiques détiennent un rôle dans l’accomplissement de ces activités. Une analyse séquentielle de ces configurations syntaxiques illustre comment, à la suite du segment [il y a SN] et en fonction des activités en cours, les participants de l’échange s’orientent vers la poursuite du tour de parole du locuteur avec une proposition relative, comme pour la présentative clivée, ou en entrant dans une séquence conversationnelle plus large, comme la construction d’une liste. La fin du segment [il y a SN] se révèle être un emplacement séquentiel dans lequel les autres participants de l’échange peuvent commenter le discours en cours, proposer des ajouts – des expansions ou des complétions – ou un simple continuateur, montrant ainsi qu’ils s’orientent eux aussi vers la réalisation de cette séquence conversationnelle. Tout en permettant au locuteur de prolonger son tour de parole en projetant la réalisation d’une unité de construction de tour composée (Lerner, 1991, 1996), le segment [il y a SN], en fonction de l’activité en cours et de son contour prosodique, peut participe à des initiations de clôture de séquence. Notre analyse porte sur des interactions entre adultes et entre adultes et enfants présentant ou non un trouble spécifique du développement du langage (Leonard, 2000). L’étude de ces interactions souligne la nature collaborative du langage au travers de l’étayage que peut proposer l’adulte à l’enfant (Bruner, 1983) et apporte un autre regard sur le déploiement de ces configurations syntaxiques dans l’alternance des tours de parole. / The purpose of this research is to study syntactic configurations implying the presentational il y a ‘there is’. One of these configurations, the presentational ya-cleft construction (il y a un cygne qu'a mordu les fesses à mon grand papa\ literally 'there's a swan which bit my grandfather in the buttock\') is well documented (Lambrecht, 1988, 2001a). The ya-clause can nevertheless be embedded in a broad range of configurations. Most of their descriptions rely on syntax, semantics or information structure (Cappeau, Deulofeu, 2001, Berrendonner, 2003) but little has been said about them in interaction. Interactional Linguistics (Ochs et al., 1996; Ono & Thompson, 1996; Helasvuo, 2004) views grammar and linguistic structures as shaped step-by-step throughout the turn exchange and the actions interactants are accomplishing. In the same manner, this approach considers syntactic constructions as a resource for the accomplishment of these actions through interaction. A sequential analysis of these configurations illustrates how interactants, depending on the ongoing activities they accomplish, orient themselves toward the realization of a one ya-clause construction, a list-construction, a presentational ya-cleft construction or a broader sequence. The end of the ya-clause is a sequential location in which other interactants can collaboratively participate to the shaping of these configurations producing continuers, completions or expansions. The ya-clause, with a specific prosodic marking, allows for the expansion of the speaker's turn at talk, projecting the final part of a compound TCU (cf. Lerner, 1991, 1996) or it may initiate a closing sequence.Our analyses focuses on interactions between adults and between adults and children, with or without SLI (Leonard, 2000). The study of children's data underlines the collaborative nature of language production through the scaffolding (Bruner, 1983) adults propose to children and brings a distinct look to these syntactic configurations. In the same time, this type of analysis unables the observation of how children with impaired language deploy their productions through interaction.