Comparing the Language Development of Native and Foreign Born Children Julie Endvick, Stacy Heath, Jennifer Mick, Student Researchers Marie Stadler Ph.D, Faculty Advisor Communication Sciences and Disorders University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 Average Number of Morphemes per Utterance Mean Length of Utterance Ivy Luke Evan 27.5 months 32 months 36.5 months 27.5 months 32 months 36.5 months 27.5 months 32 months 36.5 months Type Token Ratio 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 Number of Words per 50 Utterances Total Number of Words Ivy Luke Evan 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Number of Words per 50 Utterances Total Number of Different Words Ivy Luke Evan Participants Ivy: Born to English speaking parents •Lives with mother and father Luke: Born to English speaking parents •Lives with mother and father Evan: Adopted from Ethiopia at 22 months •No exposure to English pre-adoption •Started speech therapy at 29 months •Lives with mother, father, & older sister The researchers would like to thank the participants and their families for taking part in this study. Methods •Pre-tested at 26 months •Post-tested at 36 months •The Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale •MacArthur-Bates Communicative Inventories •Language samples collected at 27.5, 29, 32, 33, 35, 36.5 months of age •Semantics TTR and semantic roles •Syntax Mean Length of Utterance •Pragmatics Primitive and Conversational Acts 27.5 m 32 m. 36.5 m. 27.5 m. 32 m. 36.5 m. 27.5 m. 32 m. 36.5 m. Percent of Semantically Coded Utterances Single-term vs. Multi-term 18% 23% 60% 81% 76% 40% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Evan Multi Single 50% 79% 92% 50% 21% 8% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Ivy Multi Single 21% 61% 75% 79% 39% 25% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Luke Multi Single Retherford, K. S. (2000). Guide to Analysis of Language Transcripts (3rd ed.). Eau Claire, Wisconsin: Thinking Publications. 26 mo. 36 mo. 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Mean Language Expression Age The Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale Ivy Luke Evan 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 Percentage of Words Produced MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories Ivy Luke Evan 26 mo. 36 mo. Pre- and Post-Testing Fenson, L., Marchman, V. A., Thal, D. J., Dale, P. S., Reznick, J. S. & Bates, E. (2007). MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (2nd ed.). Baltimore, Maryland: Brookes Publishing Co. Rossetti, L. (2005). The Rossetti Infant-Toddler Language Scale. East Moline, Illinois: LinguiSystems, Inc. Research Questions •What are the differences and/or similarities in the development of semantics for native and foreign born toddlers? •What are the differences and similarities in the development of syntax for native and foreign born toddlers? •What are the differences and/or similarities in the development of pragmatics for native and foreign born toddlers? Conclusions •Although delayed compared to Ivy and Luke, Evan’s semantic and syntactic development increased at a similar rate. •Ivy and Luke explored a variety of pragmatic speech acts early on, while Evan increased his variety of pragmatic acts with age. Developmental data is limited and contingent on contextual variables such as people and toys in the environment. •Ivy: consistent use of pragmatic acts •Luke: consistent use of pragmatic acts with an increase in initiations •Evan: expanded use of a greater variety of pragmatic acts Pragmatics