A closer look at MLU: What does it really measure?

DeThorne, Laura S.; Johnson, Bonnie; Loeb, Jane W.

doi:10.1080/02699200410001716165

Cited by 54 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…A number of studies have highlighted that language-sample measures correlate more strongly with each other than with standardized tests and that standardized tests across multiple domains tend to correlate with each other (cf. Condouris et al, 2003;DeThorne, Johnson, & Loeb, 2005;DeThorne & Watkins, 2006;Ukrainetz & Blomquist, 2002). Of course, from a psychometric standpoint, influences other than the construct of interest are often chalked up to "error"; however, it is interesting to consider just how much the concept of error applies when findings are stable both within forms of assessment (e.g., productive-language sample, standardized tests) and across measurement time points.…”

Section: Interpreting the Differing Etiologies Of The Two Language Famentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Effects on Early Adolescent Language: A Twin Study

Harlaar

DeThorne

Mahurin-Smith

et al. 2016

J Speech Lang Hear Res

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Purpose We evaluated genetic and environmental contributions to individual differences in language skills during early adolescence, measured by both language sampling and standardized tests, and examined the extent to which these genetic and environmental effects are stable across time. Method We used structural equation modeling on latent factors to estimate additive genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental effects on variance in standardized language skills (i.e., Formal Language) and productive language-sample measures (i.e., Productive Language) in a sample of 527 twins across 3 time points (mean ages 10–12 years). Results Individual differences in the Formal Language factor were influenced primarily by genetic factors at each age, whereas individual differences in the Productive Language factor were primarily due to nonshared environmental influences. For the Formal Language factor, the stability of genetic effects was high across all 3 time points. For the Productive Language factor, nonshared environmental effects showed low but statistically significant stability across adjacent time points. Conclusions The etiology of language outcomes may differ substantially depending on assessment context. In addition, the potential mechanisms for nonshared environmental influences on language development warrant further investigation.

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Section: Interpreting the Differing Etiologies Of The Two Language Famentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal Effects on Early Adolescent Language: A Twin Study

Harlaar

DeThorne

Mahurin-Smith

et al. 2016

J Speech Lang Hear Res

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“…NTW reflects volubility and overall verbal proficiency, and is highly correlated with utterance length and NDW (DeThorne, Johnson, & Loeb, 2005). In a comparison of the utility of automated analyses within the HV5 data, NTW was the single best predictor of overall narrative skill (Mahurin Smith & DeThorne, 2008).…”

Section: Number Of Different Words/number Of Total Words (Ndw/ntw)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of Prematurity on Language Skills at School Age

Mahurin-Smith

DeThorne

Logan

et al. 2014

J Speech Lang Hear Res

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This study compared school-age outcomes for 57 children born prematurely, at ≤32 weeks or <1500g, with outcomes for 57 children born at full term with no reported perinatal complications. The two groups were matched for age, sex, race, and parental education. Data came from the Western Reserve Reading Project and included discourse-level language samples collected at three points in time, each a year apart. In addition, standardized test results were obtained for IQ, digit span, and global language ability. The language samples were analyzed to yield a number of semantic and syntactic measures which were condensed via factor analysis to a semantic score and a syntactic score. Regression models showed statistically significant differences between the two groups for standardized test results, with more ambiguous results for the discourse-level language measures. The control group outperformed the premature group on both semantic and syntactic measures, but those differences never reached statistical significance and narrowed markedly at the third-year assessment point. These findings suggest that in the absence of frank neurological impairment, sophisticated semantic and syntactic skills may be relatively intact in the conversational and narrative language of children born prematurely. The decrements observed on standardized assessments of language and cognition may arise from deficits in domains such as attention or executive function, rather than reflecting significant impairment in their ability to learn language.

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“…MLU-w is considered a reliable measure of language acquisition, as well as a good marker to identify speech-language pathology 26,27 . Some authors recognize a strong correlation between this measure and the semantic and morphosyntactic competences of children with typical development 28 .…”

Section: Mean Length Of Utterancementioning

confidence: 99%

Spontaneous language of preterm children aged 4 and 5 years

2017

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Purposes: to evaluate spontaneous language development through the Mean Length of Utterance in words (MLU-w) of children with gestational age between 28 and 36 weeks. This research also aims to study if the gestational age, birth weight, gender, and parents' level of formal education can influence that measurement. Methods: nineteen premature children (9 males, 10 females), in the age range 4-5 years old, enrolled on Lisbon area kindergartens, and considered as having typical development, participated in this research. Spontaneous speech of each child was recorded for 30 minutes and transcribed afterwards. Results: mean values of MLU-w of Portuguese premature children were significantly lower than those with typical development. A positive and significant correlation between the gestational age and the birth weight with the MLU-w was also found. The gender of the children and the parents' level of formal education showed no influence on the results. Conclusion: these results reinforce the need to identify, on these children, possible deficits, in order to prevent negative impacts in school education, and stimulate their psychosocial development.

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A closer look at MLU: What does it really measure?

Cited by 54 publications

References 30 publications

Longitudinal Effects on Early Adolescent Language: A Twin Study

Longitudinal Effects on Early Adolescent Language: A Twin Study

Impact of Prematurity on Language Skills at School Age

Spontaneous language of preterm children aged 4 and 5 years

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