Word processing at 19 months and its relation to language performance at 30 months: A retrospective analysis of data from German learning children

Abstract

Word processing at 19 months and its relation to language performance at 30 months: A retrospective analysis of data from German learning children U n i v e r s i t ä t P o t s d a m Abstract Recent research has shown that the early lexical representations children establish in their second year of life already seem to be phonologically detailed enough to allow differentiation from very similar forms. In contrast to these findings children with specific language impairment show problems in discriminating phonologically similar word forms up to school age. In our study we investigated the question whether there would be differences in the processing of phonological details in normally developing and in children with low language performance in the second year of life. This was done by a retrospective study in which in the processing of phonological details was tested by a preferential looking experiment when the children were 19 months old. At the age of 30 months children were tested with a standardized German test of language comprehension and production (SETK2). The preferential looking data at 19 months revealed an opposite reaction pattern for the two groups: while the children scoring normally in the SETK2 increase their fixations of a pictured object only when it was named with the correct word, children with later low language performance did so only when presented with a phonologically slightly deviant mispronunciation. We suggest that this pattern does not point to a specific deficit in processing phonological information in these children but might be related to an instability of early phonological representations, and/or a generalized problem of information processing as compared to typically developing children.

Discrimination of Rhythmic Pattern at 4 Months and Language Performance at 5 Years: A Longitudinal Analysis of Data From German‐Learning Children

“…To summarize, our findings add to the growing body of research that shows that measures of processing linguistic information obtained early in life correlates with later language development (Bernhardt, Kemp, & Werker, ; Fernald, Perfors, & Marchman, ; Höhle, van de Vijver, & Weissenborn, ). An early assessment of prosodic skills—which is one of the earliest perceptual abilities that can be tested in infants—may indicate children at risk for developing a language‐related impairment.…”

On the nature and cause of Specific Language Impairment: A view from sentence processing and infant research

“…In a second study from the GLAD project, Hö hle et al (2006) investigated the relationship between word processing at 19 months using the intermodal preferential looking paradigm and language performance at 30 months using a standardised test assessing comprehension and production (SETK2). This study included seventy one children from the GLAD study.…”

Identifying Early‐Risk Markers and Developmental Trajectories for Language Impairment in Neurodevelopmental Disorders

“…Two different measures of RAP ability at the early ages combined to predict about 38% of the variance in expressive LA at 16 months and were better predictors of language outcome than risk status. Among TD infants studies have found significant correlations between speech perception skills at 6 months and measures of language development collected across the second year of life, and toddlers with low language scores at 30 months showed atypical looking patterns to pictures paired with phonologically deviant (mispronounced) targets at 19 months [Tsao et al, ; Höhle et al, ]. Together, this body of work suggests that early auditory processing plays an important role in the acquisition of language: infants who have more difficulty with auditory processing show delayed language development, and infants at risk for SLI are more likely to demonstrate such difficulties.…”