Event Perception in children with language difficulties
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Event Perception in children with language difficulties
IRAS ID
170022
Contact name
Abigail Levin
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
City University London
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 3 months, 16 days
Research summary
Background
This project will study the way in which children with language difficulties interpret, and organise events (event perception). Language difficulties can develop in the way a child uses language, e.g. forming words and sentences, but also in a child's understanding of language.Children’s understanding of events is of particular interest because verbs (i.e. words that describe events and actions) are often more difficult for children to learn. This is found in typical language development (Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff, 2006), but even more so for children with language difficulties (Windfuhr et al 2002).
Previous research on typically developing children aged 2-5 suggests that event perception is a skill that develops with age (Links 2014). When shown videos of different actions, and asked to choose which events best matched, older children tended to outperform younger children, being less likely to make errors when faced with a choice of very similar events, e.g. peeling versus slicing. This suggests that event perception skills refine with age, with 3-4 being a critical time period.
The study will use the same type of test. Children aged 2-5 with language difficulties will be asked to choose which actions are most like each other. Data gathered from the children with language difficulties will then be compared to the existing data from typically developing children. If children with language difficulties perform comparatively worse than their typically developing peers then we may have new information to suggest why these children are experiencing difficulties learning language.
References
Hirsh-Pasek, K., Golinkoff, R.M. & Oxford Scholarship Online Psychology 2006, Action meets word: how children learn verbs, Oxford University Press, New York; OxfordLinks (2014, MSc Dissertation. City University)
Windfuhr, K., Faragher, B. and Conti-Ramsden, G. (2002) Lexical learning skills in young children with specific language impairment (SLI). International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. Vol 37, number 4, pp 415-432
REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/SC/0322
Date of REC Opinion
1 Jun 2015
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion