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ERIC Number: EJ1391825
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Apr
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0161-1461
EISSN: EISSN-1558-9129
Do Second Graders Adjust Their Language by Discourse Context?
Minkyung Cho; Young-Suk Grace Kim
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, v54 n2 p569-583 Apr 2023
Purpose: Children's ability to adjust one's language according to discourse context is important for success in academic settings. This study examined whether second graders vary in linguistic and discourse features depending on discourse contexts, that is, when describing pictures in contextualized (describing the picture to an examiner while looking at it together) and decontextualized (pretending to describe the picture to a friend while sitting in front of the examiner) conditions. Method: A total of 330 English-speaking second graders in the United States (M[subscript age] = 7.33 years; 53% boys; 55% Caucasian children, 35% African American children) described three pictures in contextualized and decontextualized conditions. Children's picture descriptions were transcribed verbatim and coded for linguistic (e.g., elaborated noun phrase) and discourse (e.g., proper character introduction, degree of decontextualization) features. Results: Type-token ratio was higher in the contextualized condition than in the decontextualized condition, whereas certain types of elaborated noun phrases (e.g., simple descriptive noun phrase, noun phrase with postmodification), coordinating conjunctions, and nonclauses occurred more frequently in the decontextualized condition, controlling for total productivity and student demographics. The proportion of proper character introduction was higher in the decontextualized condition, whereas higher degrees of decontextualization and complex perspective-taking were found in the contextualized condition. Conclusion: Various linguistic and discourse cues illustrated the extent to which primary grade students employ their discourse knowledge when producing oral language. [For the corresponding grantee submission, see ED626814.]
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: lshss@asha.org; Web site: http://lshss.pubs.asha.org
Related Records: ED626814
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Early Childhood Education; Grade 2; Primary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED); Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A200312; R305A130131; R305A180055; P50HD052120