ERIC Number: EJ1466637
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Apr
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-7237
EISSN: EISSN-1740-2344
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Linguistic Organisation and Coherence in Personal Narratives of 10-Year-Old Children with Developmental Language Disorder
Mateja Gabaj1; Jelena Kuvac Kraljevic1; Marleen F. Westerveld2
First Language, v45 n2 p128-151 2025
This study aims to investigate the linguistic organisation and coherence of personal narratives among children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) to provide insight into their communication skills in everyday contexts. A cohort of 10-year-old Croatian-speaking children diagnosed with DLD (n = 50, M = 10;8) and their gender-matched typically developing peers (TLD; n = 50, M = 10;2) participated in the study. All participants were asked to produce personal narratives in response to the Global TALES protocol, a standard protocol in which the child is asked to tell personal stories in response to six emotion- and situation-based prompts. Their responses were analysed at micro- and macro-structure levels on measures of vocabulary, grammar, productivity and coherence. Findings indicate that children with DLD have difficulties in both grammatical aspects of narrative production (complexity and accuracy) and the formation of coherent personal narratives, characterised by difficulties in creating chronologically organised and thematically elaborated narratives. Moreover, narrative measures, particularly those pertaining to grammar, demonstrate sensitivity in accurately predicting group membership, distinguishing between children with DLD and their TLD peers.
Descriptors: Native Language, Language Acquisition, Developmental Delays, Language Impairments, Personal Narratives, Connected Discourse, Communication Skills, Serbocroatian, Children, Measurement Techniques, Speech Communication, Cues, Vocabulary Skills, Grammar, Accuracy, Comparative Analysis, Intelligence Tests, Vocabulary, Verbal Ability, Foreign Countries, Nonverbal Ability, Speech Therapy, Speech Language Pathology, Language Tests, Standardized Tests, Family Income, Family Characteristics, Educational Attainment, Gender Differences, Age Differences, Urban Areas
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Croatia
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1University of Zagreb, Croatia; 2Griffith University, Australia