Language Developmen,Assessment, age 4 years old

Language Sample Instructions
SE 455
4 year old child

(a) Sample #2 should be a 50-utterance sample of typical language of a young child between the ages of 36 months and 60 months who has, or is suspected to have, delay in language development.

The sample may be either audio or video recorded. Recordings will not be turned in with the assignment, but they will be necessary to facilitate your interaction with the child during the sample collection and your transcription of the sample.

2. Develop the informal language assessment following instructions provided.

3. Collect the sample, recording at least 50 utterances.

4. Transcribe and analyze the samples following the instructions provided in the Informal Language Assessment. provided by the instructor. Selectively transcribe means write down the child’s utterances and behaviors you observe that illustrate specific language characteristics. This will be submitted with your report.

5. Submit the language assessment document, the transcript in an electronic format with your informal language assessment and processed report which will include:

(a) A description of the child, including age in months and brief background information;
(b) A description of the sample collection procedure (where, what time, persons present, child behavior/cooperation, etc), activities, etc.;
(c) A summary of the language analysis in narrative form;
(d) Your conclusion regarding the language development status of the child, based on your observations of characteristics of phonology, morphology, syntax and pragmatics observed during your meetings with the child. Give examples of language behaviors you observed indicating those characteristics. In other words, is the child’s language developing typical, delayed, or advanced? Why do your believe this?
(e) A transcribed copy of the child’s utterances and behaviors you observe that illustrate specific language characteristics.
Privacy of individuals must be protected. Do not include the child’s last name or birth date in your report. Permission for participation form is provided for your protection.

Adapted from: Cook, Klein & Chen (2012), 280-281

Pragmatics Phonology Grammar, Morphology, Syntax Semantics
36-48 Use of language for social control develops; whispers; tells name; “explains” what happened; asks questions; sustains a topic in conversation; adjusts speech depending on the listener (e.g. younger child, adult, teacher); role play develops; metalinguistic awareness; uses smiles and gestures to indicate purpose of speech (e. g. teasing, sarcasm, etc.) All vowels correct; most consonants accurate, but articulation errors on /l/, /r/, /s/, /z/,/sh/, /ch/, /j/, /th/ still within normal range; prosody similar to adults; enjoys extremes (yells, whispers, etc.) Expands noun phrases with tense, gender and number; conjugates “to be” correctly according to culture; uses pronouns, adjectives, plurals; near age 4 begins using longer more complex sentences; begins to interrelate clauses with connectives (and, because, when, then, etc.) Rapid vocabulary growth; actively seeks new words; likes to experiment with language, making “charming” mistakes; vocabulary near 1,000 words (varies with experiences)
48-50 Seeks information constantly; “why” is a frequently used word; becomes aware of behaviors listeners attend to; begins to understand relevance Begins to use stress and contours and pitch changes purposefully; articulation errors still common, but decreasing; nonfluency (stammer, stutter) not unusual; blends are still difficult Uses comparatives (e.g. big, bigger, biggest); uses all sentence types; grammar approximates adults in the home and school environment and culture Vocabulary continues to increase, many knowing 2,000 or more words (varies widely with experiences
Textbook Tools Required text:
Otto, B. W. (2014). Language development in early childhood, 3th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Chapters 4, 6, 8 and 10 contain descriptions of language development in each language component/aspect. As you read these chapters, note certain characteristics typically noted in each aspect for each age range. Create your own list of “milestones” for each age range, and compare the language sample to these milestones.

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Web Resources
Dr. Carololine Bowen has a great Website with many resources. Here are links to a few.
Ages & Stages-a chart of milestones at specific age ranges
Brown’s Stages-a chart based on the research of Roger Brown. Brown’s stages of language development are based on morphology and syntax and are a traditional reference for language development level.
Required text:
Otto, B. W. (2014). Language development in early childhood, 3th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.