ERIC Number: EJ1261289
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Jul
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0161-1461
EISSN: N/A
Sampling Utterances and Grammatical Analysis Revised (SUGAR): Quantitative Values for Language Sample Analysis Measures in 7- to 11-Year-Old Children
Owens, Robert E.; Pavelko, Stacey L.
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, v51 n3 p734-744 Jul 2020
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to document whether mean length of utterance[subscript SUGAR] (MLU[subscript S]), total number of words (TNW), clauses per sentence (CPS), and/or words per sentence (WPS) demonstrated age-related changes in children with typically developing language, aged 7;0-10;11 (years;months). Method: Participants were 132 typically developing children (aged 7;0-10;11), with a final sample size of 112 participants (57 boys and 55 girls). Fifty utterance conversational language samples were collected using a language sampling protocol. Four language sample analysis metrics (i.e., MLU[subscript S], TNW, CPS, and WPS) were calculated from the samples. Results: Results indicated statistically significant age-related increases in three (MLU[subscript S], TNW, and WPS) of the four metrics. Conclusions: MLU[subscript S], TNW, CPS, and WPS may be used with other assessment data to document age-related language changes in children aged 7;0-10;11. When combined with previous data from younger (aged 3;0-7;11) children (Pavelko & Owens, 2017), the data suggest that these metrics offer a set of measures that can be used to assess children's conversational language skills from preschool through late elementary school.
Descriptors: Elementary School Students, Sentences, Grammar, Language Usage, Sampling, Child Language, Language Tests, Diagnostic Tests, Speech Language Pathology, Expressive Language, Morphemes
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
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A