Search results for "Language test"
showing 10 items of 51 documents
Comparing speaking situations in three different language tests
2013
The purpose of this study was to compare learner outcome when five similar speaking situations were offered in the speaking subtest in Finnish, Swedish and English intermediate level tests in the Finnish National Certificates language testing system. The overall aim was to investigate the tasks by comparing learner outcomes across the three tests and to seek explanations for the outcome in the learners’ selfreported demographic, language, educational and professional background.The speaking situations were selected from the NC item bank meaning that they have undergone the Item Response Theory based analyses which indicate that the tasks function well in all tests. More information was need…
On-line assessment of comprehension processes
2009
In this paper we describe a new version of a former paper-and-pencil standardized comprehension test called Test of Comprehension Processes (Vidal-Abarca, Gilabert, Martínez, & Sellés, 2007). The new version has been adapted to a computer-based environment based on the moving window technique. It can be used to assess comprehension strategies of students from fifth to tenth grades (11 to 16 years old). Comprehension strategies are registered on-line using reading times and visits to relevant sections of the text during the question-answering process. Data show that the computerbased version draws similar results to those provided by the paper-and-pencil version. In addition, we identify the…
Reading development subtypes and their early characteristics.
2007
The present findings are drawn from the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia (JLD), in which approximately 100 children with familial risk of dyslexia and 100 control children have been followed from birth. In this paper we report data on the reading development of the JLD children and their classmates, a total of 1,750 children from four measurement points during the first two school years. In the total sample, we examined whether heterogeneous developmental paths can be identified based on profiles of word recognition and reading comprehension. Secondly, we studied what kind of early language and literacy skill profiles and reading experiences characterize the children with differing …
Rhythmic and textural musical sequences differently influence syntax and semantic processing in children.
2020
International audience; Effects of music on language processing have been reported separately for syntax and for semantics. Previous studies have shown that regular musical rhythms can facilitate syntax processing and that semantic features of musical excerpts can inZluence semantic processing of words. It remains unclear whether musical parameters, such as rhythm and sound texture, may speciZically inZluence different components of linguistic processing. In the current study, two types of musical sequences (one focusing on rhythm and the other focusing on sound texture) were presented to children who were requested to perform a syntax or a semantic task thereafter. The results revealed tha…
Developmental dissociation between visual and auditory repetition priming: The role of input lexicons
2000
Contrasting theories posit the source of verbal repetition priming in the activation of preexisting memory representations in the input lexicons or, alternatively, in the formation of new episodic memory traces. The two hypotheses predict different outcomes from the comparison of developmental rates of visual and auditory verbal repetition priming. The activation theory predicts a developmental dissociation between the early maturation of auditory priming and the later maturation of visuo-verbal priming, contingent upon the discrepant acquisition rates of the auditory and visual input lexicons. The episodic theory, instead, does not make such an assumption. We administered visual and audito…
Assessing Reading Skills with a Computer-aided Set of Tests Based on the Dual-route Theory of Reading
1993
Developmental trajectories of early communication skills.
2012
Purpose This study focused on developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills and their connections to later parent-reported language difficulties. Method The participants represent a subset of a community-based sample of 508 children. Data include parent reports of prelinguistic communication skills at 12, 15, 18, and 21 months and language difficulties at age 4;7 (years;months). The authors used latent profile analysis to identify groups of children with differing developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills ( n = 271). The relations among these groups and follow-up data of parent-reported concerns of language development ( n = 187), as well as the ro…
Children with differing developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills: language and working memory at age 5.
2014
Purpose In this article, the authors examine the developmental continuity from prelinguistic communication to kindergarten age in language and working memory capacity. Method Following work outlining 6 groups of children with different trajectories of early communication development (ECD; Määttä, Laakso, Tolvanen, Ahonen, & Aro, 2012), the authors examined their later development by psychometric assessment. Ninety-one children first assessed at ages 12–21 months completed a battery of language and working memory tests at age 5;3 (years;months). Results Two of the ECD groups previously identified as being at risk for language difficulties continued to show weaker performance at follow-u…
Perception of phonemic length and its relation to reading and spelling skills in children with family risk for dyslexia in the first three grades of …
2010
Purpose To examine the ability to discriminate phonemic length and the association of this ability with reading accuracy, reading speed, and spelling accuracy in Finnish children throughout Grades 1–3. Method Reading-disabled (RDFR, n = 35) and typically reading children (TRFR, n = 69) with family risk for dyslexia and typically reading control children (TRC, n = 80) were tested once in each grade of Grades 1–3 using a phonemic length discrimination task. Reading, spelling, IQ, verbal short-term memory, phonological memory, and naming speed were assessed. Results The RDFR group made more errors in phonemic length discrimination than the TRC group in Grades 2 and 3. After taking into accoun…
Comprehension of metaphors and idioms in patients with Alzheimer's disease - A longitudinal study
2001
Language in patients with Alzheimer's disease has been extensively studied, with the exception of non-literal language comprehension. However, in our speech, we often make use of expressions, which are not necessarily interpreted on a literal ground. Comprehension of metaphors and idioms was examined in 39 patients with probable early Alzheimer's disease. The results showed that the decline of figurative language is not an early symptom of dementia and can occur independently from the impairment of propositional language. It was also found that metaphors and idioms differ as far as the predominant kind of error is concerned.