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Malay-speaking children with DLD tell stories differently to children with typical language


 

Citation

Mazlan, I. R., Hassnan, N. M., & Ahmad Rusli, Y. (2024). A comparison of narrative abilities in Malay school-age typically developing children and children with developmental language disorder. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699206.2024.2359462

 

Aim of the paper

·       There has not been much research carried out with Malay-speaking children.

·       This study looked at storytelling in 15 Malay-speaking children with and 15 without developmental language disorder (DLD). It compared the children’s story telling, re-telling, and their understanding of stories.

·       The researchers measured the complexity of children’s stories. They also looked at how children used words and sentences.

·       This is important because storytelling is part of children’s social life and school life. Storytelling can also help us to understand their language abilities.

 

What was found

·       Typically-developing children found storytelling and story understanding easier than those with DLD.

·       Children with DLD separated the ‘goals,’ ‘attempts’ and ‘outcomes’ parts of their stories. Children with typical language combined these more often.

·       Those with DLD used fewer words and sentences. This meant their stories were usually shorter than typically-developing children’s.

 

What does this mean?

·       Children’s development of storytelling skills follows stages. As their brains develop, children tell more detailed stories. This means they can have more complex conversations. Children with DLD, however, sometimes struggle to communicate effectively. This research shows this could be because they don’t make as many connections between parts of their stories. Difficulty communicating could also come from them using fewer words and sentences.

·       This information is important for speech therapists in Malaysia, who can use this to recognise and help children with DLD. For example, children with DLD might need extra help with linking the goals and outcomes in a story. This could then allow them to communicate more easily in everyday conversations.

·       It is important to research different languages, to understand the best way to help people with DLD around the world. But, when we know less about a certain group, it is important that research participants represent that group as best as possible. Thirty participants is a small sample size. Future studies should use more participants to better represent the population. More research is also needed that looks at children who speak more than one language.

 

Where can I read this paper?

Depending on if you are part of an institution which has access, you can read or buy this paper by following this link: https://doi.org/10.1080/02699206.2024.2359462 

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