The overall goal of the proposed study is to develop a culturally and linguistically appropriate measure of children's word-learning ability that can be used for a range of assessment purposes. The proposed project will refine a previously developed expressive word learning tool using dynamic assessment of quick incidental learning and evaluate the tool's diagnostic accuracy. The project will also evaluate the linguistic and environmental factors that influence performance on vocabulary and word-learning measures. Accurate assessment of vocabulary skills is vital but also complex. Clinicians often use standard static vocabulary assessments as a measure of lexical acquisition despite the growing body of evidence that has shown that scores on standard static vocabulary assessments correlate with variables other than semantic knowledge including maternal education and socioeconomic status. Because static assessment tools measure experience dependent knowledge, children from nonmainstream backgrounds, whose experience may differ from test expectations, are at particular risk for begin misidentified as having language disabilities even if they have intact language-learning mechanisms. Thus, a gap exists in our ability to appropriately assess word-learning abilities in all populations. To address this gap, this study will evaluate whether a dynamic assessment of word-learning ability is a better reflection of vocabulary potential than traditional static measures for children from high-risk backgrounds.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Type
Individual Predoctoral NRSA for M.D./Ph.D. Fellowships (ADAMHA) (F30)
Project #
5F30DC005884-04
Application #
7048543
Study Section
Communication Disorders Review Committee (CDRC)
Program Officer
Sklare, Dan
Project Start
2003-05-01
Project End
2008-04-30
Budget Start
2006-05-01
Budget End
2007-04-30
Support Year
4
Fiscal Year
2006
Total Cost
$38,413
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Department
Other Health Professions
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
041544081
City
Champaign
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
61820
Burton, Vera Joanna; Watkins, Ruth V (2007) Measuring word learning: dynamic versus static assessment of kindergarten vocabulary. J Commun Disord 40:335-56