Verbal retelling abilities in adolescents with and without language-learning disabilities for social studies lectures

Verbal retelling abilities for social studies lectures were examined and compared in 20 adolescent boys, ages 12-5 to 14-7, with language-learning disabilities (LLD) and 29 with normal language abilities (NL). Participants viewed one videotaped social studies lecture with a comparison expository discourse structure and one with a causation discourse structure. Following each lecture presentation, participants verbally retold the lecture. Results of several repeated-measures analyses of variance indicated that the group with LLD produced a significantly smaller number of T-units, subordinate clauses, subordinate clauses per T-unit, T-units per second, lecture components per second, and percentage of lecture components in their retellings, compared with the group with NL, regardless of lecture type. Both groups produced a significantly greater number of T-units and subordinate clauses for the comparison lecture. By contrast, both groups recalled a significantly greater number of lecture components per T-unit and per second for the causation lecture. Results indicated that the comparison discourse structure facilitated more substantive and elaborate retellings, whereas the causation discourse structure facilitated more efficient, concise retellings in both groups. Research and instructional implications are discussed.