Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Behavioral Assessment of Hearing in 2 to 4 Year-old Children: A Two-interval, Observer-based Procedure Using Conditioned Play-based Responses
Published on: January 23, 2017
[Stability of phoneme discrimination in preschool children]
M Ptok1, B Büssing, C Schwemmle
1Klinik und Poliklinik für Phoniatrie und Pädaudiologie, MH-Hannover. Martin.Ptok@MH-Hannover.de
Background:
Several tests have been developed to probe phoneme discrimination. However, little is known about the stability of discrimination abilities in preschool children. We investigated the test-retest reliability of a newly developed test material.
Methods:
In a prospective study, 30 preschool children (5.1-6.3 years old) were tested with a time lag between test 1 and test 2 of 1 month. Correlational analysis was carried out using 60 minimal pairs consisting of real words and nonsense syllables. The choice of items took into consideration their frequency in the basic vocabulary as well as phoneme properties such as contrast and position.
Results:
High Cronbach's alpha were found for all subscales. For the whole item list, Cronbach's alpha was 0.994. No significant gender specific differences were found.
Discussion:
These data indicate a high stability of phoneme discrimination abilities in preschool children. Based on these results, the test material can be reliably used to evaluate therapeutic strategies to improve discrimination ability.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
01:24Pole and System Stability
Simple poles are unique roots of the denominator polynomial. Each simple pole corresponds to a distinct solution to the system's characteristic equation, typically resulting in exponential decay terms in the system's response.