Influence of context on the production of complex sentences by typically developing children

This study was designed to identify types of complex-sentence meanings (i.e., content) produced in selected elicitation contexts by typically developing children within 3 different age groups. The research was motivated by the need for additional evidence-based assessments and interventions for children with language disorders.

Participants included 3 groups of typically developing children, mean ages 2;8 (years;months; Cohort 1), 3;4 (Cohort 2), and 4;7 (Cohort 3). Four elicitation contexts distinguished on the basis of degree of spontaneity and the potential for eliciting complex sentences were used: free-play, script-play, elicited description, and story retelling. Tasks within these contexts were presented to each child over two 1-hr sessions.

Significant differences were found among the cohorts for proportion of complex-sentence productions overall, across contexts, and across content categories. Significant relationships were found between content and contexts and between adult model and content of the child's following utterance.

Findings suggest that children's complex-sentence production changes with development and is sensitive to features of linguistic and nonlinguistic contexts. These data provide evidence for the types of complex-sentence content that may be expected in specified contexts, thus serving as a basis for planning assessment and intervention for children with language disorders.