Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 26, 2026

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
Published on: June 30, 2020
Identifying the Dimensionality of Oral Language Skills of Children With Typical Development in Preschool Through
Christopher J Lonigan1, Trelani F Milburn2
1Department of Psychology and The Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, Tallahassee.
Purpose:
Language is a multidimensional construct from prior to the beginning of formal schooling to near the end of elementary school. The primary goals of this study were to identify the dimensionality of language and to determine whether this dimensionality was consistent in children with typical language development from preschool through 5th grade.
Method:
In a large sample of 1,895 children, confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with 19-20 measures of language intended to represent 6 factors, including domains of vocabulary and syntax/grammar across modalities of expressive and receptive language, listening comprehension, and vocabulary depth.
Results:
A 2-factor model with separate, highly correlated vocabulary and syntax factors provided the best fit to the data, and this model of language dimensionality was consistent from preschool through 5th grade.
Conclusion:
This study found that there are fewer dimensions than are often suggested or represented by the myriad subtests in commonly used standardized tests of language. The identified 2-dimensional (vocabulary and syntax) model of language has significant implications for the conceptualization and measurement of the language skills of children in the age range from preschool to 5th grade, including the study of typical and atypical language development, the study of the developmental and educational influences of language, and classification and intervention in clinical practice.
Supplemental Materials:
https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.5154220.
Related Concept Videos
Language 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...
Introduction to Developmental Psychology
Three Developmental Domains
Physical Development
Physical processes, also known as maturation, encompass the biological changes that occur across an individual's life. These changes begin with genetic inheritance and continue through various stages, including growth in height and weight,...
Language and Cognition
Learning Disabilities
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a...
Components of Language

