Use of Nonmainstream Features Across Contexts and Grades Among School-Age Students With and Without Developmental...

Language ability measures do not account for complex use of non-mainstream American English (NMAE) features. We examined the impact of conversational context and grade on the use of NMAE features in elementary school, both with developmental language disorder (DLD) and in typical-language peers (TL).

Students in kindergarten and first and second grades who speak African American English (AAE; N = 69) completed a language ability measure and story-retell and conversational tasks. Samples were coded, marking 40 NMAE features of AAE. A generalized linear mixed model examined predictive effects of grade, conversational context, and DLD status.

The predicted probability of producing NMAE features was significantly higher for children with DLD compared to those in the TL group. The difference across conversational contexts was similar for TL and DLD children, but children with DLD use NMAE features at a higher rate. While there is no difference overall across grades, kindergarteners with DLD produce NMAE features more often than those in first and second grades. This may reflect high usage of NMAE features among kindergarteners with DLD in the story-retell task.

Differences across the contexts demonstrate the importance in considering conversational contexts in clinical practice. NMAE features do not suggest risk for language disorders, but understanding differences in the likelihood of producing an utterance with an NMAE feature in those with different language abilities has important implications and can inform the development of accurate assessments in students who speak AAE.