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The linguistic maturity of 11-year-olds: some analysis of the written compositions of children in the National Child Development Study*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2008

K. Richardson ,
M. Calnan ,
J. Essen  and
L. Lambert
K. Richardson
Affiliation:
National Children's Bureau, London
M. Calnan
Affiliation:
National Children's Bureau, London
J. Essen
Affiliation:
National Children's Bureau, London
L. Lambert
Affiliation:
National Children's Bureau, London
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Abstract

The written compositions of 11-year-olds in the National Child Development Study were analysed using the T-unit length (Hunt 1965) as a measure of syntactic maturity, and composition length as a measure of productivity. Only a weak association was found between mean T-unit length (MTUL) and composition length. There were no statistically significant regional differences in either composition length or MTUL. There were statistically significant sex and social class differences in composition length but not in MTUL. Composition length was associated with Reading Comprehension, General Ability test scores, and teachers' ratings of certain scholastic aptitudes. MTUL was associated only slightly or not at all with these measures. The results are discussed in relation to cognitive and linguistic development.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 3 , Issue 1 , February 1976 , pp. 99 - 115
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1976

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Footnotes

*

We are grateful to Harvey Goldstein for carrying Out the statistical analyses and for preparing the Appendix.

We would like to thank Dr Harold Rosen of the University of London Institute of Education, who first brought our attention to the index of linguistic maturity adopted in this study, and who has provided valuable suggestions regarding its use. We thank other members of staff of the National Children's Bureau for useful comments and criticism. This research was financed by grants from the DHSS, DES and SSRC which are gratefully acknowledged.

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