Influence of Context on the Production of Complex Sentences by Typically Developing Children

Purpose: 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. Method: 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. Results: 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. Conclusions: 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.