Browsing by Author "Smedman, Nadja"

The continuum in child language development is a well-known phenomenon. Language skills consist of several different language domains that a child must learn/accomplish to become a fluent language user. Language acquisition is a complex process. It is still partly unknown how the different language domains develop in relation to each other and how they associate to later language skills. The purpose of this Master’s thesis is to find out the longitudinal associations between and predictive value of the mastery of lexicon and language structures of a 3 to 4 year old child and language skills at the age of five. The study aims to look at the connections between a child’s expressive and receptive lexicon and language structures (morphology, syntax and phonology) and later language skills. The sample of this study consisted of 92 children who participated in the LEINIKKI research project. Participants were healthy and typically developing children who acquired Finnish as their first language. The language skills at the age of 3 to 4 were assessed using the LEINIKKI method’s subscales that assess vocabulary, morphology, syntax and phonology and WPPSI-III subscales assessing expressive and receptive lexical skills. At the age of five language skills were assessed again using The Children’s Communication Checklist (CCC-2). The relationships between age 3- to 4-year-old and 5-year-old language proficiency were examined using correlation coefficients and regression models. The results of this study showed that there were several statistically significant and moderately strong correlations between the expressive lexical skills of a 3- to 4-year-old child and the language skills at five measured by both the LEINIKKI method and the WPPSI-III method. The association between toddlers’ receptive lexical skills and language skills at five was not significant. Several statistically significant and moderately strong associations were also found between the mastery of language structures of a 3- to 4-year-old child and the language proficiency at the age of five. The LEINIKKI method’s subscales that assessed morphology and syntax correlated with almost all aspects of language proficiency at the age of five and with the variable measuring overall language proficiency. The LEINIKKI method subscale, which measures speech clarity and sound system, correlated with five-year-old speech clarity and overall language proficiency. Both the lexicon and language structures of the 3- to 4-year-old child significantly explained language proficiency at the age of five years. The best models for explaining later language proficiency included variables of both 3-4-year-old lexicon and language structure variables and explained about 30 % of the language proficiency at the age of five years. Based on the results of this study, attention should be paid to the mastery of both lexicon and grammar in the assessment of a 3- to 4-year-old child's language skills.