Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-zlvph Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-15T14:25:08.387Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Examination of phonological working memory in specifically language-impaired children

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 March 2016

James W. Montgomery
James W. Montgomery*
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
*
Center for Development and Learning, CB#7255, BSRC, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The present study examined the phonological memory capacity, rate of articulation, phonological-encoding, and perceptual-processing abilities of 13 well-defined, specifically language-impaired (SLI) children and 13 younger, language-matched normal (NL) children. The results of a nonsense word repetition task showed that SLI children repeated significantly fewer multisyllabic nonsense words than their NL peers. However, SLI and NL children were found to have comparable articulation rates, even when producing the longest nonsense word stimuli. Both SLI and NL children showed sensitivity to the phonological similarity effect, indicating that SLI children had intact phonological-encoding abilities. The results of a nonsense word discrimination task revealed that SLI children had greater difficulty perceptually processing 4-syllable nonsense words. Taken together, these findings were interpreted to be consistent with Gathercole and Baddeley's (1990) claim that SLI children have reduced phonological storage capacity. However, the capacity deficit account may require revision to include the possibility that the phonological storage deficit of some SLI children may have a perceptual basis (i.e., difficulty with processes related to item identification).

Information

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 16 , Issue 4 , October 1995 , pp. 355 - 378
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

American National Standards Institute [ANSI]. (1973). American National Standards Specification for Audiometers(ANSI S3.6-1969, R1973). New York: Author.Google Scholar
Aram, D., & Nation, J. (1975). Patterns of language behavior in children with developmental disorders. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 18, 229–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baddeley, A. (1986). Working memory and comprehension. In Broadbent, D., McGaugh, J., Kosslyn, M., Mackintosh, N., Tulving, E., & Weiskrantz, L. (Eds.), Working memory. New York: University Press.Google Scholar
Bishop, D. V. M. (1989). Test of Reception of Grammar. Manchester: University of Manchester.Google Scholar
Brown, L., Sherbenou, R., & Johnsen, S. (1990). Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (2nd ed.). Austin, TX: PRO-ED.Google Scholar
Ceci, S., Ringstrom, M., & Lea, S. (1981). Do language learning disabled children have impaired memories? In search of underlying processes. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 14, 159–173.Google Scholar
Curtiss, S., & Tallal, P. (1991). On the nature of the impairment in language-impaired children. In Miller, J. (Ed.), Research on child language disorders: A decade of progress (pp. 189–210). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Google Scholar
Dempster, F. (1981). Memory span: Sources of individual and developmental differences. Psychological Bulletin, 89, 63–100.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dollaghan, C., Biber, M., & Campbell, T. (1993). Constituent syllable effects in a nonsense-word repetition task. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 36, 1051–1054.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dorman, M., Cutting, J., & Raphael, L. (1975). Perception of temporal order in vowel sequence with and without formant transitions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, Human Perception and Performance, 104, 121–129.Google Scholar
Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1981). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test- Revised. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
Dunn, L., Dunn, L., Whetton, C, & Pintillie, D. (1982). The British Picture Vocabulary Scales. Windsor: NFER-Nelson.Google Scholar
Elliott, L., & Hammer, M. (1988). Longitudinal changes in auditory discrimination in normal children and children with language-learning problems. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 53, 467–474.Google ScholarPubMed
Elliott, L., Hammer, M., & Scholl, M. (1989). Fine-grained auditory discrimination in normal children and children with language learning problems. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 32, 112–119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gathercole, S. (1990). Working memory and language development: How close is the link? Psychologist, 2, 57–60.Google Scholar
Gathercole, S., & Baddeley, A. (1990). Phonological memory deficits in language disordered children: Is there a causal connection? Journal of Memory and Language, 29, 336–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gathercole, S., Willis, C, Emslie, H., & Baddeley, A. (1991). The influences of number of syllables and wordlikeness on children's repetition of nonwords. Applied Psycholinguistics, 12, 349–367.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillam, R., Cowan, N., & Day, L. (1995). Sequential memory in children with and without language impairment. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 38, 393–402.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldman, R., & Fristoe, M. (1986). Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
Graham, N. (1980). Memory constraints in language deficiency. In Jones, F. (Ed.), Language disability in children (pp. 69–84). Baltimore, MD: University Press.Google Scholar
Henry, L., & Millar, S. (1991). Memory span increase with age: A test of two hypotheses. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 51, 459–484.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hitch, G., Halliday, M., & Littler, J. (1989). Item identification time and rehearsal rate as predictors of memory span in children. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 41A, 321–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hulme, C., Thomson, N., Muir, C. & Lawrence, A. (1984). Speech rate and the development of short-term span. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 38, 241–253.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huttenlocher, J., & Burke, D. (1976). Why does memory span improve with age? Cognitive Psychology, 8, 1–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, D., van Steenbrugge, W., & Chiveralls, K. (1994). Underlying deficits in language-disordered children with central auditory processing difficulties. Applied Psycholinguistics, 15, 311–328.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kail, R., Hale, C, Leonard, L., & Nippold, M. (1984). Lexical storage and retrieval in language impaired children. Applied Psycholinguistics, 5, 37–49.Google Scholar
Kail, R., & Leonard, L. (1986). Word finding abilities in language impaired children. ASHA Monographs, 25.Google Scholar
Kamhi, A., & Catts, H. (1986). Toward an understanding of developmental language and reading disorders. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 51, 337–347.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kamhi, A., Catts, H., Mauer, D., Apel, K., & Gentry, B. (1988). Phonological and spatial processing abilities in language- and reading-impaired children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 53, 316–327.Google Scholar
Kamhi, A., & Koenig, L. (1985). Metalinguistic awareness in normal and language-disordered children. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 16, 199–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kirchner, D., & Klatzky, R. (1985). Verbal rehearsal and memory in language disordered children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 28, 556–564.Google Scholar
Leonard, L., McGregor, K., & Allen, G. (1992). Grammatical morphology and speech perception in children with specific language impairment. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 35, 1076–1085.Google Scholar
Montgomery, J. W. (1995). Sentence comprehension in children with specific language impairment: The role of phonological working memory. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 38, 177–189.Google Scholar
Muma, J. (1993). The need for replication. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 36, 927–930.Google Scholar
Nittrouer, S., & Studdert-Kennedy, M. (1987). The role of coarticulatory effects in the perception of fricatives by children and adults. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 30, 319–329.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Raine, A., Hulme, C., Chadderton, H., & Bailey, P. (1991). Verbal short term memory span in speech disordered children: Implications for articulatory coding in short-term memory. Child Development, 62, 415–423.Google Scholar
Robbins, J., & Klee, T. (1987). Clinical assessment of oropharyngeal motor development in young children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 52, 271–277.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Semel, E., Wiig, E., & Secord, W. (1987). Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-Revised. San Antonio, TX: Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Shear, P., Tallal, P., & Delis, D. (1992). Verbal learning and memory in language-impaired children. Neuropsychologia, 30, 451–458.Google Scholar
Sinninger, Y., Klatzky, R., & Kirchner, D. (1989). Memory scanning speed in language disordered children. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 32, 289–298.Google Scholar
Snowling, M., Chiat, S., & Hulme, C. (1991). Words, non-words and phonological processes: Some comments, on Gathercole, Willis, and Baddeley. Applied Psycholinguistics, 12, 369–373.Google Scholar
Stark, R. E., & Montgomery, J. W. (1994). Rapid syllable production in specifically language impaired children. In Jordan, N. & Goldsmith-Phillips, J. (Eds.), Learning disabilities: new directions for assessment and intervention (pp. 110–121). Boston: Allyn and Bacon.Google Scholar
Sussman, J. (1993). Perception of formant transition cues to place of articulation in children with language impairments. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 36, 1286–1299.Google Scholar
Tallal, P., Stark, R., & Mellits, D. (1985). Identification of language-impaired children on the basis of rapid perception and production skills. Brain and Language, 25, 314–322.Google Scholar
van der Lely, H. K., & Howard, D. (1993). Children with specific language impairment: Linguistic impairment or short-term memory deficit? Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 36, 1193–1207.Google Scholar
Wilson, B., & Risucci, D. (1986). A model for clinical quantification classification. Generation I: Application to language disordered preschool children. Brain and Language, 27, 281–309.CrossRefGoogle Scholar