1. Manchester Metropolitan University Paper presented at the Research Institute for Health and Social Change 2006 Annual Conference 3 rd July 2006 Ann French a.french@mmu.ac.uk

2. MEASURING PHONOLOGICAL SKILLS IN ADOLESCENCE

3. Background Referrals of junior and secondary age children with language and communication impairments attending mainstream schools Referrals of junior and secondary age children with language and communication impairments attending mainstream schools Evidence that early language and communication problems may not resolve Evidence that early language and communication problems may not resolve Lack of secondary school SLT provision Lack of secondary school SLT provision Lack of knowledge about the nature and extent of difficulties secondary students may encounter Lack of knowledge about the nature and extent of difficulties secondary students may encounter Lack of suitable assessments Lack of suitable assessments

4. What are phonological skills? Needed for: Discriminating/identifying heard words Discriminating/identifying heard words Understanding spoken language Understanding spoken language Pronouncing familiar words Pronouncing familiar words Learning new words Learning new words Reading and spelling (phonological awareness) Reading and spelling (phonological awareness) Word puzzles, jokes… Word puzzles, jokes… Rote learning Rote learning

5. By 11 yrs most children appear to have well developed pronunciation and literacy skills, so is phonological development complete? Recent research suggests during adolescence there is ongoing development of: Phonological perception (Hazan and Barrett, 2002) Phonological perception (Hazan and Barrett, 2002) Phonological production (Walsh and Smith, 2002) Phonological production (Walsh and Smith, 2002) Phonological awareness (Wagner, Torgensen and Rashotte, 1999) Phonological awareness (Wagner, Torgensen and Rashotte, 1999) Additionally, word learning and phonological memory demands continue throughout life.

6. Phonological skills in the secondary curriculum Reading and spelling (orthographic stage of literacy) Reading and spelling (orthographic stage of literacy) Learning new words (all subjects) Learning new words (all subjects) Appreciating literary concepts such as alliteration and rhyme (English) Appreciating literary concepts such as alliteration and rhyme (English) Understanding puns and other jokes (literacy, social communication) Understanding puns and other jokes (literacy, social communication) Reflecting on accents and their role in communication (English, social communication) Reflecting on accents and their role in communication (English, social communication) Learning new writing styles such as text messaging (social communication) Learning new writing styles such as text messaging (social communication) Learning the spoken and written words of other languages (MFLs) Learning the spoken and written words of other languages (MFLs) Memory (all areas of the curriculum) Memory (all areas of the curriculum)

7. Methodology A correlational design Hypothesis 1 Performance on phonological tasks will be influenced by (i) word knowledge (Garlock, Walley & Metsala, 2001) (ii) available WM space Gathercole, Pickering, Ambridge & Wearing, 2004) (iii) attention control Manly, Robertson, Anderson, & Nimmo-Smith, 1999). Hypothesis 2 Performance on phonological tasks will be predicted by (i) early hearing, speech and literacy development (Nittrouer and Burton, 2005) (ii) family history of speech/literacy difficulty (Snowling, Bishop & Stothard, 2000) (iii) SES (Locke and Ginsborg, 2003) Hypothesis 3 Performance on phonological tasks will be correlated with academic achievement scores (Gathercole, Pickering, Knight & Stegmann, 2004).

8. Method: Participants Year 7 students, aged 11;6-12;0 (+) randomly selected from a mainstream comprehensive school Year 7 students, aged 11;6-12;0 (+) randomly selected from a mainstream comprehensive school Pilot study: 11 students Pilot study: 11 students Main study: 2 cohorts of 45-50 students (2005-6; 2006-7) Main study: 2 cohorts of 45-50 students (2005-6; 2006-7)

9. Method: Procedures 1. Questionnaires completed by parents/guardians : Students early hearing, language and literacy development Students early hearing, language and literacy development Family incidence of language and/or literacy impairments Family incidence of language and/or literacy impairments SES indicators (parent employment/education) SES indicators (parent employment/education)

10. 2. Assessment of students: Semantic/phonological word knowledge Semantic/phonological word knowledge Phonological awareness: Phonological awareness: Rhyme judgement {A = low WM load Spoonerism production{B = High WM load Word production: Word production: Real word repetition Nonword repetition Tongue twisters Working memory Working memory Attention control Attention control New tests developed during pilot New tests developed during pilot Published tests Published tests

11. 3. Academic data supplied by school: End of Year 6 SAT scores in English, Maths and Science End of Year 6 SAT scores in English, Maths and Science Early Year 7 CAT scores in Verbal, Nonverbal and Numerical Reasoning Early Year 7 CAT scores in Verbal, Nonverbal and Numerical Reasoning End of Year 7 subject marks for English, Maths, Science, and Modern Foreign Languages End of Year 7 subject marks for English, Maths, Science, and Modern Foreign Languages

12. Pilot Results 1. Significant correlations between phonological tasks: Word Knowledge with Nonword Repetition** Nonword Repetition** Spoonerism A* Spoonerism A* Spoonerism B with Rhyme B* Rhyme B* Tongue Twisters * Tongue Twisters * 2. Significant correlations between phonological tasks and SES (early years data too limited in pilot group) Rhyme A with Parent Employment Rhyme A with Parent Employment

13. 3. Significant correlations between phonological tasks and academic scores : KS2 Maths with Real Word Repetition ** Real Word Repetition ** Rhyme A* Rhyme A* KS2 English with: Spoonerism B* Spoonerism B* Verbal Reasoning with: Word Knowledge* Word Knowledge* Tongue Twisters * Tongue Twisters * Nonword Repetition* Nonword Repetition* Numerical Reasoning with: Tongue Twisters Tongue Twisters Spoonerism A* and B* Spoonerism A* and B*

14. Discussion Pilot data too limited to be of much importance (Skewing and kurtosis) Pilot data too limited to be of much importance (Skewing and kurtosis) Some expected correlations e.g. Verbal Reasoning with Word Knowledge and Nonword Repetition Some expected correlations e.g. Verbal Reasoning with Word Knowledge and Nonword Repetition Some unexpected correlations e.g. Numerical Reasoning with Tongue Twisters/Spoonerisms (WM load?) Some unexpected correlations e.g. Numerical Reasoning with Tongue Twisters/Spoonerisms (WM load?)

15. Conclusions from Pilot Hypothesis 1 Performance on phonological tasks will be influenced by (i) word knowledge (ii) available WM space (iii) attention control. Yes, but also by motor planning skill Hypothesis 2 Performance on phonological tasks will be predicted by (i) early hearing, speech and literacy development (ii) family history of speech/literacy difficulty (iii) SES Insufficient evidence from pilot Hypothesis 3 Performance on phonological tasks will be correlated with academic achievement scores. Yes, but not sure of the nature of the interactions yet

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