Manchester Manchester Metropolitan Metropolitan

UniversityUniversity

Seminar presented to the Seminar presented to the

Professional Practice and Professional Practice and Research Development Centre Research Development Centre

55thth December 2006 December 2006

Ann FrenchAnn French

a.french@mmu.ac.uka.french@mmu.ac.uk

SPEECH SKILLS IN SPEECH SKILLS IN YOUNG YOUNG

ADOLESCENTS: ARE ADOLESCENTS: ARE THEY STILL THEY STILL

DEVELOPING, AND DEVELOPING, AND HOW DO THEY HOW DO THEY

AFFECT ACADEMIC AFFECT ACADEMIC PROGRESS?PROGRESS?

BackgroundBackground Referrals of junior and secondary age Referrals of junior and secondary age

children with language and communication children with language and communication impairments attending mainstream schoolsimpairments attending mainstream schools

Evidence that early language and Evidence that early language and communication problems may not resolve communication problems may not resolve

Lack of secondary school SLT provision in Lack of secondary school SLT provision in UK UK

Lack of knowledge about the nature and Lack of knowledge about the nature and extent of difficulties secondary students extent of difficulties secondary students may encountermay encounter

Lack of suitable assessmentsLack of suitable assessments

Speech skillsSpeech skills

PhonologicalPhonological knowledge/skills: knowledge/skills:

How speech sounds (phones) are used to How speech sounds (phones) are used to create contrasting meanings e.g. ‘create contrasting meanings e.g. ‘ccat’ v. ‘at’ v. ‘hhat’ at’ v ‘v ‘mmat’at’

Used in understanding speech, speaking, Used in understanding speech, speaking, reading and spellingreading and spelling

Reliant on phonological memory: the ability Reliant on phonological memory: the ability to retain the spoken form of a stimulusto retain the spoken form of a stimulus

By 11 yrs most children appear to have well By 11 yrs most children appear to have well developeddeveloped

pronunciation and literacy skills, so is pronunciation and literacy skills, so is phonologicalphonological

development complete?development complete?

Recent research suggests that during adolescence there is Recent research suggests that during adolescence there is ongoingongoing

development of:development of: Phonological perception (Wagner, Torgensen and Rashotte, Phonological perception (Wagner, Torgensen and Rashotte,

1999)1999) Phonological production (Walsh and Smith, 2002)Phonological production (Walsh and Smith, 2002) Phonological awareness (Hazan and Barrett, 2002)Phonological awareness (Hazan and Barrett, 2002)and that and that Auditory cortex maturation continues into adolescence Auditory cortex maturation continues into adolescence

(McArthur and Bishop (2004)(McArthur and Bishop (2004)

Additionally, word learning and phonological memory Additionally, word learning and phonological memory demandsdemands

continue throughout life.continue throughout life.

Phonological skills required Phonological skills required by the secondary by the secondary

curriculumcurriculum Reading and spelling (moving into the orthographic Reading and spelling (moving into the orthographic

stage of literacy e.g. using analogy: lstage of literacy e.g. using analogy: lightight/f/fightight/m/mightight)) Learning new English words (all subjects; social Learning new English words (all subjects; social

communication)communication) Learning spoken/written words in new languagesLearning spoken/written words in new languages Literary concepts e.g. alliteration and rhyme (English)Literary concepts e.g. alliteration and rhyme (English) Puns and other jokes (literacy, social communication)Puns and other jokes (literacy, social communication) Place of regional accents in communication (English, Place of regional accents in communication (English,

social communication)social communication) New writing styles e.g. text messaging: <B4> = New writing styles e.g. text messaging: <B4> =

‘before’ (social communication)‘before’ (social communication) Rote learning (many areas of the curriculum)Rote learning (many areas of the curriculum)

Baddeley’s model of Baddeley’s model of Working Memory (WM) Working Memory (WM)

(2003)(2003)

Central ExecutiveCentral Executive

Visuo-spatial SketchpadVisuo-spatial Sketchpad Episodic BufferEpisodic Buffer PhonologicalPhonological LoopLoop

“Working memory is a temporary storage system that underpins our capacity for thinking…” (p.203)

The Phonological Loop (PL)The Phonological Loop (PL)(Baddeley 2003, based on Vallar & (Baddeley 2003, based on Vallar &

Papagno 2002)Papagno 2002)

Visual InputVisual Input

Visual AnalysisVisual Analysisand ST Storeand ST Store

Orthographical to Orthographical to Phonological Phonological

EncodingEncoding

Auditory InputAuditory Input

PhonologicalPhonological AnalysisAnalysis

Phonological Phonological ST StoreST Store

Phonological Phonological Output BufferOutput Buffer

Spoken OutputSpoken Output

Rehearsal Rehearsal ProcessProcess

Speech Perception:Speech Perception: VentralVentral andand Dorsal (PL)Dorsal (PL) RoutesRoutes

Functional Working Functional Working MemoryMemory

Montgomery (2003) distinguishes Montgomery (2003) distinguishes Phonological Working Memory Phonological Working Memory

(PWM): c.f. Baddeley’s PL(PWM): c.f. Baddeley’s PL Functional Working Memory (FWM): Functional Working Memory (FWM):

c.f. Baddeley’s Episodic Bufferc.f. Baddeley’s Episodic Buffer

FWM/EBFWM/EB Temporarily combines information from Temporarily combines information from

2+ sources 2+ sources Facilitates complex processing/problem Facilitates complex processing/problem

solving e.g. comprehension of solving e.g. comprehension of spoken/written text, reasoning….spoken/written text, reasoning….

A limited capacity system: storage and A limited capacity system: storage and computational demands compete: computational demands compete:

content familiarity ↑ storage demand ↓ content familiarity ↑ storage demand ↓ computational capacity ↑computational capacity ↑

content familiarity ↓ storage demand ↑ content familiarity ↓ storage demand ↑ computational capacity ↓computational capacity ↓

Transfer from WM to Transfer from WM to LTMLTM

PWM PWM ⇨⇨ LTM: rehearsal e.g. times tables LTM: rehearsal e.g. times tables FWM FWM ⇨⇨ LTM: uses a complex of LTM: uses a complex of

phonological, semantic and grammatical phonological, semantic and grammatical skills; heavily dependent on knowledge skills; heavily dependent on knowledge already stored already stored

Both processes controlled by Central Both processes controlled by Central Executive:Executive:

Selects what to attend toSelects what to attend to Sustains attention to chosen stimulusSustains attention to chosen stimulus Switches between stimuli when necessary Switches between stimuli when necessary

Development of WMDevelopment of WM

Gathercole et al, (2004a): All components (PL, VSSP, CE) are

in place by 6 yrs. All increase linearly from 5-14 yrs. With increasing age there is a

closer correlation between PL and CE scores than between VSSP and CE scores

PLPL

Nonword repetition (assessing PL function) Nonword repetition (assessing PL function) correlates with:correlates with:

Digit span (Gathercole et al 1999)Digit span (Gathercole et al 1999) Vocabulary size Vocabulary size (Adams and (Adams and Expressive grammar Expressive grammar Gathercole Gathercole Utterance length Utterance length 1995)1995) Language comprehension (Sahlen et al Language comprehension (Sahlen et al

1999)1999) SAT scores at ages 7 and 14 (Gathercole SAT scores at ages 7 and 14 (Gathercole

et al, 2004et al, 2004bb))

PL capacityPL capacity Often measured as digit spanOften measured as digit span Miller (1956) suggested capacity of 7 Miller (1956) suggested capacity of 7

items +/- 2 for adult humansitems +/- 2 for adult humansBUT PL span is not fixed:BUT PL span is not fixed: Chunking changes the upper limitChunking changes the upper limit Span is affected by:Span is affected by:o Rate of stimulus presentation Rate of stimulus presentation o Stimuli used (e.g. word length, word Stimuli used (e.g. word length, word

familiarity, inter-stimulus similarity)familiarity, inter-stimulus similarity)o Opportunity for rehearsalOpportunity for rehearsal

MethodologyMethodology

A correlational designA correlational design

Hypothesis 1Hypothesis 1Performance on phonological tasks will Performance on phonological tasks will

correlate with: correlate with: (i)(i) Receptive word knowledge (Garlock et Receptive word knowledge (Garlock et

al, 2001)al, 2001)(ii)(ii) Available phonological working memory Available phonological working memory

(PWM) and functional working memory (PWM) and functional working memory (FWM) space (Gathercole et al 2004(FWM) space (Gathercole et al 2004aa))

(iii)(iii) Attention controlAttention control ( (Manly et al, 1999)Manly et al, 1999)

Hypothesis 2Hypothesis 2Performance on phonological tasks will be predicted Performance on phonological tasks will be predicted

by by (i)(i) Early hearing, speech and literacy development Early hearing, speech and literacy development

(Nittrouer and Burton, 2005) (Nittrouer and Burton, 2005) (ii)(ii) Family history of speech/literacy difficulty Family history of speech/literacy difficulty

(Snowling, Bishop and Stothard, 2000)(Snowling, Bishop and Stothard, 2000)(iii)(iii) SES (Locke and Ginsborg, 2003)SES (Locke and Ginsborg, 2003)

Hypothesis 3Hypothesis 3Performance on phonological tasks will correlate withPerformance on phonological tasks will correlate withacademic ability/achievement scores (Gathercole et academic ability/achievement scores (Gathercole et

al,al,20042004bb))

Method: ParticipantsMethod: Participants

Year 7 students, aged 11;6-12;0 (+) Year 7 students, aged 11;6-12;0 (+) randomly selected from a randomly selected from a mainstream comprehensive schoolmainstream comprehensive school

Pilot study: 11 students (2006) Pilot study: 11 students (2006) Main study: 2 cohorts of 45-50 Main study: 2 cohorts of 45-50

students students (Phase I 2005-6(Phase I 2005-6; Phase II ; Phase II 2006-7)2006-7)

Method: ProceduresMethod: Procedures

1. Questionnaires completed by 1. Questionnaires completed by parents/guardiansparents/guardians::

Student’s early hearing, language Student’s early hearing, language and literacy development and literacy development

Family incidence of language and/or Family incidence of language and/or literacy impairmentsliteracy impairments

SES indicators (parent SES indicators (parent employment/education)employment/education)

2. Assessment tasks:2. Assessment tasks:(i) New tests developed during pilot(i) New tests developed during pilot Receptive semantic/phonological word Receptive semantic/phonological word

knowledge*knowledge* Phonological awareness: Phonological awareness:

Rhyme judgement* Rhyme judgement* Spoonerism production*Spoonerism production*

{A = Low FWM load{A = Low FWM load{B = High FWM load{B = High FWM load

Word production: Word production: Real word repetition*Real word repetition*Nonword repetition*Nonword repetition*Tongue twistersTongue twisters

* Controlled for word length and AoA* Controlled for word length and AoA

(ii) Published tests(ii) Published tests WMTB-C (Pickering and Gathercole 2001): WMTB-C (Pickering and Gathercole 2001): o Digit Recall (PWM)Digit Recall (PWM)o Backwards Digits (FWM)Backwards Digits (FWM) TEA-CH (Manly et al, 1999):TEA-CH (Manly et al, 1999):o Skysearch: Skysearch: Selective attention: searching

and focusing on specific information, ignoring distractors

o Score: Sustained attention: focussing on repetitive tasks

o Opposite Worlds: Attentional switching between two or more tasks

3.3. Academic data supplied by school:Academic data supplied by school: End of Year 6 Standard Achievement End of Year 6 Standard Achievement

scores in English, Maths and Sciencescores in English, Maths and Science Early Year 7 Cognitive Abilities scores Early Year 7 Cognitive Abilities scores

in Verbal, Nonverbal and Numerical in Verbal, Nonverbal and Numerical ReasoningReasoning

End of Year 7 subject marks for End of Year 7 subject marks for English, Maths, Science, and Modern English, Maths, Science, and Modern Foreign Languages (MFLs) Foreign Languages (MFLs)

Phase I ResultsPhase I ResultsUsing Spearman’s rho as data may not be normally Using Spearman’s rho as data may not be normally

distributeddistributedReporting only 0.01 level; 2-tailedReporting only 0.01 level; 2-tailed

Hypothesis 1Hypothesis 11. Significant correlations between phonological task 1. Significant correlations between phonological task

performance and performance and Receptive Word KnowledgeReceptive Word Knowledge:: Rhyme BRhyme B Spoonerism A & BSpoonerism A & B 2. Significant correlations between phonological task 2. Significant correlations between phonological task

performance and performance and PWMPWM:: Rhyme BRhyme B Spoonerism A & BSpoonerism A & B

3. Significant correlations between phonological 3. Significant correlations between phonological task performance and task performance and FWMFWM

Rhyme BRhyme B Spoonerism A & BSpoonerism A & B Receptive Word KnowledgeReceptive Word Knowledge

4.4. Significant correlations between phonological Significant correlations between phonological task performance and task performance and attention controlattention control::

Spoonerism A & B (with Selective Attention)Spoonerism A & B (with Selective Attention) Spoonerism B (with Sustained Attention)Spoonerism B (with Sustained Attention) Spoonerism B and Tongue Twisters (with Spoonerism B and Tongue Twisters (with

Switched Attention)Switched Attention)

Hypothesis 2Hypothesis 2

1. Significant correlations between phonological task 1. Significant correlations between phonological task performance and performance and early hearing, speech and literacy early hearing, speech and literacy developmentdevelopment::

Rhyme B, Nonword Repetition, Spoonerism A & B, Rhyme B, Nonword Repetition, Spoonerism A & B, Receptive Word Knowledge (with Reading and Spelling)Receptive Word Knowledge (with Reading and Spelling)

Nonword Repetition, Spoonerism B (with Talking)Nonword Repetition, Spoonerism B (with Talking)

2. Significant correlations between phonological task 2. Significant correlations between phonological task performance and family history of speech/literacy performance and family history of speech/literacy difficulty:difficulty:

NoneNone

3. Significant correlations between phonological task 3. Significant correlations between phonological task performance and performance and SESSES::

Rhyme A (with Parent Education)Rhyme A (with Parent Education) Rhyme B (with Parent Employment)Rhyme B (with Parent Employment)

Hypothesis 3Hypothesis 3

Significant correlations between phonological Significant correlations between phonological task performance and task performance and academic academic ability/achievement scoresability/achievement scores

Spoonerism A & B (with all academic scores)Spoonerism A & B (with all academic scores) Rhyme B (with all scores except Year 7 Maths)Rhyme B (with all scores except Year 7 Maths) Nonword Repetition (with Year 6 & 7 English, Nonword Repetition (with Year 6 & 7 English,

Verbal Reasoning, Year 7 MFLs)Verbal Reasoning, Year 7 MFLs) Tongue Twister (with Year 6 & 7 English, Year Tongue Twister (with Year 6 & 7 English, Year

7 MFLs)7 MFLs) Receptive Word Knowledge (with all scores Receptive Word Knowledge (with all scores

except Nonverbal reasoning, Year 7 English & except Nonverbal reasoning, Year 7 English & Maths)Maths)

Tentative conclusions from Tentative conclusions from Phase IPhase I

Performance on phonological awareness tasks Performance on phonological awareness tasks (Rhyme B, Spoonerism A & B) correlates (Rhyme B, Spoonerism A & B) correlates significantly with receptive word knowledge, significantly with receptive word knowledge, PWM, FWM, attention, a history of reading PWM, FWM, attention, a history of reading and spelling difficulty, and with academic and spelling difficulty, and with academic ability/achievement across the curriculumability/achievement across the curriculum

This may reflect the memory/attention This may reflect the memory/attention demands of these tasks, with improved demands of these tasks, with improved performance supported by greater word performance supported by greater word knowledge and literacyknowledge and literacy

Performance on production tasks Performance on production tasks (Nonword Repetition, Spoonerism B, (Nonword Repetition, Spoonerism B, Tongue Twisters) correlates Tongue Twisters) correlates significantly with a history of talking significantly with a history of talking difficulty and with scores in English difficulty and with scores in English and MFLsand MFLs

This may reflect motor planning This may reflect motor planning demandsdemands

Performance on phonological tasks Performance on phonological tasks does not correlate significantly with does not correlate significantly with a history of ear infections/hearing a history of ear infections/hearing loss, family history of speech or loss, family history of speech or literacy difficulty, or SES literacy difficulty, or SES

By age 11 these factors appear to be By age 11 these factors appear to be less significant for phonological less significant for phonological abilityability

And so…And so… Phonology is a key element of word learningPhonology is a key element of word learning Word learning underpins verbal memory Word learning underpins verbal memory

performanceperformance Verbal memory is crucial to academic Verbal memory is crucial to academic

learninglearning Facilitating phonological learning may Facilitating phonological learning may

increase academic achievement for many increase academic achievement for many studentsstudents

Some students may benefit from additional Some students may benefit from additional practice in acquiring spoken forms for new practice in acquiring spoken forms for new wordswords

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