Developmental effect of symmetrical peer interaction during initial phases of reading literacy development

Rad se bavi mogućnostima podsticanja razvoja čitalačke pismenosti kroz simetričnu vršnjačku interakciju. Čitalačka pismenost jedna je od ključnih kompetencija, kako za akademski uspeh, tako i da produktivno učešće u savremenom društvu, zbog čega se smatra osnovnim sredstvom obrazovanja i individualnog razvoja. Nadovezujući se na dosadašnje nalaze o razvojnoj delotvornosti simetrične vršnjačke interakcije (interakcije u koju svi učesnici ulaze bez kompetencije potrebne da reše zadatak sa kojim su suočeni), ova studija proširuje saznanja o njenim efektima na domen razvoja čitalačke pismenosti. S obzirom na značajnu ulogu prvih godina školovanja u ovladavanju čitanjem, ovo istraživanje fokusira se na decu prvog i četvrtog razreda. Osim toga, dosadašnji nalazi o delotvornosti simetrične vršnjačke interakcije ne nude direktne podatke o njenim efektima na uzrastima na kojima proces decentracije nije završen, što je bio dodatan motiv da se bavimo ulogom ovog vida interakcije u razvoju novih kompetencija na pomenutim uzrastima. Ciljevi rada bili su: (1) da se ispita na koji način deca, kroz zajedničku aktivnost u simetričnoj interakciji, mogu razvijati čitalačku pismenost; (2) da se proveri da li se i na koji način čitalačka pismenost može unapređivati kroz simetričnu interakciju i na uzrastima na kojima proces decentracije još uvek nije završen; (3) da se omogući uvid u teškoće sa kojima se deca suočavaju tokom početnih faza ovladanja čitanjem i utvrdi da li se one mogu ublažiti kroz ovaj tip vršnjačke interakcije...The study is addressing the topic of reading literacy development through symmetrical peer interaction. Reading literacy is treated as one of the key competencies influencing academic success as well a s efficient participation in modern society. For that reason it is considered as an important tool in education and individual development. In continuation with previous results concerning the effectiveness of symmetrical peer interaction (an interaction which all the participants enter without a competence needed to complete the task they are faced with) this study broadens our knowledge about its effects on reading literacy development. Having in mind the importance of the first few years of education for the reading skills development, the research focuses on firstJ and fourthJgraders. Besides that, preceding results about symmetrical interaction effects do not offer direct data about its effectiveness at the ages before the decentration process is over, which was the additional motive to look at the role of this interaction type in the new competence development at the aforementioned ages. The aims of this study were: (1) to explore if (and in which way) children can develop reading literacy skills through joint activity within symmetrical interaction; (2) to check if reading literacy can develop through symmetrical interaction at the ages before the decentration process is finished; (3) to look at the difficulties children are faced with during the starting phases of reading literacy development and to investigate if they can be reduced through this kind of interaction..

Children do ask, but do not know how to do asking: Epi-pragmatic vs. meta-pragmatic skill

Klasičan je nalaz (C. Chomsky, 1969) da predškolska deca u engleskom jeziku mešaju značenja glagola ask 'pitati' i tell 'reći', tako što u situaciji Ask Laura what time it is 'Pitaj Lauru koliko ima sati' umesto da postave pitanje drugoj osobi (Lauri), odgovaraju na pitanje koliko ima sati 4 o'clock' 4 sata'. Iako je u navedenoj studiji ovaj nalaz samo usputan, on već decenijama privlači pažnju istraživača koji ga tumače na različite načine. E. Klark je ovaj rezultat pripisivala semantičkom razvoju. Značenje svake reči, prema teoriji semantičkih crta, može se razložiti na kombinaciju jedinica značenja. Razvoj semantičkog znanja sastoji se od dodavanja novih crta značenja, sve dok se kombinacija crta ne podudari sa kombinacijom kod odraslih. Promene nastale u oblasti u tokom poslednjih decenija omogućile su da se nalaz postavi u sasvim drugačiji, pragmatski kontekst. Vorden tvrdi da su 5-godišnjaci veoma osetljivi na pragmatske karakteristike eksperimentalne situacije i da je glavni izvor 'zabune' kod dece interpersonalni kontekst. Da bi odgovorilo adekvatno na zahtev ask 'pitaj nekoga nešto' (odnosno da bi postavio pitanje slušaocu) dete mora imati nameru da sazna ono što interesuje eksperimentatora ili njega samog, ili nameru da proveri da li slušalac ima to znanje. Slično, da bi odgovorio adekvatno na zahtev tell 'reci nekome nešto' ono mora pretpostaviti da slušaocu nedostaje ta informacija, ili pretpostaviti da se od njega očekuje da pokaže svoje znanje. Ovaj rad je imao za cilj da pokaže: a. da se razvoj navedenih komunikacionih sposobnosti u spontanoj interakciji javlja veoma rano; b. da se njihov razvoj iznova odvija na različitim nivoima opšteg razvoja i da rana pojava pragmatskih sposobnosti ne podrazumeva istovremeno i mogućnost njihove voljne kontrole i intencionalnog angažovanja. Istraživanje je bilo usmereno na rasvetljavanje dve udaljene tačke u razvoju: rani epi-pragmatski i kasni refl eksivni meta-pragmatski nivo. U prvom delu istraživanja, zasnovanom na pretraživanju korpusa dečijeg govora tragalo se za najranijim indikacijama pojave ove sposobnosti u spontanoj interakciji, nešto. Urađena je analiza pragmatskih karakteristika ponašanja dece s obzirom na to da li adekvatno ispunjavaju nalog 'pitaj'. Rezultati su pokazali da se u spontanoj interakciji sposobnost adekvatnog ispunjavanja ovog naloga kod sve dece u uzorku javlja znatno ranije nego što je registrovano u prethodnim istraživanjima, već na uzrastima između 22 i 40 meseci. Drugi, eksperimentalni deo istraživanja ispitanika stavlja u situaciju da slušaocu postavi pitanje o nečemu što je prisutno u vizuelnom polju i što svi učesnici u interakciji znaju. Ovo od deteta zahteva viši, meta-pragmatski nivo funkcionisanja komunikacionih sposobnosti jer se od njega očekuje da postavi pitanje o nečemu što je svima poznato, pa i njemu samom, tj. da voljno odustane od jednog od bazičnog principa ljudske komunikacije, Grajsove maksime kvantiteta, koja nalaže da se bude informativan samo onoliko koliko je neophodno u datom kontekstu. Rezultati su pokazali da je među 4- i 5-godišnjacima čest slučaj bio da ponude odgovor, umesto da pitanje upute drugoj osobi, i da se ova voljna, refleksivna, meta-pragmatska sposobnost kod sve dece stabilizuje tek na uzrastu od 6 godina. Rezultati su rasvetlili dve udaljene tačke razvoja jedne iste komunikacione sposobnosti na različitim novima opšteg razvoja. Jedna je veoma rana, epi-pragmatska, neosvešćena sposobnost učešća u komunikaciji (upućivanja pitanja drugoj osobi na nečiji nalog), a druga je zrela, refleksivna meta-pragmatska sposobnost upravljanja i voljnog primenjivanja ili ukidanja pravila komunikacije zavisno od socijalnog konteksta i namera učesnika.Old findings on children's comprehension of ask and tell were subject to different interpretations reflecting progress in the field of language acquisition. We want to show that acquiring a particular skill does not necessarily include competence of its intentional control and use. Development of linguistic skills takes place at different levels starting from early spontaneous, implicit abilities to the level of meta-pragmatic reflexive knowledge that enables deliberate monitoring, planning, and practice. The present study was aimed at exploring two extreme points in development: early epi-pragmatic and late reflexive metapragmatic competence. The first part aims at finding the earliest instances of children spontaneous ability to pass ask-instructions, and the evidence is provided for the ages as early as 22 to 40 months (much earlier than recorded in the previous studies). The second part is experimental and focuses on children's ability to respond to ask- and tell-instructions in the context of a cancelled conversational rule (Gricean Maxim of Quantity) which requires deliberate monitoring and use. The results show that this meta-pragmatic reflexive ability becomes stable only at the age of 6 years

Emergent literacy practices and policies in the systems with transparent orthography

This study aims at defining the similarities and differences related to emergent literacy policies and practices in European transparent orthographic systems. The sample included data from 9 European countries: PISA 2018 Level 3: Estonia, Finland, Slovenia, PISA 2018 Level 2 high score: Croatia, Hungary, Italy, PISA 2018 Level 2 lower score: Greece, Romania, Serbia. ECEC systems were compared based on the following variables: general ECEC framework; increasing participation, inclusion and equity; improving quality of teaching; creating a literature environment. Regarding differences between Level 2 and Level 3 countries, one of the key findings is that the percentage of children participating in ECEC is higher in Level 3 countries, mainly due to the accessibility of ECEC services and the low number of children per ECEC teacher. Estonia and Finland have the most elaborate model of transition programmes between preschool and schools. Speech therapy or another language/ communication support is available more in Level 3 countries than Level 2 countries. ECEC teachers in Level 3 countries have more hours invested in professional development than Level 2 countries. However, several areas should be improved in Level 2 and Level 3 countries, especially for Increasing participation, inclusion and equity. The main difference is observed at the level of systemic support of the programmes for creating a literature environment at the national level. In Level 3 countries, government plays a substantial role in creating a cultural environment for emergent literacy development and continuous financial support.Book of abstracts: SIG 10, 21 & 25 Conference 202

Uloga vršnjačke interakcije u donošenju odluka desetogodišnjaka

The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in decision-making of ten-year old children under the influence of peer interaction. We tried to determine whether there were differences in the decision-making process when children made their decisions in a group, as opposed to the situation when they decided individually. In the first phase of the study (which included individual decision-making), 139 fourth-graders were tested. Based on their responses we formed 10 triads in the experimental group. The control group consisted of 31 children with the response structure equivalent to the initial response structure in the experimental group. In the second phase, children in the control group once again decided individually, while children in the experimental group made a group decision. We found that subjects in the control group retained their previous decisions, while children in the experimental group changed their initial decisions under the influence of peers, so that their decisions became less risky. This finding may be ascribed to the context in which the research was conducted (school), but also to the content of the task used. Qualitative analysis of social interaction enabled us to understand the dynamics of group decision-making. We found several mechanisms that explain how children change their initial decision in the triad (reference to the opinion of the authority, conversational passivity, majority rule, etc.), and how they retain their decision (conversational activity and argumentation).Ovo istraživanje bilo je usmereno na ispitivanje promena u procesu donošenja odluka koje pod uticajem vršnjačke interakcije donose desetogodišnjaci. Pokušali smo da utvrdimo da li deca u grupi donose odluke drugačije nego kada iste odluke donose samostalno. U prvoj fazi istraživanja, koja je podrazumevala individualno donošenje odluka, testirano je 139 učenika četvrtog razreda. Na osnovu njihovih odgovora formirano je 10 trijada za eksperimentalnu grupu. Kontrolnu grupu činilo je 31 dete sa istom strukturom početnih odgovora kao u eksperimentalnoj grupi. U drugoj fazi su deca iz kontrolne grupe još jednom samostalno odlučivala, dok su deca u eksperimentalnoj grupi donosila grupne odluke. Nalazi su pokazali da su ispitanici iz kontrolne grupe zadržavali svoje prethodne odluke, dok su ih deca u eksperimentalnoj grupi menjala pod uticajem vršnjaka, tako da su u grupi donosili manje rizične odluke. Ovaj nalaz može biti posledica uticaja konteksta u kojem je vršeno istraživanje (škola), ali i sadržaja korišćenog zadatka. Kvalitativna analiza socijalne interakcije pomogla nam je da razumemo tok grupnog donošenja odluka. Pronašli smo nekoliko mehanizama koji govore o tome kako deca menjaju svoju prvobitnu odluku u trijadi (pozivanje na mišljenje autoriteta, konverzaciona pasivnost, pravilo većine itd.), kao i o tome kako uspevaju da zadrže svoju odluku (konverzaciona aktivnost i argumentacija)

Phonological complexity and prosodic structure in assessment of Serbian phonological development

Istaživanje je imalo za cilj određivanje fonoloških parametara relevantnih u razvoju jezičkih sposobnosti prilikom usvajanja fonološkog sistema srpskog jezika. Po ugledu na britanski TOPhS (van der Lely & Harris, 1999), a uz proveru da odgovaraju specifičnostima srpskog jezika, odabrane su karakateristike sloga i mesto naglašavanja kao parametri za koje se moglo pretpostaviti da mogu biti značajni za praćenje usvajanja fonoloških karakteristika srpskog: a. nastup: konsonant ili konsonantski klaster na početku sloga, b. rub: konsonant na kraju sloga, c. broj slogova (dva ili tri), d. mesto naglašavanja: početni naglašen ili početni nenagalašen slog, odnosno srednji naglašen ili srednji nenaglašen slog. Kombinovanjem ovih parametara konstruisana je lista od 96 pseudoreči različitog nivoa složenosti u zavisnosti od broja markiranih parametara. Uzorak je činilo 30 dece podeljenih u tri uzrasna poduzorka (3, 4 i 5 godina) i 14 odraslih ispitanika. Zadatak ispitanika je bio da svaku pseudoreč glasno ponovi, a izgovor je sniman. Transkripcija odgovora i kodiranje tipa greške su omogućili analizu uticaja pojedinih segmentnih i surpasegmentnih parametara na sposobnost fonološke reprodukcije kod dece različitog uzrasta. Dobijeni rezultati ukazuju da se sposobnost reprodukcije ispitivanih fonoloških obeležja razvija u ranijem predškolskom periodu, a da se najteže reprodukuju konsonantski klaster na početku sloga i konsonant na kraju sloga. Ovi parametri se još teže reprodukuju ukoliko je reč trosložna ili ukoliko sadrži 2 ili 3 obeležja istovremeno. Pokazalo se da se mesto naglašavanja reči usvaja čak i pre 3 godine. U zaključku se diskutuje mogućnost korišćenja ispitivanih fonoloških obeležja za praćenje govornog razvoja dece na ranim uzrastima. Teškoće u reprodukovanju fonoloških obeležja bi mogle ukazivati na moguće poteškoće u procesiranju i rekonstrukciji fonoloških, pa posledično i morfoloških i sintaksičkih karakteristika reči i iskaza.In this research we investigate the relevance of phonological parameters in acquisition of Serbian language. Implementation of British Test of Phonological Screeing (TOPhS, van der Lely and Harris, 1999) has revealed that phonological complexity (syllabic and metrical structure) influences accuracy in non-word repetition task and could be used in assessment of phonological development of typically developing children, as well as of children with Grammatical Specific Language Impairment (G-SLI) (van der Lely and Harris, 1999; Gallon, Harris & van der Lely, 2007). Having in mind phonological properties of Serbian language (Zec, 2000, 2007), we hypothesized that several parameters can be used in assessment of phonological development in Serbian: a. onset (consonants cluster at the beginning of syllable; b. rime (consonant at the end of syllable). c. word of three syllables, and d. placement of stressed syllable in a word. Combination of these parameters gave us a list of 96 pseudo words of different levels of complexity. Participants were 14 adults and 30 children from kindergarten divided into three age groups (3, 4 and 5 years). Task for the participants was to loudly repeat every pseudo-word, and their reproduction was recorded. Transcription of their answers and coding of errors allowed us to analyze impact of different parameters on accuracy of phonological reproduction in children of different ages. The results indicate that the ability for reproduction of Serbian phonological properties develops in early preschool period. The most difficult is cluster of consonants at the beginning of syllable, and consonant at the end of syllable. These two parameters are even more difficult for reproduction in three-syllable words or in words that have more then one parameter marked. Placement of stress in a word is acquired even before 3 years. In other words, the results have shown that investigated features could be good indicators in assessment of early phonological development of typically developing children. Delay in their acquisition could reveal possible developmental difficulties

The role of argumentation in seven-year-olds joint comprehension of written text

Prema određenju od kojeg u ovom radu polazimo, argumentacija je dijaloška aktivnost tokom koje partneri nastoje da uvećaju ili umanje prihvatljivost iznetih stanovišta. Ona podrazumeva da učesnici u interakciji, kroz proces pregovaranja, uspostavljaju specifične veze između iznetih ideja i različitih izvora znanja, težeći tako da ubede sagovornika u to da određeno stanovište prihvate ili odbace. Rezultati niza istraživanja koja su se bavila učenjem i razvojem kroz vršnjačku interakciju pokazali su da je jedan od glavnih faktora od kojeg zavisi da li će kroz zajednički rad doći do razvoja novih znanja i/ili kompetencija upravo to da li će se učesnici upustiti u argumentativni dijalog ili ne. Nije, dakle, dovoljno da se tokom zajedničke aktivnosti iznesu različita mišljenja, već je neophodno da se o njima diskutuje i da se na osnovu valjane argumentacije donese zaključak o tome da li neko od iznetih stanovišta treba prihvatiti ili ne. Istraživanja su, takođe, pokazala da postoje brojni faktori od kojih zavisi da li će se argumentacija pojaviti u iskazima sagovornika ili će odluka biti doneta na neki drugi način (na primer, jer je jedno dete dominantno). Pri tome, imajući u vidu razvojne preduslove koji moraju biti ispunjeni kako bi dete moglo adekvatno da učestvuje u argumentativnom dijalogu (sposobnost kognitivne i socijalne decentracije, sposobnost generalizacije), nalazi istraživanja pokazuju da je argumentativno mišljenje na uzrastu od pet do sedam godina nestabilno i da zavisi od niza kontekstualnih faktora. Imajući u vidu značaj argumentacije za učenje i razvoj kroz vršnjačku interakciju, ovi rezultati otvaraju pitanje delotvornosti simetrične interakcije na ranijim uzrastima (pre nego što je proces decentracije završen). Nadovezujući se na prethodno istraživanje, kroz koje smo videli da se argumentacija spontano pojavljuje u dijalozima sedmogodišnjaka dok rešavaju zadatke koji ispituju razumevanje pročitanog teksta, u ovom istraživanju nam je cilj da detaljno analiziramo argumentaciju iz tih dijaloga, kako bismo razumeli na koji način sedmogodišnjaci koriste i razumeju argumentaciju. Polazeći od šireg korpusa podataka (četrdeset pet sekvenci dijaloga), u analizu je ušlo deset sekvenci u kojima je razlika u početnim stanovištima razrešena navođenjem argumenata od strane jednog ili oba deteta. Rezultati su pokazali da na ovom uzrastu argumentacija može imati dva različita efekta: (1) prihvatanje stanovišta koje je argumentom potkrepljeno; (2) promena u načinu na koji se zajednička aktivnost odvija (od individualnog rada ka saradnji). Iako veoma redak, drugi efekat ukazuje da sedmogodišnjaci prepoznaju argumentaciju kao pokazatelj da mišljenje partnera treba uzeti u obzir prilikom donošenja odluke. U skladu sa tim je drugi podatak do kojeg smo došli - argumentacija se u analiziranim dijalozima uvek pojavljuje nakon suočavanja sa različitim mišljenjem. Nema, dakle, primera u kojima dete iznosi mišljenje i odmah ga potkrepljuje argumentima, što je slučaj u dijalozima starije dece. Ovaj rezultat je u saglasnosti sa saznanjima da deca ovog uzrasta imaju teškoću da anticipiraju to da drugo dete može imati različito mišljenje od njihovog. S tim u vezi, analiza je pokazala da sedmogodišnjaci gotovo uopšte ne iznose kontraargumente za partnerovo stanovište, već skoro isključivo argumente kojim potkrepljuju svoje stanovište (jednostrana argumentacija). Iako nalazi ukazuju na to da učenje kroz vršnjačku interakciju na ovom uzrastu još uvek nije sasvim delotvorno usled neispunjenosti potrebnih (socijalnih i kognitivnih) razvojnih preduslova kod sedmogodišnjaka, iz njih takođe sledi da je i na ovom uzrastu važno organizovati učenje kroz zajednički rad. Drugim rečima, iako ovaj oblik rada ne podržava u potpunosti učenje sadržaja na koje se zadaci odnose, njihovo zajedničko rešavanje može imati druge efekte koji su značajni iz perspektive učenja i razvoja. Konkretno, učenje kroz vršnjačku interakciju omogućava deci da postepeno ovladavaju veštinama koje su neophodne za učenje kroz zajedničku aktivnost, a još uvek nisu u potpunosti razvijene (poput koordinisanja sopstvene aktivnosti sa aktivnošću vršnjaka, sagledavanja tuđeg gledišta, veština pregovaranja). PR Projekat Ministarstva nauke republike Srbije, br. ON 179033.Argumentation is a dialogical activity during which partners try to increase or decrease the acceptability of expressed ideas. It is considered as one of the main factors of development and learning through peer interaction, since several studies show that argumentative dialogues offer more opportunities for learning than other types of dialogues. Having in mind the importance of argumentation in the construction of new knowledge and individual development of seven-year-olds, the aim of this study is to understand how children use argumentation while reading together. Within a larger corpus of data (including 45 sequences) we have analysed ten sequences in which the divergence of opinions was resolved by the use of argumentation. The results show that at the considered age there are two different effects of argumentation use: (1) the acceptance of the standpoint supported by the argument; (2) the change in the way the joint activity is performed. In addition, we have found several indicators of argumentation use limitations connected with the difficulty experienced by the children to take the position of the partner, to coordinate different perspectives and to build collaboration. We conclude that joint work at the age of seven offers educationally relevant benefits, thus that it should be included in the classroom activities with continuous scaffolding provided by the teacher

DOI:10.2298/PSI0901121B CHILDREN DO ASK, BUT DO NOT KNOW HOW TO DO ASKING: EPI-PRAGMATIC VS. META-PRAGMATIC SKILL 1

Old fi ndings on children’s comprehension of ask and tell were subject to different interpretations refl ecting progress in the fi eld of language acquisition. We want to show that acquiring a particular skill does not necessarily include competence of its intentional control and use. Development of linguistic skills takes place at different levels starting from early spontaneous, implicit abilities to the level of meta-pragmatic refl exive knowledge that enables deliberate monitoring, planning, and practice. The present study was aimed at exploring two extreme points in development: early epi-pragmatic and late refl exive metapragmatic competence. The fi rst part aims at fi nding the earliest instances of children spontaneous ability to pass ask-instructions, and the evidence is provided for the ages as early as 22 to 40 months (much earlier than recorded in the previous studies). The second part is experimental and focuses on children’s ability to respond to ask- and tell-instructions in the context of a cancelled conversational rule (Gricean Maxim of Quantity) which requires deliberate monitoring and use. The results show that this meta-pragmatic refl exive ability becomes stable only at the age of 6 years

"Is there an equal (amount of) juice?" Exploring the repeated question effect in conservation through conversation

The aim of this paper is to highlight and discuss advantages and constraints of different methods applied within the field of children's thinking studies, through the test of the repeated question hypothesis validity, using the conservation of liquid task. In our perspective, the Piagetian interview is an ecologically valid context for externalization and modification of children's thinking. We used an experimental procedure organized in standard and modified tasks, involving primary school children in Serbia. The results of quantitative and qualitative analyses show that the repeated question is not the unique cause of children's misleading in demonstrating to understand conservation. Other dimensions explain why children change their answers when they are tested by the two tasks we used, which offers an insight into the influence of research procedures on children's answers

Phonological complexity and prosodic structure in assessment of Serbian phonological development

In this research we investigate the relevance of phonological parameters in acquisition of Serbian language. Implementation of British Test of Phonological Screeing (TOPhS, van der Lely and Harris, 1999) has revealed that phonological complexity (syllabic and metrical structure) influences accuracy in non-word repetition task and could be used in assessment of phonological development of typically developing children, as well as of children with Grammatical Specific Language Impairment (G-SLI) (van der Lely and Harris, 1999; Gallon, Harris & van der Lely, 2007). Having in mind phonological properties of Serbian language (Zec, 2000, 2007), we hypothesized that several parameters can be used in assessment of phonological development in Serbian: a. onset (consonants cluster at the beginning of syllable; b. rime (consonant at the end of syllable). c. word of three syllables, and d. placement of stressed syllable in a word. Combination of these parameters gave us a list of 96 pseudo words of different levels of complexity. Participants were 14 adults and 30 children from kindergarten divided into three age groups (3, 4 and 5 years). Task for the participants was to loudly repeat every pseudo-word, and their reproduction was recorded. Transcription of their answers and coding of errors allowed us to analyze impact of different parameters on accuracy of phonological reproduction in children of different ages. The results indicate that the ability for reproduction of Serbian phonological properties develops in early preschool period. The most difficult is cluster of consonants at the beginning of syllable, and consonant at the end of syllable. These two parameters are even more difficult for reproduction in three-syllable words or in words that have more then one parameter marked. Placement of stress in a word is acquired even before 3 years. In other words, the results have shown that investigated features could be good indicators in assessment of early phonological development of typically developing children. Delay in their acquisition could reveal possible developmental difficulties

Assessment of grammar comprehension: Adaptation of TROG for Serbian language

In this study we present our adaptation and preliminary standardization of Test for Reception of Grammar TROG (Bishop, 1989) for Serbian language. TROG is a receptive test of grammatical structures, constructed primarily for an assessment of grammatical development and detection of children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). Due to the lack of standardized tests for language development in our clinical community, TROG is selected for adaptation as a test which includes two components relevant for discrimination of children with language difficulties: a) measure of receptive abilities and b) distinguishing knowledge of grammar from semantic aspect of comprehension. Preliminary standardization was done on a sample of 335 participants between 4 and 7 years of age, divided into 8 age subsamples. Since dynamic of language change at early ages is faster, age samples covered range of 3 months at the ages 4;0-4;2, 4;3-4;5, 4;6-4;8, 4;9-4;11, and range of 6 months at the ages 5;0-5;5, 5;6-5;11, 6;00-6;05, 6;06-6;11. Analyses have revealed that the first version of Serbian TROG is discriminative for the differences between age samples, but discrimination is smaller then it was expected. The test discriminates three age-samples (4;0-4;8, 4;9-5;5, and 5;6-6;11). It is easier for the children older then 5 years, which causes statistical significance of discrimination to tilt within a narrow margin around 0,05. Reliability of the whole instrument is estimated very high - between 0,86 and 0,91, depending on the method of estimation. However, reliability estimated for particular blocks (grammatical structure) revealed that internal consistency of blocks is not homogeneous. This finding prevents reliable estimation of competence for particular structures, and makes difficult to define which contrast is understood by a child and which is not. Furthermore, internal inconsistency of blocks may also be additional source of low discrimination of test for children older then 5. Further improvement of test, balancing of items and inclusion of additional grammatical structures in order to get a wider range of age discrimination is required. This will be done in future research