Reliability of the Mean Length of Utterance Measure in Samples of Children's Language
Author | : Katherine M. Bigelow |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 31 |
Release | : 2012 |
ISBN-10 | : OCLC:828105405 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (05 Downloads) |
Download or read book Reliability of the Mean Length of Utterance Measure in Samples of Children's Language written by Katherine M. Bigelow and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mean length of utterance (MLU) is widely used in child language sample analysis as a way to quantify language development. The current study examines the split-half reliability of MLU and two alternative measures: MLU2 and median length of utterance (MdLU). The effects of utterance segmentation into phonological units (P-units) or communication units (C-units) on reliability were also studied. Sixty conversational child language samples were used which included ten children with language impairment. All measures were found to have high levels of split-half reliability, with MLU and MLU2 having higher levels of reliability than MdLU. There was no significant difference between MLU and MLU2. The differences in reliability when segmented into P-units or C-units were inconsistent. Overall, MLU and MLU2 are adequately reliable measures for clinical use.