The effect of variation in sentence length on young children's attention and comprehension

The effect of sentence length on children's attention and com prehension was studied. Twenty-five two- to five-year-olds were placed into three groups, High, Middle, and Low, based on their mean length of utterance (MLU). Subsequently, each child watched three videotaped stories, each having the same number of words but a different MLU. The time the child spent gazing at the monitor was measured. Comprehension was measured by a picture choice task. Results indicated that the High group attended most to the Long Level, comprehended obvious content best at the Long Level, and comprehended subtle content best at the Medium Level; the Low group attended most to the Medium Level and comprehended little. It was concluded that both input level and child level differentially affect attention and comprehension. © 1984, Sage Publications. All rights reserved.

Duke Scholars

Author Michael Tomasello Psychology & Neuroscience