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ACQ
Volume 13, Number 1 2011
ACQ
uiring knowledge in speech, language and hearing
The discourse measures that were significantly different in
this study were not included in the Williams et al. (1994) and
Li et al. (1995) studies. The measures that reflect the speed
of language processing (WPM and % pausing) and overall
communicative efficiency (CIU/min, %mazes, and utterance
level errors) were influenced by topic familiarity, with the
least familiar topics having a detrimental impact of discourse
production. This result highlights the importance of analysing
discourse beyond the utterance level to include measures
that examine the discourse sample as a whole.
Clinical application of results
This study demonstrated the benefit of using discourse tasks
to examine language. In assessing multiple discourse
samples one variable was manipulated and the impact of the
manipulation examined across the range of measures
assessed. These measures provided an overview of the
participant’s oral narrative abilities while offering insight into
the interrelationships between language processes (Sherratt,
2007).
When assessing discourse, varying the level of
familiarity in discourse topics provides a feasible method
of adjusting task difficulty. By incorporating personally
familiar or unfamiliar topics, the clinician is able to assess
the individual’s language system in optimal and suboptimal
contexts (Murray et al., 1998). The potential impact of topic
familiarity should be also be considered to ensure reliable
and valid representations of a client’s language abilities and
the accurate interpretation of results (Chen & Whittington,
2006; Williams et al., 1994).
Controlling the familiarity of discourse topics within
discourse-based treatment tasks allows one aspect of task
difficulty to be controlled (Li et al., 1995). Within a treatment
procedural samples on unfamiliar topics. In the present
study the difference in MLU between familiar and unfamiliar
topics was not significant. The difference between the
results of two studies may be due to the different elicitation
contexts. In the Williams et al. (1994) study the procedural
discourse samples were produced spontaneously while in
the current study they were produced in a retell format. The
nature of the retell means the words used and the length
of the utterances were controlled across both experimental
conditions.
Table 3. The original procedure and the participant’s retell for familiar and unfamiliar topics
Procedure provided
Participant procedural retell
Familiar topic: going grocery shopping
First you should make a list of items you want to buy.
When you get to the shop look for the aisle where the food would
be kept.
Find the items you need put them into your trolley or basket.
Then go to the checkout and pay for your shopping.
Your food will be put into plastic or recyclable bags if you have them.
Then take your shopping home.
Unfamiliar topic: Going scuba diving
First you should see your doctor for a health check.
Then you need to buy or hire your diving gear including wetsuit,
tanks and snorkel.
Choose a suitable diving location with good water conditions.
Dive with a friend or have someone waiting in the boat.
Put up your diver’s flag to let others know you are in the water.
Enter off a boat by stepping into the water feet first.
Ok before you start um to go shopping make a list.
Um and then ah go to the um Coles or Woolworths or wherever you like
to go.
Um go down the aisles and find the items that are on your list.
When you have everything then go and buy some chocolate.
To say yes I’ve gone do the groceries now I can have some chocolate
before going to the um checkout and paying.
Put all your items in a um carrier bag.
Plastic or recyclable
And go home.
Well first of all go to your doctor and make sure that you’ve got a medical
certificate that your fine that the doctor’s said ok y* medically you’re fine
to go.
You’re fit and ok.
Then go and um rent rent s a suit water suit not watersuit um wetsuit.
With some um a s a snorkel and might be some fins but I don’t think he
said that but I’m just thinking.
Um and a tank
Um find a platinum a platford platform um to put up a and then put up a
flag
So that people know that you’re in the water.
Stay somebody in the boat.
Um and uh tenor the ah sit oh or fall backwards into the water.
Table 4. Mean discourse measures for familiar and
unfamiliar topics
Familiar topics
Unfamiliar topics
M SD
M SD
p
MLU
a
9.7
.20
8.1
1.8
.10
TTR
b
.64
.06
.71
.06
.22
WPM
b
114.9 12.3
86.3
17.7
.03*
%Pauses
a
3.7
5.7
19.0
11.6
.02*
CIU/min
b
88.9 18.9
43.5
8.6
.008*
%Mazes
b
17.4 9.2
28.0
3.0
.04*
Wd errs
b
.00
.00
.80
1.0
.13
Utt errs
b
.00
.00
.60
.54
.05*
%MI
a
55.6 43.7
55.4
17.7
.99
%OI
b
66.6 31.1
27.0
21.3
.04*
Note.
a
Statistical comparison paired samples t- test.
b
Statistical
comparison through Mann Whitney U. %MI = percentage of main
ideas included. %OI = percentage of optional ideas included.
* p < 0.05.