Language Comprehension Differences Exhibited by Kindergarten and Second Grade Nez Perce Indian and Caucasian Children

Abstract

The Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language (Carrow, 1973) and the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (Boehm, 1969) were administered to Nez Perce and Caucasian kindergarten and second grade children to determine if there were differences in the language comprehension abilities of the two groups at the different grade levels. The results of this study support the existing literature which indicates that differences do exist in the receptive language skills of children from these two cultures. This study revealed that differences in the comprehension of basic concepts, as well as differences in the comprehension of grammatical-syntactic structures, do exist between Nez Perce and Caucasian children (p<.05).

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Adler, S. Poverty children and their language: Implications for teaching and treating . New York: Grune and Stratton, Inc., 1979

Bauman, E. , John, J. & Krichev, A. Northwestern Ontario Indian children and the WISC. Psychology in the Schools, 1976, 13, 407-411.

Boehm, A.E. Boehm Test of Basic Concepts. New York: Psychological Corporation, 1969.

Bruning, J. & Kintz, B. Computational handbook of statistics. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1977.

Carrow, E. Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language (TACL). Boston : Teaching Resources Corporation, 1973.

Carrow, M.A. The development of auditory comprehension of language structure in children . Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders, 1968, 3, 99-111.

Cropley, A.J. & Schubert, J. Verbal regulation of behavior and I.Q. in Canadian Indian and white children . Developmental Psychology, 1972, 7, 295-301.

Galloway, C.G. & Mickelson, N.I. Verbal concepts of Indian and non-Indian school beginners. Journal of Educational Research, 1973, 67, 55-56.

Golub, L.S. English syntax of Black, White, Indian and Spanish-American children . Elementary School Journal, 1975, 75, 323-334.

10.

Jipson, F.J. & Reschly, D.J. Ethnicity, geographic locale, age, sex, and urban-rural residence as variables in the prevalence of mild retardation. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1976, 81, 154-161.

11.

Jorstad, D. Psycholinguistic learning disabilities in 20 Mexican-American students. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1971, 4, 143-149.

12.

Kersey, H. & Fadjo, R. A comparison of Seminole reading vocabulary and the Dolch word lists. Journal of American Indian Education, 1971, 11, 16-18.

13.

Lloyd, D.O. Comparison of standardized test results of Indian and non-Indian in an integrated school system. Journal of American Indian Education , 1961, 1, 8-16.

14.

Lombardi, T.P. Psycholinguistic abilities of Papago Indian school children. Exceptional Children, 1970, 36, 485-493.

15.

Lowry, L.M. Differences in visual perception and auditory discrimination between American Indian and white kindergarten children. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1970, 3, 360-363.

16.

Peters, H.D. Performance of Hopi children on four intelligence tests. Journal of American Indian Education, 1963, 2, 27-31.

17.

Ramstad, V.V. & Potter, R.E. Differences in vocabulary and syntax usage between Nez Perce Indian and white kindergarten children. Journal of Learning Disabilities , 1974, 7, 491-497.

18.

Rykeman (1966) as found in KIRK, S.A. Ethnic differences in psycholinguistic abilities. Exceptional Children, 1972, 39, 112-118.