A Study of the Language Choices of Middle School Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was two-fold: to examine the language choices made by sixth and ninth grade children during a structured dialogue, and to evaluate the usability of a classification in categorizing these responses. Three types of questions were asked to each subject by an examiner. The question types used were definitive, empirical and evaluative. Five questions were asked to each subject, resulting in 15 questions per examiner-subject interaction. A classification system consisting of nine categories was developed for the purpose of cataloging the subjects' responses to the 15 questions. The classification system was found to be effective in two ways: (1) the number of categories was sufficient to handle the subjects' responses to questions; and (2) the ínterscorer reliability of the independent judges was high. Results indicate the existence of descriptive similarities and differences in the way school-age children answer questions during a structured dialogue.