A Study of the Syntactic Skills of Normal Middle-School Males and Females

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the syntactic skills of school-age males and females. Subjects were chosen from the sixth and ninth grades and asked to create a narrative on a topic of their choice. Narratives were analyzed between sexes within each grade descriptively for differences in syntax using an adaptation of the Language Assessment Remediation Screening Procedure. Narratives were analyzed statistically for differences in T-unit length, clause length and number of clauses per T-unit. Findings indicated no significant differences between groups in the words per T-unit, and the words per clause used in the narratives. Additionally, differences were not found in the use of verb extensions between groups. Implications from these results are drawn relative to the need of a thorough data base on the language skills of normal school-age children as a critical factor in the evaluation and treatment of the language-disordered child.