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Conversational skills and modeling in learning disabled boys

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Mavis Donahue and
Tanis Bryan
Mavis Donahue*
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Chicago
Tanis Bryan
Affiliation:
University of Illinois at Chicago
*
Mavis Donahue, College of Education, Box 4348, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60680
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Abstract

Learning disabled (LD) children in the role of interviewer have been found to be less skilled than nondisabled children at initiating and sustaining a dialogue with a classmate. This study tested the effects of modeling on these conversational skills and on metaconversational knowledge. LD and nondisabled boys in grades 2 through 8 listened to either a dialogue of a child interviewer modeling open-ended questions, conversational devices and contingent comments and responses, or a monologue presenting only the interviewee's responses. Each subject was then videotaped interviewing a classmate. Although the dialogue model increased LD children's production of open-ended questions and comments, these strategies appeared more difficult for their listeners to understand and expand. Results of the metaconversational responses suggest that LD children are aware of their difficulties in conversational interaction.

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Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 4 , Issue 3 , September 1983, pp. 251 - 278
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1983

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