THE UTILIZATION OF TELEPHONE TECHNOLOGY IN THE FACILITATION OF SPONTANEOUS ORAL LANGUAGE IN FUNCTIONAL LANGUAGE-DELAYED KINDERGARTEN CHILDREN

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of telephone technology on the facilitation of spontaneous oral language of functional language-delayed kindergarten children. Two subsidiary purposes were: first, to determine what effect, if any, telephone use in the classroom had on three levels of functional language-delayed behavior: use of gestures only, use of one-to-two word utterances, and use of sentences; and second, to analyze spontaneous verbalization output to assess oral language growth and development.;Two standardized tests were administered. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT) was used to measure single word receptive vocabulary and the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts (BTBC) was used to measure basic concept knowledge.;Language samples were documented during pretest and post observations for the analysis of total language use and to assess oral language growth and development. Mean Length of Response(MLR), Mean of Five Longest Sentences(M5L), and Tough's Language Variety Classifications were used as the measuring instruments.;Statistical findings: (1) There was no significant difference in the Mean Length of Response(MLR) or speech pattern of spontaneous oral language of functional language-delayed kindergarten children after using telephones in the classroom. (2) There was a significant difference in the Mean of Five Longest Sentences(M5L) of spontaneous oral language of functional language-delayed kindergarten after using telephones in the classroom. (3) With regard to the levels of functional language-delay, there was a significant difference in the Mean of Five Longest Sentences(M5L) and Variety of language used by children who used one-to-two word utterances as compared to children who used gestures only and sentences. (4) There was a significant difference in the variety of language used by children in the experimental group as compared with the children in the control group.;Thirty-two kindergarten children of mixed racial and economic backgrounds were selected from six kindergarten classes at the Kindergarten Center in Freeport, New York. The selection criteria was based on one of three levels of functional language-delayed behavior: use of gestures only to indicate a desire or intent to communicate, use of one-to-two word utterances, or use of sentences. The subjects were divided into an experimental and control group comprised of sixteen children. Matching criteria for the groups was based on scores obtained for receptive vocabulary and basic concept knowledge.;Conclusions. Children who exhibited functional language-delayed behavior appeared to require exceptional motivation beyond that which was provided by the regular classroom procedures, equipment, and atmosphere.;Spontaneous oral language was facilitated in functional language-delayed kindergarten when a talk provoking instrument such as the telephone was a part of the classroom equipment. As the classroom atmosphere and equipment provoked spontaneous oral language the children began to talk and to increase their total oral language participation.