Sentence comprehension in Spanish-speaking children with hearing loss

What is it about?

Children with hearing loss who use hearing devices, like cochlear implants or hearing aids, often find it harder to understand sentences with unusual word orders. Our study examined how these children, compared to children with typical hearing, understand different types of sentences in Spanish. We found that all children, regardless of hearing ability, easily understood simple sentences with standard word order. However, they struggled with sentences where the word order or verb meaning didn’t follow typical patterns, showing they focused on the linear order of words in the sentence to derive meaning rather than relying on grammatical information. Children with hearing loss had more trouble overall, especially with sentences where the verbs had complex meanings (psychological states), even as they got older. These insights can help improve how we teach language to children with hearing loss, making sure they get the right support for understanding challenging sentences.

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Photo by saeed karimi on Unsplash

Photo by saeed karimi on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This is the first study evaluating verbs of this kind and in Spanish, a language that presents scarce evidence for these children.

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