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Methodological Reflections on Studies of Preschoolers' Awareness of the Form/Content Distinction in Spoken Communication
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 22 December 2008
Abstract
In a series of studies designed to examine children's mastery of the form/content distinction in spoken communication, the results indicated that such mastery is dependent on the particular task and test procedures. The results showed that preschoolers, at least in their fourth to fifth year, remember and recognize form and content aspects of their own delivered messages. and of their interlocutor's message as well for some types of tasks. However, relationships between different types of tasks were generally low. The hypothesis expressed by David Olson and his colleagues that experience with written texts might prompt the development of this skill, only received weak support. The general conclusion is that there is a range of tasks which may reveal awareness of the form/content distinction, which also make it possible for younger children to make the distinction. Put differently, there is not one form/content distinction in verbal communication, but several.
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