Examining the Generalization of Milieu Language Objectives in Situations Requiring Listener Preparatory Behaviors

• Published in: Topics in early childhood special education Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 139 - 167
• Main Authors: Kaczmarek, Louise A., Hepting, Nancy H., Dzubak, Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-04-1996; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Children; Communication Skills; Delayed Speech; Developmental Delays; Generalization; Interpersonal Communication; Intervention; Language Acquisition; Language development; Language disordered children; Language instruction; Learning; Listening; Listening skills; Milieu Teaching; Milieu therapy; Native language acquisition; Preschool Education; Skill Development; Special education; Students with disabilities; Teaching Methods; Young Children
• ISSN: 0271-1214; 1538-4845
• DOI: 10.1177/027112149601600203

Children were taught target communication objectives using milieu language teaching. The construction of generalization probes and the categorization of spontaneous occurrences of the target objectives were guided by a 4 x 6 matrix with setting/communication partner (SCP) variables on one dimension and situations requiring gradually decreasing demands for listener preparatory behaviors (LPBs) on the other. Both dimensions also represented continua that progressed from situations that were most like those of intervention to situations that were less similar. The 2 children who acquired their objectives using milieu language teaching were observed to generalize their target objectives spontaneously and in probe situations that also required them to display listener preparatory behaviors. However, analyses of the generalization matrices revealed that their patterns of generalization differed in a variety of ways and that similarity to training offered only a partial explanation of the results.