A Comparison of Formal Features of Oral Language of Learning Disabled, Low-Achieving and Achieving Secondary Students

This research was published by the KU Center for Research on Learning, formerly known as the University of Kansas Institute for Research in Learning Disabilities.The oral language skills of 20 LD, 18 low-achieving, and 20 achieving students in grades 7 through 10 were analyzed using a one-minute audiotaped discussion of general information topics. Results indicated that differences were not significant among the groups on oral language characteristics such as grammatical conventions, mean length of utterance, and selection of specific vocabulary classes. Minor differences in productivity were the only discriminating features