The influence of socially disadvantaged backgrounds on lexical-semantic speech plane at the pre-school children

The thesis studies the impact of a socially disadvantaged environment on lexical-semantic level of speech of pre-school children living in children's home. Social environment is one of the key factors influencing speech development. Neglect or absence of parents may lead to impaired communication ability of a child. The theoretical part is structured into three main chapters, which define basic concepts of communication, development of children's speech and legislative framework for education of children with impaired communication ability. It describes the socially disadvantaged environment and its impact on a communication ability of a child. Lastly, it describes the environment of children's homes. The centre of the thesis is an analysis of lexical-semantic level of speech of five children from the children's home in Pyšely. A qualitative method is applied, which utilizes analysis of children's activities, their personal and family history, participant observation and a questionnaire. The results are presented in a form of case studies and recommendations for further development of language abilities of pre-school children in the frame of lexical-semantic level of speech