Nippold M A, Taylor C L, Baker J M
University of Oregon Eugene, USA.
J Speech Hear Res. 1996 Apr;39(2):442-7. doi: 10.1044/jshr.3902.442.
In this developmental study, idiom understanding was examined in Australian students from Grades 5 and 8 (n = 50 per group; mean ages = 10.7 and 13.8, respectively). Twenty-four idioms with familiarity ratings ranging from high to low (as judged by Australian adolescents) were each presented in a brief story context. The students read each story and selected the best interpretation of the idiom from a set of four answer choices. Results indicated that performance on the task improved as a function of increasing grade level and that idiom familiarity was significantly correlated to idiom understanding for both groups of students. These results, which were consistent with a previous study of American students of comparable educational levels (Nippold & Taylor, 1995), provide further support for the "language experience" hypothesis of figurative language development. In replicating the previous developmental study, evidence of external validity is provided.
在这项发展性研究中，对澳大利亚五年级和八年级的学生（每组n = 50；平均年龄分别为10.7岁和13.8岁）的习语理解能力进行了测试。24个习语的熟悉度评级从高到低（由澳大利亚青少年评定），每个习语都呈现在一个简短的故事背景中。学生阅读每个故事，并从一组四个答案选项中选择对该习语的最佳解释。结果表明，随着年级的升高，任务表现有所提高，并且对于两组学生而言，习语熟悉度与习语理解显著相关。这些结果与之前一项针对具有可比教育水平的美国学生的研究（Nippold & Taylor，1995）一致，为比喻性语言发展的“语言经验”假说提供了进一步的支持。在重复之前的发展性研究时，提供了外部效度的证据。
