Thoughts of a secondary school SLT

Tag: later language development

  • What makes sentences complicated?

    Preadolescents and adolescents with language disorders struggle to understand the types of sentences they are exposed to at secondary school. Academic language, or informational language is characterized by long, complex sentences and technical vocabulary, used to express higher level ideas (for more information about this type of language, see my blog post: https://secondaryschoolslt.wordpress.com/2026/04/15/what-is-expository-discourse-and-how-is-it-relevant-at-secondary-school/).

    Many students with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) have restricted vocabularies which impede their understanding of this type of language. They are also likely to have weaker, or nonexistent knowledge of certain grammatical structures that cause no problems for their peers, such as passives and object relative clauses (Scott, 2009, Montgomery et al, 2021).

    However, not even their typically developing peers can be expected to understand all of the sentences they come across at this age, since not all adults achieve complete mastery of certain sentence structures. For example, in one study, Nippold et al (2020) found that only 25% of the supposedly typical young adults in their sample were able to produce past tense counterfactual (PTCF) sentences perfectly, and only 50% were able to understand them all the time.

    Aspects other than linguistic knowledge also affect our understanding of such sentences. For example, Leonard et al (2007) found that 62% of the variance in children’s composite language scores was down to nonlinguistic factors, such as Verbal Working Memory (VWM) and processing speed.

    According to Balthazar and Scott (2023, p.567), “syntactic complexity carries a processing cost for all speakers across all modalities”. You might imagine that written language would be less affected by factors such as VWM than oral language which must be interpreted in the moment. However, this has not been found to be the case, probably because the reader still has to use their inner voice to “re-auditorise” the sentence and move parts around.

    Researchers such as Scott, Balthazar and Nippold have spoken in detail about exactly what makes sentences more complex and harder to process. Scott (2009) highlights factors such as the number propositions and embeddings, the sentence order as well as the distance between the main elements. In a later article, Balthazar and Scott (2023, p. 565) defined sentence complexity as “any structure that adds to, interrupts, or changes the subject–verb–object (SVO) order within a clause or adds clauses within a sentence and can be reasonably predicted to increase the processing “load” of the sentence”.

    Firstly, then, a long sentence made up of multiple clauses is harder to process than a simple sentence made up of just one main clause. By definition, a sentence becomes “compound” or “complex” when coordinated or subordinate clauses are added. Syntactic complexity is not just about the length of the sentence, but also the “clausal density” or “subordination index”; in other words, the average number of clauses per sentence.

    Similarly, it is not just about the number of clauses, but how they are arranged. Academic text tends to feature “different levels of subordination” to express a hierarchy of ideas. Conjunctions such as “unless”, “despite” and “otherwise” are used to give weight to certain ideas over others and are capable of expressing subtle relationships between different parts of a sentence.

    This contrasts with oral, conversational language where conjoined clauses of equal value connected with simple conjunctions such as “and”, “but” and “so” are more common (see my post: https://secondaryschoolslt.wordpress.com/2026/04/06/how-are-oral-and-written-language-different/  for more about the differences between oral and written language).

    A particularly complex form of subordination is called “embedding”, where one clause is placed within another, and acts as a noun or adjective in that sentence. Central embedding is considered particularly difficult to understand, and “nesting”, where one clause is placed within another within another even more so. When this exceeds three levels, the sentence quickly becomes unintelligible, e.g. “the dog the cat the mouse bit chased barked”.

    Syntactic complexity can also be increased through elaboration of noun and verb phrases. In one study, Leonard et al (2013) found that when adjectives were added to different nouns, e.g. “the happy yellow dog washes the little pig”, children with language disorders quickly became confused about who was the agent and who was the patient (Leonard et al, 2013, p. 12).

    Cheryl Scott (2009, p. 186) also compares the simple sentence “the amendment was a disaster” with the more complex sentence, “the thoroughly rewritten and meaningless amendment that was inserted by the aide was a disaster.”  Whilst both sentences contain the same subject, amendment, the second has been expanded through the use of modifiers which come before the noun, “pre-modifying” it, as well as a relative clause which comes afterwards, “post-modifying” it.

    Sentences such as this, where a large amount of information precedes the main verb, can also be referred to as “left-branching”. According to Marilyn Nippold (2023, p.44), the entire noun phrase must be held in working memory until the reader/ listener reaches the main action, “was a disaster” and finds out what the sentence is about, increasing processing demands. Other structures which may feature in left branching sentences include adverbial clauses, prepositional phrases and appositives.

    English is also a language with a strict subject-verb-object (SVO) order, and anything which disrupts this is thought to make sentences harder to understand. As mentioned, pre- and post-modification of the noun phrase can do this by creating gaps (long distance dependencies) between elements which are typically close together. However, any sentence which is not in canonical (typical) order, such as passives and clefts (Scott and Balthazar, 2013) may cause difficulties, since certain elements need to be moved around in the mind.

    One further point is that students with DLD may also be overly reliant on immature comprehension strategies such as order-of-mention and context cues. Referring back to the last example sentence, a student with a language disorder may mistakenly connect the predicate “was a disaster” with the immediately preceding noun, “aide”, leading them to the conclusion that the aide was the disaster rather than the amendment. This mistake of believing the nearest noun to be the subject of the sentence is not uncommon (Scott, 2009, Scott and Balthazar, 2013).

    Finally, studies have shown that sentence complexity impacts working memory performance differently across different languages. In English, syntactic complexity had the greater impact, whilst in Hungarian, it was the increased morphological complexity of words (Kail and Csépe, 2006). This is likely due to the distinguishing features of the different languages.

    To sum up, some sentences are so complex that they challenge the processing limits of any listener or reader. As students progress through secondary school and beyond, they are increasingly exposed to this type of academic language. Knowing exactly what can make sentences hard to understand, for all of us, not just those with language disorders will make it easier for us to support our students.

    Notes

    Balthazar, Catherine H., and Cheryl M. Scott. “Sentences Are Key.” American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology 33, no. 2 (2023): 564–579.

    Kail, Michèle, Valéria Csépe, F. L. C. C. 2006. “Effects of Sentence Length and Complexity on Working Memory Performance in Hungarian Children with Specific Language Impairment: A Cross-Linguistic Comparison.” [International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders] 41, no. 6: 713-731.

    Leonard, Laurence B., Patricia Deevy, James W. Miller, Chrystal Rameela, Robert Schwartz, and J. Bruce Tomblin. “Speed of Processing, Working Memory, and Language Impairment in Children.” Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 50, no. 2 (April 2007): 408–428. 

    Leonard, Laurence B., Patricia Deevy, Marc E. Fey, and Shelley L. Bredin-Oja. “Sentence Comprehension in Specific Language Impairment: A Task Designed to Distinguish between Cognitive Capacity and Syntactic Complexity.” Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 56, no. 3 (June 2013): 937–949.

    Montgomery, James W., Ronald B. Gillam, and Julia L. Evans. “A New Memory Perspective on the Sentence Comprehension Deficits of School-Age Children With Developmental Language Disorder: Implications for Theory, Assessment, and Intervention.” Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools 52, no. 2 (April 2021): 449–466.

    Nippold, Marilyn A., Abigail Nehls-Lowe, and Daemion Lee. “Development of Past Tense Counterfactual Sentences: Examining Production and Comprehension in Adolescents and Adults.” Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research 63, no. 10 (October 2020): 3474–3484.

    Nippold, M.A. (2023). Grammar guide for speech-language pathologists: Steps to analyzing complex syntax. San Diego: Plural Publishing.

    Scott, Cheryl M. “A Case for the Sentence in Reading Comprehension.” Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools 40, no. 2 (2009): 184-191.

     Scott, Cheryl M., and Catherine H. Balthazar. “The Grammar of Information: Challenges for Older Students With Language Impairments.” Topics in Language Disorders 30, no. 4 (2010): 288–307.

    Scott, Cheryl M., and Catherine Balthazar. “The Role of Complex Sentence Knowledge in Children with Reading and Writing Difficulties.” Perspectives on Language and Literacy 39, no. 3 (Summer 2013): 18–3

  • Later language development: what Speech and Language Therapists need to know about the secondary school years

    Until relatively recently, the topic of later language development had been somewhat neglected. Whilst early childhood is seen as a time of rapid linguistic growth, later language development has been described as “gradual and protracted” (Nippold, 1998, p.3). Still, recent research has elucidated the many important advancements that occur during this period, calling into question the myth that language development is complete by school age.

    What’s normal?

    Whilst the early period is still considered the time of primary language acquisition, there is now a consensus that language development continues into adulthood and has no fixed end point. In the case of vocabulary, for example, even older adults may learn new words as they pursue different hobbies and read widely. On the other hand, some adults never master all grammatical structures, especially if they did not continue on to further education, where more scholarly forms are in more common usage (Nippold, 1998).

    Wide variation is thus characteristic of language development in the later years. As students begin secondary school, choose certain subjects, drop others, and take on extra-curricular activities, they also develop increasingly specialised vocabularies to match their interests: language becomes ever more individual to the student (Nippold, 1998). What’s more, with slang terms, hesitations, and non-specific phrases such as “like” and “stuff” increasingly common in adolescent language, even typical development may appear disordered (Larson and McKinley, 2003). Nippold (1998) points out that even well-educated adults make grammatical errors from time to time.

    These factors make it more difficult to set guidelines and to define what is “normal” during the adolescent years. And because change is slow and gradual, we may need to compare students across very different age groups to see the differences (Nippold, 1998, p.3).

    Walter Loban (1976) was the first person to document language growth into early adulthood through a longitudinal study comparing a low language ability group with a high language ability group. Since then, various other experts in the field have written about the topic, and a body of research now exists in the area. I have drawn mainly on the amazing work of Marylin Nippold in writing this blog post, particularly her book, “Later language development” (Nippold, 1998).

    Vocabulary

    One important development that occurs during the later years is the expansion of vocabulary. Whilst a 6 year old knows roughly 18,000 words, this increases to at least 60,000 in early adulthood (Nippold, 2024). As students progress through school and participate in the “literate” activities of reading, writing, academic discussion and accessing the curriculum, they begin to acquire more technical and specialist vocabulary, as well as concepts such as adverbs of magnitude and likelihood, and metacognitive and metalinguistic verbs (Nippold, 1998).

    Learning a word is also a gradual, rather than an all or nothing process (Nippold, 1998), and many qualitative improvements occur over time. As we encounter words in different contexts, semantic representations strengthen, and new meanings are added to words already in the repertoire: whilst a young child will typically know the physical meaning of a “double function” word such as “cold”, it is only later that she will learn its psychological meaning, and understand how these different meanings overlap (Nippold, 1998, p.15). Slowly, an organised semantic network develops, as connections between similar words are strengthened (Nippold, 1998).

    The way that we learn words also changes. When we are young, we learn words incidentally, through oral input, but when we begin secondary school, a lot of curriculum vocabulary is taught directly in class. Another important source of learning at this age is the written word, as students are exposed to more unusual, abstract and complex vocabulary and structures through their independent reading. Many young readers learn to utilise morphological and contextual clues to figure out the meanings of unfamiliar words they encounter, supported by developing metacognitive skills and a greater awareness of derivational morphology (Nippold, 1998).

    Syntax

    Syntax also develops in various, subtle ways. Considerable growth occurs at both the intrasentential1 and the intersentential2 levels. Individual sentences increase in length, complexity, and density of information (Nippold, 1998). Loban (1976) observed small, but regular increases in sentence length throughout the school years, although Nippold (1998) cautions us that the length of utterance depends very much on the context. All speakers tend to use shorter sentences when communicating in informal, conversational contexts, and longer sentences in more formal contexts, or when required to explain and give detailed information, such as when telling the rules of a game (Nippold, 1998, 2014).

    Clausal density is another sign of mature development. Whilst a 5 year old may be able to form grammatically correct sentences containing a range of subordinate clauses, the ability to construct longer sentences containing multiple, embedded subordinate clauses to express increasingly complex and abstract thoughts continues to develop into adulthood (Nippold, Mansfield, Billow and Tomblin, 2009). Improved understanding and use of a range of subordinating, coordinating and correlative conjunctions goes alongside this (Nippold, 1998).

    Certain types of clause, such as nominal, adverbial and relative clauses are also used increasingly (Nippold, 2024); the latter, in particular are a common sign of maturing language (Loban, 1976). For a detailed look at these, and other aspects of advanced grammar, I highly recommended Nippold’s book: “A grammar guide for Speech-Language Pathologists” (Nippold, 2014).

    Still, a long, clunky sentence is not necessarily a sign of mature language skills when the message could be expressed more succinctly. Loban (1976) found that during the later stages of adolescence, his low language ability group unexpectedly appeared to catch up with his high language group at one point, in terms of the average number of dependent clauses used per communication unit. However, upon deeper analysis, he found that the higher language group were using more sophisticated sentence structures which enabled them to be more concise.

    Rather than continuing to add on further clauses, sentences may be expanded in other ways, such as elaboration of noun and verb phrases through the use of appositives, infinitives, gerunds, prepositional phrases, and others. Indeed, the presence and combination of low-frequency syntactic structures such as these is another characteristic of mature language (Nippold, 1998). Students also learn to link different sentences together using adverbial conjuncts and other devices to produce cohesive discourse (Nippold, 1998).

    Discourse & comprehension

    Narratives are the most dominant type of discourse throughout primary school, and young children already know a lot about storytelling. At secondary school, students learn to construct longer, more detailed and organised narratives containing multiple episodes, whilst giving more space for their characters’ feelings and motivations. At the same time, other types of discourse, such as expository discourse3, persuasion and negotiation come to the fore (Nippold, 1998).

    Comprehension also improves slowly, and older children develop the important ability to process larger units of discourse (Nelson, 1998). Still, Larson and McKinley (2003) caution that we should not expect pre-adolescents and adolescents to understand everything we say to them, since some grammatical structures may not even be understood by adults. Anyone who has read complex academic prose can tell you that some sentences are just harder to understand than others.

    Figurative language & pragmatics

    Abstract thought, and with it figurative language such as similes, metaphors, idioms and proverbs also develops over time. Research has found that preschoolers have some awareness of this type of language, but that deeper understanding emerges during the school years and adolescence. Similarly, jokes, slang and ambiguous language become increasingly important, since they are linked to students’ self-esteem and peer-acceptance (Nippold, 1998). Conversational and pragmatic skills also develop, with older students more able to adapt their communication to different contexts (Nippold, 2024).

    Whilst many linguistic achievements appear to be “built in”, we have seen how school itself, and the contexts in which students find themselves can influence language development. Similarly, the increasing demands of formal education, which typically include reading challenging material, and extended written assignments sometimes requiring independent research may push forward cognitive and linguistic growth (Paul and Norbury, 2012, Nippold, 2024). As Nippold says, “complex thought encourages complex talk” (Nippold, 2014).

    Final thoughts

    Despite the amount of research now available, later language development is still widely ignored. Larson and McKinley (2003) found that very few university programs across the USA offered modules on this topic, and my experience at a UK university in 2012 was similar. In a small survey that I carried out last year, around half of my fellow SLTs did not feel they had the knowledge to work with this age group, with a further 25% feeling unsure, suggesting that perhaps not much has changed. I hope this summary has helped; for a more in-depth look at later language development and a deeper understanding of grammar, I highly recommend Marilyn Nippold’s excellent books (Nippold, 1998, 2023).

    To find out more about what a language disorders might look like in the later years, please see my post: https://secondaryschoolslt.wordpress.com/2026/01/07/what-is-developmental-language-disorder-dld/

    Notes

    Larson, V.L. and McKinley, N.L. (2003) Communication solutions for older students. Thinking Pub. 

    Loban, W. (1976) Language Development: Kindergarten through Grade Twelve. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

    Nelson, N. W. (1998) Childhood Language Disorders in Context: Infancy Through Adolescence. 2nd edn. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Nippold, M.A. (1998) Later language development: The school-age and adolescent years. 2nd ed. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.

    Nippold, M. A., Mansfield, T. C., Billow, J. L. and Tomblin, J. B. (2009) ‘Syntactic development in adolescents with a history of language impairments: a follow-up investigation’, American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 18(3), pp. 241–251. 

    Nippold, Marilyn. (2014). Language Intervention at the Middle School: Complex Talk Reflects Complex Thought. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. 45. 153-156. 10.1044/2014_LSHSS-14-0027.

    Nippold, M.A. (2023). Grammar guide for speech-language pathologists: Steps to analyzing complex syntax. San Diego: Plural Publishing.

    Nippold, Marilyn. (2024). Language Development in School-Age Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults. 10.1016/B978-0-323-95504-1.00374-4.

    Paul, R. and Norbury, C. (2012) Language Disorders from Infancy Through Adolescence: Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing, and Communicating. 4th edn. St. Louis, MO: Elsevier.

    1. Within sentences ↩︎
    2. Between sentences ↩︎
    3. Discourse aiming to explain or inform; this is the language of the classroom, of lectures, textbooks, reports, etc.  ↩︎

  • In at the deep end

    I began my Speech and Language Therapy journey sobbing in the Additional Learning Needs room in the autumn term of 2014. It was the beginning of the academic year and I’d just gotten my first job as a Newly Qualified Practitioner (NQP) at an “academy” in a deprived borough of London. Unusually for a mainstream secondary school, they’d hired a private Speech and Language Therapist – me! – to manage their huge caseload of around 100 students with language and communication needs. And I didn’t seem to be handling it all that well…

    “I get on well with teenagers”, I’d said during the interview, “and since everyone’s so focused on early intervention, I think they can get forgotten about. But I feel they deserve to be supported too…” That’s how I found myself leading (in the loosest sense of the word) seven Speech and Language Therapy sessions a day – for groups of disengaged young people who seemed keener on throwing the bean bag I’d brought as a “talking stick” at each other’s heads than in doing any of the activities I’d carefully planned.

    It didn’t help that I’d never worked in a secondary school before, let alone had a placement in one. Or that my postgraduate course back in 2012 had covered early language development, before moving swiftly onto acquired adult conditions, all but skipping the adolescent period. Although research into this age group is slowly building, it’s still only a fraction of what’s available for early years. You could be forgiven for thinking that language development ends at 5, and there’s nothing left to be done…

    On the contrary, as student after student came through my door for their assessments, a staggering level of need emerged that I’d never have expected to find in this ordinary secondary school. Many were struggling with basic sentence structures and vocabulary, yet they were expected to analyse Shakespearean tragedies and compose essays. The gap between where my students were and where they were expected to be seemed insurmountable – was it really my job to help them cross it?

    Meanwhile, as the only SLT at school, I had to wait for my weekly supervision session at the clinic for a sighting of one of my colleagues. This made for a slightly strange and isolating first year. And without anyone to ask advice on a daily basis, my students became a mirror for how I was doing. The reflection wasn’t always flattering. They’d often “act out” or refuse to come to my sessions. This was tough, but looking back, it was some of the clearest and most honest feedback I ever received.

    I only ended up staying at that first school for a year, but I did stick with the age group. Over the next decade I went on to work at a range of mainstream secondaries around London, mainly privately, but also as a locum for the NHS.

    Slowly, things started to get better, and I began to see my own progress reflected in my students. Their annual CELF-5 scores improved. They’d tell me that they were understanding more in class; that they were finding it easier to follow their teachers’ instructions. A memory strategy helped one remember his mum’s PIN so he could help her with the shopping (so he said!). Another would proudly show me his conduct card at the beginning of every session with admittedly fewer infractions than the previous term.

    But most of all, my students began showing up more – physically and mentally – to my sessions. And overwhelmingly they did so without complaining; it was almost as if they thought it was helping!

    I’m not a researcher or academic – just an ordinary SLT who’s been in the extra-ordinary position of having time, week in, week out, to try out a range of interventions with my students to see what worked. It’s taken a lot of trial and error, digging out random books and taking obscure courses to get to a point where I feel like I’m truly serving my students’ needs.

    My practice is by no means perfect, but I wanted to start this blog to pass on what I’ve learnt, and to share a window into my practice for anyone who’s interested. Whether you’re a student, SLT or another professional interested in finding out more, I hope this helps.

    Tawna

    You might like to start here: https://secondaryschoolslt.wordpress.com/2026/01/07/what-is-developmental-language-disorder-dld/