A Picture Tells a Story in Any Language.
Speech and Language Research at the University of Alberta
By Zachary Devereax, Research Profile Project.

Jamie Mallette and Angela Chamberland are students in the Masters of Speech-Language Pathology program at the U of A, a program unique in Alberta. Jamie came to the U of A after completing a BA in Linguistics at the University of Calgary. Angela completed a BA in Psychology at the U of A, and the direction she took at the postgraduate level was influenced by her undergraduate research: “I had some work experience at a health unit where I was able to work with Speech-Language Pathologists and this led to my entering the MSLP program. And in my undergrad I also had some opportunities to participate in research looking at language development in children.”

Jamie and Angela explained that Speech-Language Pathology crosses over from the classroom to the clinic, and deals with the full breadth of communication disorders: “Our program is concerned not just with speech but with the rehabilitation of communication as well. We deal with all aspects of communication, working with people across the entire lifespan, from children through to seniors. Speech-language pathology not only includes developmental problems, but can be acquired speech problems from a stroke or brain injury.”

Sharing an interest in bilingualism Jamie and Angela have begun working together as a research team. The two will be working with 5- and 9-year-old children at a Francophone school in St. Albert. Angela explained: “Our supervisor, Dr. Phyllis Schneider, has developed a narrative assessment tool, called the Edmonton Narrative Norms Instrument (ENNI), and it has been standardized with English speaking children in the Edmonton area. Our research question asks whether it will be a feasible tool for Francophone children as well, because there is a shortage of developed tests for that population.” Jamie offered insight into what the ENNI is all about: “The ENNI tests different aspects of language because the way that a typically-developing child tells a story differs from the way a child with a language disorder would tell a story. It helps to sort out who might be having language difficulties.”

The pair elaborated on the nature of the ENNI, and described how the pictures show in simplicity what is actually an extremely complex phenomenon - storytelling (see below). “The ENNI is a series of pictures that the child looks at. Then the child is asked to tell a story to the examiner, based on those pictures.” There are several factors used to gauge the child’s ability to tell a story: “There is the initiating event, an attempt, and consequence. The initiating event is what triggers the protagonist to act, and an attempt is an effort to solve the problem or overcome the obstacle, while the outcome is the result: did the characters succeed? What came out of their attempt? There are additional aspects such as the character’s feelings and their internal responses. But the three we mentioned: initiating event, an attempt, and consequence need to be present for a story to be complete. The others are additional elements that older children, or children without language disabilities might include.”

The value of being able to tell stories clearly cannot be underestimated. Jamie and Angela’s research helps us to understand how children articulate their imagination, one of the most fascinating processes of the human condition. This research leads us closer to being able to identify children with communication problems early so that we can tailor their educational needs and ensure that they have the opportunity to succeed.

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