The impact of visual sequencing of pictures on the picture-based sentence construction of English-speaking grade 2 learners

by Du Plooy, Amelia.

The aim of this study was to determine the role of visual language input on PCS sentence construction. Thirty-nine participants were divided into two comparable groups and exposed to two inputs of presentations of PCS to investigate the impact of each input on the sentence construction of the participants. In the SVO input the sequence of buttons was in the normal English word order sequence (Subject-Verb- Object) and in the SOV input the word order was Subject-Object-Verb. Both input groups had to answer six questions by using PCS as well as speech. The findings indicated that the participants did not sequence their output to match the word order of the unfamiliar SOV input. The participants receiving the SOV condition used fewer PCS elements than the participants receiving the SVO condition. The participants receiving the SVO and SOV inputs gave similar spoken answers. Reasons for these findings are discussed, as are the implications for further research. Key terms: • Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) • Picture Communication Symbols (PCS) • Sequencing • Picture-based sentence construction • Linguistic competence i. ii University of Pretoria etd – Du Plooy, A (2005)