ABSTRACT
H istorically, language comprehension has been studied less extensively in childrenthan language production. Although production offers explicit data for analysis,comprehension can only be measured indirectly, making it a more challenging object of study. As described in this chapter, we measure comprehension by observing behavior in response to language; this response can be as overt as acting out the meaning of a sentence with toys or as subtle as shifting eye gaze to a named object. In adults, we can assume that the methods we use isolate language comprehension to a large extent; in children, it is unclear that this assumption is warranted. In drawing conclusions about comprehension in children, as measured behaviorally, we must consider the nature of their developing cognitive and linguistic systems and how these contribute to observed performance. Increasingly, researchers are trying new methods that circumvent some of the difficulties of testing comprehension in young children and thereby provide better insight into children’s knowledge and receptive processing of language.
