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Learning “jump,” “run”, and then “jump and run”

A comparison of monolingual and multilingual Australian English-speaking children’s verbs and word combining on the OZI-SF

ORCiD logo with link | Western Sydney UniversityNSW | South Western Sydney Local Health DistrictNSW | Northern Sydney Local Health DistrictNSW
ORCiD logo with link | Western Sydney UniversityNSW | South Western Sydney Local Health DistrictNSW | Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research
ORCiD logo with link | Western Sydney UniversityNSW | Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research
ORCiD logo with link | Western Sydney UniversityNSW
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with Western Sydney University.

Published online: 23 March 2026
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https://doi.org/10.1075/aral.25067.jon
Abstract
This study compared the performance of monolingual and multilingual Australian English-speaking children on the OZI-SF — an authorised short-form MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory for Australia. The focus was on two established clinical markers of early communication development: verbs (number and type) and word combinations. Caregivers of children (N = 359) aged 18.0 to 30.9 months completed the OZI-SF. Total concept scores (TCS) were calculated, giving credit for items known in English and/or any language. Regression analyses focused on two useful markers of communication development — verb sub-scores and reports of word combining — comparing monolinguals and multilinguals, controlling for age, sex, and caregiver education level. Results showed similar performance between the groups for verb number, verb type, and the use of word combinations. Expected effects of age and sex were observed, but language background and caregiver education did not significantly predict verbs or word combining. Findings support the utility of the OZI-SF as a screening or surveillance tool for describing verb profile and word combinations in both monolingual and multilingual populations.
Article outline
  • Introduction
    • Measurement and assessment of communication in young children
    • Tool selection and scoring methods for communication screening of multilingual children
    • Skills measured in communication screening for mono- and multilingual children
    • Measuring verb lexicon size and type
    • Measuring word combinations in young children
    • Screening Australian English-speaking toddlers’ communication
    • Contributions to current research and clinical practice
  • Purpose of the current study
  • Method
    • Participants
    • Language background
    • Procedure
  • Planned analysis
  • Results
    • Performance of Mono- and multilingual children
    • Word combinations
    • Relationship between the total number of words produced on the OZI-SF and word combinations
    • Relationship between the number of verbs produced on the OZI-SF and word combinations
  • Discussion
  • Limitations
  • Clinical practice implications
  • Future research implications
  • Conclusion
  • References
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