Newcastle University

Introduction

My work is driven by a fascination with mechanisms of language acquisition and language impairment in children. This motivates me to explore what language acquisition in typically developing children can tell us about factors underpinning language impairment, and to search cross-linguistically and across bilingual populations for evidence of these factors. I take an emergentist view of language acquisition, i.e. that different emerging skills underpinning language interact with each other and with characteristics of environmental input to influence outcome.

Background

Qualified Speech and Language Therapist with interests and experience in paediatrics

Roles and Responsibilities

Degree Programme Director, BSc Speech & Language Sciences

Qualifications

BA French/Linguistics
MRCSLT (Diploma)
PhD

Previous Positions

Lecturer, University of Reading

Memberships

Member of Royal College of Speech and language Therapists
Member of Health Professions Council

Languages

French
Some knowledge of German

Research Interests

Early characteristics of language impairment.
Assessment of children's language.
The assessment and treatment of language impaired children from bilingual backgrounds.

Current Work

New Reynell Developmental Language Scales (NRDLS): Redevelopment and re-standardisation of the Reynell Developmental Language Scales (4th Edition).
Multilingual Toolkit for working on children's language assessment in languages other than English.
Funded seminar series: Assessment of children from a bi- or multilingual context at risk for language impairment.

Future Research

Explorarion of aspects of child language acquisition, using database devbeloped for NRDLS.

Specific aspects of bilingual language acquisition

Postgraduate Supervision

Language assessment in children.
Language impairment in children.
Bilingual language development and impairment in bilingual children.

Funding

gl-assessment: 'The New Reynell': Redevelopment and re-standardisation of the Reynell Developmental Language Scales (4th Edition). £134,000
ESRC Seminar series: Assessment of children from a bi- or multilingual context at risk for language impairment. £15,000

Projects

• A Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Speech and Language Intervention for Children with Cerebral Palsy
  Project Leader(s): Dr Lindsay Pennington
• Assessment and Management of Children with English as an Additional Language who have Communication Impairments: Finding a New Way Forward
  Project Leader(s): Dr Carolyn Letts, Dr Ghada Khattab
• Assessment of Children from a Bi-or Multilingual Context at Risk for Language Impairment
  Project Leader(s): Ghada Khattab and Carolyn Letts
• Early Years Professionals' Understandings of Childrens's Speech and Language Development
  Project Leader(s): Maria Mroz
• Evaluating the Progress in Reading and Spelling made by Children who Attend the Literacy Clinic, University of Newcastle
  Project Leader(s): Dr Carolyn Letts, Dr Sue Stothard
• The New Reynell Development Language Scales
  Project Leader(s): Carolyn Letts

Undergraduate Teaching

Clinical Linguistics;
The School Age Child;
Child language impairment: case-based problem solving;
Child language acquisition;
Psycholinguistics
Research supervision at undergraduate, masters and MPhil/PhD levels.

Postgraduate Teaching

As above, for MSc in language Pathology

• Letts CA. Communication impairment in a multilingual context. In: Ellis, S., McCartney, E, ed. Applied Linguistics and Primary School Teaching: Developing a Language Curriculum. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2011, pp.267-275.
• Pert S, Letts CA. Codeswitching in Mirpuri speaking Pakistani heritage preschool children: Bilingual language acquisition. International Journal of Bilingualism 2006, 10(3), 349-374.
• Letts C, Hall E. Exploring early years professionals' knowledge about speech and language and development and impairment. Child Language Teaching and Therapy 2003, 19(2), 204-229.
• Pert S, Letts CA. Developing an expressive language assessment for children in Rochdale with a Pakistani heritage background. Child Language Teaching and Therapy 2003, 19(3), 266-289.
• Gatt D, Letts CA, Klee T. Lexical mixing in the early productive vocabularies of Maltese children: implications for intervention. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics 2008, 22(4-5), 267-274.
• Letts CA, Leinonen E, Smith BR. Children's pragmatic communication difficulties. London: Whurr, 2000.
• Letts CA, Edwards S, Garman M, Hughes A. Clinical Forum Assessing the comprehension and production of language in young children: an account of the Reynell Developmental Language Scales III. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 1999, 34(2), 151-171.
• Letts C, Sinka I, Edwards S, Schaefer B. The New Reynell Developmental Language Scales: Descriptive account and illustrative case study. Child Language Teaching and Therapy 2013. Submitted.
• McKean C, Letts CA, Howard D. Developmental change is key to understanding Primary Language Impairment: the case of phonotactic probability and nonword repetition. Journal of Speech, Language and Hearing Research 2013. In Press.
• McKean C, Letts CA, Howard D. Functional reorganisation in the developing lexicon: separable and changing influences of lexical and phonological variables on children's fast mapping. Journal of Child Language 2013, 40(2), 307-335.
• McKean C, Letts CA, Howard D. Triggering word learning in children with Language Impairment: The effect of phonotactic probability and neighbourhood density. 2013. Submitted.
• Mroz M, Letts C. Interview stories: Early years practitioners' experiences with children with speech, language and communication needs. Child Language Teaching and Therapy 2008, 24(1), 73-93.
• Letts C. Brumfitt, S., 'The social psychology of communication impairment', (London: Whurr, 1999). International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders 2001, 36(4), 533-534.