[SENTREP test: two lists of sentences of equal length to check the attention and the presence of linguistic maturity problems]

Abstract

Introduction: Comparing the syntactic complexity of the sentences, in addition to its length, may help detect the linguistic weaknesses of Spanish-speaking subjects.

Objectives: The test consists of two lists of sentences of similar length: a list of sentences of well-controlled length, based on the repetition of bisyllabic words (such as the ones suggested by Kagan & Klein) and adding length to the sentences in two syllables steps; and a parallel list where a series of linguistic complexities are included (negatives, persons, numbers, tenses, composite or multiple verbs, relatives, etc) where length increases one syllable at a time.

Material and methods: We administered this test to 41, 44, 62 and 18 student aged 6, 9, 12 and 15 at a upper-class school in Bogotá; and to parallel groups of 20 gifted students (in a school for gifted children near Bogotá) and 40 disabled Hispanic non-readers attending an independent special program.

Results: Below a certain developmental level (the age of 9) student must face complexity as one more difficulty that diminishes the length of the repeated sentence. On the contrary: after this age, their mastery of the structure of language acts as a leading thread that allows the repetition of longer and longer sentences, much longer than their simple attention span.

Conclusions: This diagnostic approach adds an unexpected approach to the very quick observation and detection of both attentional and linguistic problems.