Development of Conversational Skills from Late Children to Adolescent

Objectives: This study aimed to examine developmental differences in conversational skills from childhood to adolescents. Methods: A total of 45 students were participated in the study. Fifteen students were in the higher grade of elementary school, 15 were in middle school and 15 were high school students. Conversation samples were collected by the examiner through the Hallym Conversation & Pragmatic Assessment Protocol. The number of turn-taking, frequency of utterances per turn, the total number of topics, frequency of turns per topic, rates of initiation, maintenance, and change were measured. Results: The results revealed a significant difference in the total number of topics, frequency of turns per topic the rates of initiation, maintenance, and change excluding utterance per turn. Conclusion: The results of the study show that conversational skills develop continuously during late childhood and adolescents. These help us further understanding of conversational skills in adolescent periods.