Language Development in Adolescence — The High School Years (Ages 13–18)

Abstract

Language development of students during the high school years has not received a great deal of attention from researchers. More has been learned about developments in this period through studies carried out by educators. Further, these studies are largely concerned with analyses of written language rather than spoken language. There are some exceptions and these are studies of pragmatic knowledge during this age period. The results of the written language analyses indicate that, in general, with age there is increasing use of sentence-combining structures. Sentences become lengthier and more complex. It is not surprising that there is no large body of research on structural language development in this period because, presumably, there are no longer remarkable changes in what students know.