Abstract(s)
Specific language impairment (SLI) is characterized by persistent difficulties that affect language
abilities in otherwise normally developing children (Leonard, 2014). It remains challenging to
identify young children affected by SLI in French. We tested oral production of the passé
composé tense in 19 children in kindergarten and first grade with SLI aged from 5;6 to 7;4 years.
All children were schooled in a French environment, but with different linguistic backgrounds.
We used an Android application, Jeu de verbes (Marquis et al., 2012), with six verbs in each of
four past participle categories (ending in -é, -i, -u, and Other irregulars). We compared their
results and error types to those of control children (from Marquis, 2012–2014) matched for
gender, age, languages spoken at home, and parental education. Results show that children with
SLI do not master the passé composé in the same way as typical French children do, at later ages
than previously shown in the literature. This task shows potential for oral language screening in
French-speaking children in kindergarten and first grade, independently of language background.