Narrative Macrostructure in Bilingual Children: The Role of Mazes

Date of Submission

Spring 2026

Document Type

Closed Research Project

Degree Name

Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology

Department

Speech-Language Pathology

First Advisor

Lourdes Martinez-Nieto, PhD

Abstract

Narratives are fundamental to a child’s language development, providing insight into their cognitive and linguistic abilities. At the same time, mazes (hesitations or false starts during speech) have been reported as a common feature of children’s narrative production and may reflect underlying processes related to planning and formulation. However, the relationship between mazes and macrostructure abilities has not been well documented, especially in bilingual children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). This longitudinal study investigated the narrative skills of Spanish-English bilingual children with DLD and Typically Developing (TD) peers, focusing on macrostructure performance and maze production in their Spanish narratives from PreK to Third grade. Using a sample of 28 participants, this study analyzed narrative macrostructure and the types and frequencies of mazes across story grammar elements. Results indicate that children with DLD improved in macrostructure abilities, although not to the same extent as their TD peers. Both groups obtained the highest scores in Character and Consequence across time. In terms of mazes, both groups increased their use of revisions over time, whereas only the TD group decreased their use of filler mazes across the years. These findings highlight the importance of understanding narrative skills in bilingual children, especially when identifying and supporting those with DLD

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