A cross-cultural perspective of narrative retells in kindergarten children

An understanding of cross-cultural differences in narratives, particularly in children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, can help clinicians and other professionals distinguish narrative differences from impaired narratives. This study describes similarities and differences in micro-and-macrostructural components in the narrative retells of 32 typically developing Latino dual language learners and Caucasian kindergarteners. A multivariate analysis of covariance suggests that patterns of narrative use of microstructural components were comparable across groups. Group differences in the use of some macrostructural components like character development and mental states were observed. These preliminary findings suggest that some aspects of the macrostructure of narrative language in children may be more susceptible to cultural differences than microstructure ones.