The effect of language and cognitive development on mathematical performance in children aged 6-8.11

As individuals with language disorders may experience mathematical difficulties, individuals who struggle with mathematical skills may also encounter certain linguistic and cognitive problems. The aim of this study is to examine the impact of language and cognitive development on mathematical performance in children aged 6 to 8.11 years. The study included a total of 52 individuals, consisting of 37 boys and 15 girls. After obtaining sociodemographic information from the 52 participants, they were successively administered the TODİL (Turkish School Age Language Development Test), TAST (Turkish Nonword Repetition Test), LİTMUS-TR (Turkish Sentence Repetition Test), WISC-R (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children), and non-routine mathematical problems appropriate for their age level. According to the findings obtained from the study, a high positive correlation was observed between the TODİL grammar composite score and mathematical performance. A high positive relationship was also observed with WISC-R similarity, verbal score, block design, and total score. Additionally, a high positive correlation was observed between LİTMUS-TR and mathematical performance. Based on the results of the findings, it was observed that there is a significant relationship between language and mathematics, with children who have lower language levels showing lower mathematical performance, whereas children with higher language levels exhibiting higher mathematical performance. A significant relationship was also observed between cognition and mathematics. This study demonstrated that language and cognition affect mathematical performance. Therefore, to enhance mathematical performance in preschool and school-age children, it is necessary to improve language skills and support cognitive abilities. Keywords: Language, cognition, mathematics, non-routine problems