discusses bilingual assessments

1. Bilingual Assessment
in 475: Research,
Needs, and Resources

2. Definitions
• L1: “Language 1.” Sometimes called the heritage language or the native language. The
first language a student learns.
• L2: “Language 2”. Sometimes called the second language or the non-native language.
• Sequential bilingual: learners learned L1 first and then L2.
• Simultaneous bilingual: those who grow up immersed in both languages from birth or a
very early age.
• Transfer: Transfer is when an error is made in the emergent (L2) as a result of the
native/first language (L1) influence. Transfer is also sometimes called language mixing,
code-mixing or interference. Transfer can be apparent in morphosyntax, semantics, and
speech sound development.

4. Why is Bilingual Assessment Important?
• “Distinguishing between people who have a disorder and people
who do not is one of the most fundamental tasks in clinical
practice. The problem is exacerbated by the heterogeneous
outcomes of bilingualism and superficial similarity observed
between the linguistic performance of children with DLD and
bilinguals, especially if they are assessed in their weaker language
at the time of assessment). Often, the weaker language is the
heritage language since typically exposure and use of that
language decline as the societal language becomes more
robust.”(Dollaghan & Horner, 2011).

5. Hierarchy of Best Practice
Standardized bilingual or L1
assessment with bilingual SLP
Standardized assessment with an SLP
and a trained interpreter. Scores reported
with caution and triangulated with other
data.
Dynamic assessment. May include content analysis of
standardized assessments without use of scores,
language/speech sample analysis, parent/teacher
questionnaires. Should include research on a native
language’s morphosyntax and phonetic inventory .

6. Challenges
• Research and providers cannot
keep up with the need.
• Few tests are truly bilingual.
Monolingual tests lack the sensitivity
and specificity which can result in the
over or under diagnosis of language
delays or disorders in bilingual
children.
• Monolingual norms are not
representative of bilingual populations
and thus lack validity.
• Dialect of a language impacts
articulation and pitch. i.e. Ecuadorian
vs Puerto Rican Spanish.

7. USD 475 Stats
7% of the
district
population is
ELL
Population
Age Range
Elementary has the
highest population
of ELL students

8. Most Common Languages in the District
Spanish
Pohnpeian, Kosrean,
Paluan (each)
Samoan, Tagolog,
German (each)

9. Assessments We Currently
Have
Based on the test list from the IRC

10. Name Area Ages Summary #
Preschool Language
Scale 5 Spanish
Receptive and
Expressive
Language
0-
7;11
“Normed on 1150 children in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Can identify
language delays/disorders in Spanish speakers or bilingual speakers.
Ordered differently than the PLS-5 (English): First all receptive
(Spanish, English), then all expressive (Spanish, English).” (Source:
Bilinguistics)
1
Expressive One Word
Picture Vocabulary,
Spanish/Bilingual Ed.
Expressive
Language
2;0-
70;0
“Assesses expressive single word vocabulary. For bilingual students
can hint towards need for dynamic intervention where concepts are
taught prior to use of concepts in intervention session.” (Source:
Bilinguistics)
2
Receptive One Word
Picture Vocabulary
Test Spanish/Bilingual
Ed.
Receptive
Language
2;0-
70;0
“Assess receptive single word vocabulary. For bilingual students can
hint towards need for dynamic intervention where concepts are taught
prior to use of concepts in intervention session.” (Source: Bilinguistics)
2
Clinical Evaluation of
Language
Fundamentals 4-
Spanish Ed.
Receptive and
Expressive
Language
5-21 Subtest scores are divided into areas of need. Vocabulary score is a
good indicator of language ability for bilingual students, especially if
taken as part of a total vocabulary. (Source: Bilinguistics)
2
Goldman Fristoe Test
of Articulation-3
Spanish
Articulation “The GFTA-3 Spanish is not a translation of the English edition. While
much of the art is shared across the English and Spanish editions,
scoring is based on phoneme production of words in Spanish.”
(Source: Pearson)
1

11. Norm-Referenced Assessments
to Consider for Purchase
Based on “Common Communication Measures” from Bilinguistics

12. Name and Price Area Ages Summary
The Bilingual Spanish
English Assessment
(BESA)
$550
All major
communicati
on areas
4;0-
6;11
“The BESA is a language evaluation to use with young
Spanish/English bilingual children. It has two questionnaires and
divides the testing area into three subtests (Semantics, Morphosyntax,
and Phonology). There is an additional Pragmatic Language Area that
is not scored. Components can be used independently or as an
assessment battery.” (Source: Bilinguistics)
Bilingual Articulation and
Phonology Assessment
(BAPA)
$45 unlimited
administrations.
Articulation
and
phonology
3;0-
10;11
“The BAPA is an iPad Test for both monolingual and bilingual
children. Both languages can be tested, responses are marked and
tabulated as you progress. The results, scores, and tables are created
immediately upon completion. Sound prompts, recording productions,
and repetitions are all possible.” (Source: Bilinguistics)
Norm-Referenced Assessments to Consider
for Purchase

13. What else is available: Questionnaires
• “Intelligibility in Context Scale for Parents and Teachers.” Available
in multiple languages. Link is on Schoology.
• We have the ASQ and the DIAL-4 parent questionnaires available in
Spanish.
• The Speech Participation and Activity Assessment of Children (SPAA-
C). Link is on Schoology.

14. What else is available: Nonstandard
• SALT software and Narrative Scoring scheme:
https://www.saltsoftware.com/media/wysiwyg/codeaids/NSS_Scoring_Guide.pdf
• Language sampling considered the “gold standard”.
• English/Spanish Comprehension questions for the story “Frog Where are You?”
file:///C:/Users/bridgetmooney/Downloads/Frog-Where-Are-You-Comprehension-Questions-Eng-and-
Spn.pdf
• Rojas and Iglesias (2009) recommended three specific measures for use with Spanish–English bilingual
speakers: mean length of utterance in words (MLUW), number of different words (NDW), and words per
minute (WPM). MLUW indexes syntactic skill, NDW measures lexical diversity, and WPM indicates overall
verbal fluency

15. What else is available: Nonstandard
• Spanish Phonology Test. 100 word phonology test in Spanish and
English. Supplemental cluster lists and a screener are also available in
both languages and can be found at:
https://phonodevelopment.sites.olt.ubc.ca/practice-units/spanish/
• Bilingual Communication Assessment Resource Book.
• Other ideas?

16. Questions for you: What do we need?
• What languages?
Tagalog. Puerto Rican Spanish Pohnpeain
• What age groups?
About 3rd grade.
• What areas of communication?
BVAP
• How often have you utilized parent or teacher questionnaires as part of bilingual assessment?
• How often is your ELL teacher in the building? Are you able to utilize them as a resource when testing?

17. What other support would help?
• CEUs?
• Aide/Interpreter training?
• More conversations/training with or from the ELL department?

18. References
• Bedore, L.M., Peña, E.D., Gilliam, R.B. & Ho, T.S. (2010). Language sample measures and language ability
in Spanish-English bilingual kindergarteners.
• Brice, A.E., & Brice, R.G. (2007). A tale of two languages. ASHA Leader. 12 (13), 14-39.
• Dollaghan, C. A. & Horner, E. A. (2011). Bilingual language assessment: A meta-analysis of diagnostic
accuracy. J Speech Lang Hear Res, 54(4), 1077-1088. doi: 10.1044/1092- 4388(2010/10-0093).
• Ebert, K. D., & Pham, G. (2017). Synthesizing Information From Language Samples and Standardized Tests
in School-Age Bilingual Assessment. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools, 48(1), 42–55.
https://doi.org/10.1044/2016_LSHSS-16-0007
• Goldstein, B., Pena, E.D., Kiran, S., Mahendra, Gabrielsa, S.C. (2017). 2 Languages 2 Worlds. Retrieved
from: https://2languages2worlds.wordpress.com/
• Grob, A., Keller, K., & Troesch, L.M. (2015). A large receptive–expressive gap in bilingual children.
Frontiers in Psychology. 6: 1284 Retrieved from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4548084/.
• Guo L-Y, Eisenberg S. Sample Length Affects the Reliability of Language Sample Measures in 3-Year-Olds:
Evidence From Parent-Elicited Conversational Samples. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools.
2015;46(2):141-153. doi:10.1044/2015_LSHSS-14- 0052.

19. References cont.
• Hammer, C. S., Komaroff, E., Rodriguez, B. L., Lopez, L. M., Scarpino, S. E., & Goldstein, B. (2012). Predicting
Spanish–English bilingual children’s language abilities. J Speech Lang Hear Res, 55(5), 1251-1264. doi:
10.1044/1092-4388(2012/11-0016).
• Heilmann, J., Nockerts, A., & Miller, J. F. (2010). Language Sampling: Does the Length of the Transcript Matter?.
Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch, 41(4), 393-404. doi: 10.1044/0161-1461(2009/09-0023).
• Kritikos, E.P. (2003). Speech-Language Pathologists' beliefs about language assessment of bilingual/bicultural
individuals. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. 12, 73-91. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2003/054).
• Levey, S. & Sola, J. (2013). Speech-language pathology students’ awareness of language differences versus language
disorders. Contemporary Issues in Communication Sciences and Disorders, 40, 8-14. Retrieved from:
http://www.asha.org/uploadedFiles/ASHA/Publications/cicsd/2013S-Speech-Language-Pathology-Students-
Awareness.pdf.
• National Center for Education Statistics (2016). English language learners in public schools. NCES. Retrieved from:
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator_cgf.asp.
• Patterson, J. L. (1998). Expressive vocabulary development and word combinations of Spanish-English bilingual
toddlers. Am J Speech Lang Pathol, 7(4), 46-56. doi: 10.1044/1058- 0360.0704.46.
• Peña, E. D., Gillam, R. B., Bedore, L. M., & Bohman, T. M. (2011). Risk for poor performance on a language
screening measure for bilingual preschoolers and kindergarteners. Am J Speech Lang Pathol, 20(4), 302-314. doi:
10.1044/1058-0360(2011/10-0020).
• Rose, K., Armon-Lotem, S., & Altman, C. (2022). Profiling Bilingual Children: Using Monolingual Assessment to
Inform Diagnosis. Language, speech, and hearing services in schools, 53(2), 494–510.
https://doi.org/10.1044/2021_LSHSS-21-00099

20. How ELL Serves our Students
•Push-in and pull-out services are offered to support
academics and English language development
•ELL aides act as verbal interpreters and written
translators for students and families at IEPs,
conferences, and throughout the school day.
•ELL teachers educate staff on native language and
assist with navigating cultural differences.

21. • **Please note, the ______ (test name) is not normed on bilingual speakers and does not take into account
differences in non-American dialects, or customs/cultural expectations that may influence a child’s
responses. In these scenarios, standardized assessments may be administered dynamically. Thus standard
scores should be taken with caution and understood in that context. They do not represent a complete
picture of ______ (student’s name) abilities. A further content analysis of developmental skills is included
below**