ERIC Number: EJ1283682
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1543-4303
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Identifying Developmental Language Disorder in School Age Bilinguals: Semantics, Grammar, and Narratives
Language Assessment Quarterly, v17 n5 p541-558 2020
Children with Developmental language disorder (DLD) have particular difficulty learning language despite otherwise general normal development. When school age bilingual children struggle with language, a common question is if the difficulties they present reflect lack of ability or lack of language experience. To address the question of identification of DLD in the context of bilingualism, we explore the diagnostic accuracy of measures administered in two languages. The Bilingual English Spanish Assessment Middle Extension (BESA-ME) assesses semantics and morphosyntax and the Test of Narrative Language (TNL) assesses comprehension and production of narratives. These measures were administered to 112 second graders (19 with DLD) and 64 fourth graders (7 with DLD). We explored the classification accuracy of each of these measures alone and in combination using receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The ROC curve illustrates diagnostic classification of a measure at various cutpoints. We compared the extent to which measures in English, Spanish, or best language account for area under the (ROC) curve. Discriminant function analysis using the best indicator (Spanish, English, best language) from each type of measure (semantics, morphosyntax, narrative) in combination demonstrate classification accuracy above 80%. Morphosyntax in the best language was the strongest predictor of DLD for second grade children. In fourth grade, the three measures contributed more equally in predicting DLD.
Descriptors: Bilingualism, Language Impairments, Accuracy, Spanish, English (Second Language), Language Tests, Morphology (Languages), Grade 2, Elementary School Students, Syntax, Narration, Classification, Identification, Diagnostic Tests, Grade 4, Predictor Variables, Second Language Learning, Parent Attitudes, Correlation
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Elementary Education; Grade 2; Primary Education; Grade 4; Intermediate Grades
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: R01DC010366
Author Affiliations: N/A