Assessing the language skills of multilingual Vietnamese-Australian children
Tracks
Concurrent session M1
Assessment
Communication difference
Cultural learning
Culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD)
Developmental Language Disorder (DLD)
Early language
Expressive language
Grammar and syntax
Language disorder
Vocabulary
| Monday, May 27, 2024 |
| 1:50 PM - 2:05 PM |
| BelleVue Ballroom 02 |
Overview
Sharynne McLeod and Sarah Faulks
Details
⏫ Research insights
đź“š Assumed knowledge of attendees: Intermediate (some previous learning/working knowledge of topic e.g. treated a few cases)
đź“š Assumed knowledge of attendees: Intermediate (some previous learning/working knowledge of topic e.g. treated a few cases)
Presenter
Professor Sharynne McLeod
Professor
Charles Sturt University
Assessing the language skills of multilingual Vietnamese-Australian children
1:50 PM - 2:05 PMPresentation summary
Background: Due to the significant number of multilingual children in the world, it is essential to understand the importance of supporting the use of multiple languages and the benefits multilingualism can have on a person and society as a whole. Speech pathologists commonly use monolingual assessments and interventions with multilingual children. There is a need for multilingual assessment tools, further training and research to create data to avoid misdiagnosis of developmental language disorder (DLD) in multilingual children.
Aim: To describe multilingual language assessment of Vietnamese-English speaking children in Australia.
Method: Language skills of 22 multilingual children aged 3;3–8;10 were assessed in Vietnamese using the Vietnamese Language Assessment (VLA) and in English using the Renfrew Action Picture Test (RAPT). Data were also collected using a parent questionnaire and language profile from the VietSpeech Study. Participants’ language skills were analysed by scoring each assessment and using clinical reasoning to triangulate data in the context of children’s individual language profiles to identify whether their language was typically developing or whether DLD may be present.
Results: Overall, participants’ language skills varied depending on age, level of exposure and proficiency in each of their languages; however, there was no significant correlation between their age and language proficiency, and their scores on the VLA and RAPT. For English, 68% of participants’ vocabulary and 36% of participants’ grammar was within normal limits for monolingual English-speaking children. For Vietnamese, 14% of participants’ vocabulary and 10% of participants’ grammar was within normal limits for monolingual Vietnamese-speaking children. Case studies demonstrate the need for an integrated multilingual assessment approach for differential diagnosis of DLD.
Conclusion: An integrated assessment approach needs to incorporate assessment of all languages spoken by children, in conjunction with language profile data with outcomes determined using clinical reasoning.
Aim: To describe multilingual language assessment of Vietnamese-English speaking children in Australia.
Method: Language skills of 22 multilingual children aged 3;3–8;10 were assessed in Vietnamese using the Vietnamese Language Assessment (VLA) and in English using the Renfrew Action Picture Test (RAPT). Data were also collected using a parent questionnaire and language profile from the VietSpeech Study. Participants’ language skills were analysed by scoring each assessment and using clinical reasoning to triangulate data in the context of children’s individual language profiles to identify whether their language was typically developing or whether DLD may be present.
Results: Overall, participants’ language skills varied depending on age, level of exposure and proficiency in each of their languages; however, there was no significant correlation between their age and language proficiency, and their scores on the VLA and RAPT. For English, 68% of participants’ vocabulary and 36% of participants’ grammar was within normal limits for monolingual English-speaking children. For Vietnamese, 14% of participants’ vocabulary and 10% of participants’ grammar was within normal limits for monolingual Vietnamese-speaking children. Case studies demonstrate the need for an integrated multilingual assessment approach for differential diagnosis of DLD.
Conclusion: An integrated assessment approach needs to incorporate assessment of all languages spoken by children, in conjunction with language profile data with outcomes determined using clinical reasoning.
Key messages
At the conclusion of my presentation, attendees will take away
Key message 1: Assessment of multilingual children’s language can use an integrated assessment approach to incorporate all languages spoken and language profile data with outcomes determined using clinical reasoning.
Key message 2: Multilingual participants’ language skills varied depending on their age, level of language exposure, and proficiency in each of their languages.
Key message 3: There are assessments and analyses for supporting multilingual children, including for Vietnamese-English speaking children in Australia.
Key message 1: Assessment of multilingual children’s language can use an integrated assessment approach to incorporate all languages spoken and language profile data with outcomes determined using clinical reasoning.
Key message 2: Multilingual participants’ language skills varied depending on their age, level of language exposure, and proficiency in each of their languages.
Key message 3: There are assessments and analyses for supporting multilingual children, including for Vietnamese-English speaking children in Australia.
**********
Professor Sharynne McLeod, Ph.D. is a speech pathologist and professor of speech and language acquisition at Charles Sturt University, Australia. She has received Life Membership of Speech Pathology Australia and Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. She is an elected Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and the Royal Society of New South Wales, and was an Australian Research Council Future Fellow. She is President of the International Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics Association, a Board Certified Member of the American Board of Child Language and Language Disorders and served as editor of the International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology for 9 years. The Australian Newspaper named her Australia’s Research Field Leader in Audiology, Speech and Language Pathology (2018, 2019, 2020, 2022) and Best in the World based on the “quality, volume and impact” of research in the field (2019, 2023).
Miss Sarah Faulks
Speech-Language Pathologist (Adult/Paed)
Kerin Health
Assessing the language skills of multilingual Vietnamese-Australian children
1:50 PM - 2:05 PM**********
Sarah Faulks is a Speech-Language Pathology Graduate, with Honours, from rural NSW. She has a passion for rural healthcare and hopes to support rural communities as a speech-language pathologist in her future career. Her interests include working with paediatric speech and language clients, and the acute adult population. She has contributed to research amongst the multilingual population, specifically focusing on Vietnamese-Australian children’s language development, and has a drive to continue researching in the future.
Sarah Verdon
Assessing the language skills of multilingual Vietnamese-Australian children
1:50 PM - 2:05 PM**********
Session chair
Shaun Ziegenfusz
Co-CEO| Lecturer
Griffith University | The DLD Project
Student volunteer(s)
Lillian Hennessy-Ellis
Student
Curtin University
Michelle Spillman
Edith Cowan University
The information contained in this program is current at of the time of publishing but is subject to changes made without notice.
Disclaimer: © (2024) The Speech Pathology Association of Australia Limited. All rights reserved.
Important Notice, please read: The views expressed in this presentation and reproduced in these materials are not necessarily the views of, or endorsed by, The Speech Pathology Association of Australia Limited ("the Association"). The Association makes no warranty or representation in relation to the content, currency or accuracy of any of the materials comprised in this presentation. The Association expressly disclaims any and all liability (including liability for negligence) in respect of use of these materials and the information contained within them. The Association recommends you seek independent professional advice prior to making any decision involving matters outlined in this presentation including in any of the materials referred to or otherwise incorporated into this presentation.
.
