Language sample analysis in Spanish-speaking children: Methodological considerations

Vera F. Gutiérrez-Clellen, M. Adelaida Restrepo, Lisa Bedore, Elizabeth Peña, Raquel Anderson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

116 Scopus citations

Abstract

The purposes of this article are (a) to discuss issues related to the selection and development of language assessment procedures for children who speak Spanish and English based on spontaneous language samples and (b) to show how available procedures can be applied to research and clinical aims with these children. Sociolinguistic influences in the language performance of Spanish-speaking children, including patterns of language shift, differences in the amount of exposure to each of a bilingual's languages, and contextual effects of different language-learning environments, are discussed. Methodological issues and effects of codeswitching and dialect are examined concerning use of the Developmental Assessment of Spanish Grammar (DASG), mean length of response in words (MLR-w), mean length of terminable unit (MLTU), and mean length of utterance in morphemes (MLU-m). Measures of Spanish grammar with diagnostic potential are proposed. Clinical suggestions for the language assessment of Spanish-speaking children with different levels of English proficiency and research implications are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)88-98
Number of pages11
JournalLanguage, speech, and hearing services in schools
Volume31
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2000
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Analysis
  • Assessment
  • Language
  • Spanish

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Language and Linguistics
  • Linguistics and Language
  • Speech and Hearing

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Language sample analysis in Spanish-speaking children: Methodological considerations'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this