Chapter 14 Oral Language and Bilingual Assessment Purposes for Assessing Oral Language In early grades, monitored but not assessed Students with second languages Students with mild disabilities Skill Areas Expressive or receptive Phonology, morphology, and syntax Semantics Pragmatics Assessment requires many types of instruments Current Practices Oral language not assessed by academic tests Intellectual performance tests often test language Most are designed for elementary-age children Wide variety of oral language measures Comprehensive Measures of Oral Language Test of Language Development–3 (TOLD–3), Primary Test of Language Development–3 (TOLD–3), Intermediate Oral and Written Language Skills (OWLS) Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery– Revised Test of Adolescent and Adult Languages–3 (TOAL–3) Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities–3 (ITPA–3) Test of Language Development–3 (TOLD–3), Primary and Intermediate Assessing Articulation Photo Articulation Test Pictures to elicit all the consonant, vowel, and diphthong sounds Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation Informal observation and analysis of spontaneous speech Assessing Morphology and Syntax Northwestern Syntax Screening Test (NSST) Test for Auditory Comprehension of Language (3rd ed.) (TACL–3) Carrow Elicited Language Inventory (CELI) Developmental Sentence Analysis Language Sampling, Analysis, and Training (3rd ed.) (LSAT–3) Assessing Semantics and Pragmatics Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Third Edition (PPVT–III) Expressive Vocabulary Test (EVT) Comprehensive Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Test (2nd ed.) (CREVT–2) Assessment of Language Use Informal assessments Let’s Talk Inventory for Children Test of Pragmatic Skills Test of Pragmatic Language (TOPL) Assessing Nonstandard English Standard English is one dialect Dialects are differences, not inferior Black English Spanish-influenced English Nonstandard English Assessment Strategies Informal strategies Collection of speech samples Use of imitation tasks Formal assessments Standard Alternate fashion with credit for correct responses within dialect Languages Other Than English Two dimensions to be assessed: Basic Interpersonal communication skills (BICS) Cognitive/academic language proficiency (CALP) Home language is determined by interview or questionnaire Lack of appropriate measures in all languages Special Education Assessment for English Learners To be completed in primary language Prereferral strategies Assessed in both languages Interpreters in primary language may be used Within the Classroom Communication skill of the teacher Number and types of oral responses of students Interpersonal environment Physical environment conducive to oral discussions and socialization Answering the Assessment Question Measures vary in the languages they assess Different tasks are used to evaluate similar skills Learning aptitude and specific learning abilities affect oral language Oral language pervades all areas Document with formal and informal assessment measures