The psychometric status of child language assessment tools in South Africa's official languages.
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| Title: | The psychometric status of child language assessment tools in South Africa's official languages. |
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| Authors: | Southwood F; Department of General Linguistics, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch. fs@sun.ac.za., Brönn C, Brookes HJ, Defty C, Kruger H |
| Source: | The South African journal of communication disorders = Die Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir Kommunikasieafwykings [S Afr J Commun Disord] 2025 Oct 21; Vol. 72 (1), pp. e1-e8. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Oct 21. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article; Review |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: AOSIS Publishing Country of Publication: South Africa NLM ID: 7805099 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 2225-4765 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 03798046 NLM ISO Abbreviation: S Afr J Commun Disord Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: <2015- > : Durbanville, South Africa : AOSIS Publishing Original Publication: Johannesburg, South African Speech and Hearing Assn. |
| MeSH Terms: | Psychometrics* , Language Tests*/standards , Child Language*, Humans ; South Africa ; Child, Preschool ; Child ; Infant ; Reproducibility of Results ; Language |
| Abstract: | Despite advancements in recognising the importance of early child language development and linguistic diversity in South Africa, culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment tools remain unevenly distributed across the official languages, posing considerable challenges for researchers and speech-language therapists. This study critically reviews the psychometric status of child language assessment tools in South Africa's official languages. The current state of tool development is analysed, evaluating language assessment tools available for clinical and research purposes in each language. Tools that assess speech sounds, phonological processing and (pre)literacy skills were excluded, as were untraceable tools reported in previous publications, and tools that do not assess language only but form part of larger developmental assessments. Considering each language version of a tool, 37 traceable language assessment tools (at least 1 per official language), in various states of readiness, are available for use with South Africans aged 0-12 years. Out of these 37 tools, 5 tools, with collectively 7 language versions, have been validated and the statistical results of the validation study published: 4 for isiZulu, 2 for English and 1 for Siswati. Despite advances in tool development, there is still a severe lack of validated standardised child language measurement tools in all official languages of South Africa.Contribution: This is the most recent critical review of the psychometric properties of tools developed for assessing South African children's language skills, and it highlights that past and current efforts in tool development are still insufficient. |
| References: | Clin Linguist Phon. 2016;30(2):87-100. (PMID: 26785940) J Child Lang. 2013 Mar;40(2):415-37. (PMID: 22357408) Health SA. 2020 Jul 29;25:1378. (PMID: 32832107) J S Afr Speech Hear Assoc. 1971 Dec;18(1):28-38. (PMID: 5161917) Am Psychol. 2019 Feb-Mar;74(2):232-244. (PMID: 30762387) S Afr J Commun Disord. 2011 Oct;58:2-5. (PMID: 22216554) Dev Psychol. 2025 Feb 20;:. (PMID: 39977678) Clin Linguist Phon. 2021 Sep 2;35(9):891-908. (PMID: 33138656) Folia Phoniatr Logop. 1998;50(5):256-70. (PMID: 9831799) |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: African languages; South Africa; assessment instruments; child language; instrument adaptation.; instrument development; language assessment |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20251104 Date Completed: 20251104 Latest Revision: 20251204 |
| Update Code: | 20251204 |
| PubMed Central ID: | PMC12587129 |
| DOI: | 10.4102/sajcd.v72i1.1132 |
| PMID: | 41185918 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
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Nájsť tento článok vo Web of Science | Abstract: | Despite advancements in recognising the importance of early child language development and linguistic diversity in South Africa, culturally and linguistically appropriate assessment tools remain unevenly distributed across the official languages, posing considerable challenges for researchers and speech-language therapists. This study critically reviews the psychometric status of child language assessment tools in South Africa's official languages. The current state of tool development is analysed, evaluating language assessment tools available for clinical and research purposes in each language. Tools that assess speech sounds, phonological processing and (pre)literacy skills were excluded, as were untraceable tools reported in previous publications, and tools that do not assess language only but form part of larger developmental assessments. Considering each language version of a tool, 37 traceable language assessment tools (at least 1 per official language), in various states of readiness, are available for use with South Africans aged 0-12 years. Out of these 37 tools, 5 tools, with collectively 7 language versions, have been validated and the statistical results of the validation study published: 4 for isiZulu, 2 for English and 1 for Siswati. Despite advances in tool development, there is still a severe lack of validated standardised child language measurement tools in all official languages of South Africa.Contribution: This is the most recent critical review of the psychometric properties of tools developed for assessing South African children's language skills, and it highlights that past and current efforts in tool development are still insufficient. |
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| ISSN: | 2225-4765 |
| DOI: | 10.4102/sajcd.v72i1.1132 |