Test Development for Spanish Speaking Children: Inventario del Desarrollo de Habilidades Comunicativas (Communicative Development Inventory II (CDI-II))
The number of Spanish versions of standardized tests used in speech-language pathology is steadily increasing. The potential problem with such tests is that they do not account for the many varieties of the Spanish language. The purpose of this study was to examine the content of one standardized test, the Inventario del Desarrollo de Habilidades Comunicativas (IDHC), to determine if vocabulary differs among Spanish speakers relative to the varieties spoken in their country of origin. A total of 28 participants from 12 Spanish-speaking countries reviewed 680 vocabulary items on the IDHC. Participants completed the vocabulary section of the IDHC and indicated which lexical items were found in their dialect of Spanish. If a particular word was not found in their Spanish dialect, the participant was asked to provide an appropriate substitution, if possible. Results revealed that speakers of Mexican-Spanish (N=7) reported fewer differences between their varieties (M=6.86) and the test version. Alternatively, Spanish speakers from 11 other countries (N=21) reported a greater number of vocabulary differences (M=55.33) among their varieties and the test version. Qualitative differences were found in word types suggesting a core vocabulary that is used across Spanish language varieties. Results have implications for Spanish test development, assessment, and intervention with Spanish-speaking children in the US.
School:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department:
Speech and Hearing Science
Research Advisor:
Dr. Adele Proctor
Department of Research Advisor:
Speech and Hearing Science
Year of Publication:
2004