| Abstract | This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of three language elicitation methods (personal narrative telling, narrative book retelling, and narrative short video retelling) in assessing Spanish language skills among Spanish-English Dual Language Learners (DLLs). Eleven preschool-aged DLLs, who met specific language fluency and development and cognition criteria were selected for this study. Language samples were collected using the three elicitation methods, transcribed and coded using Systematic Analyses of Language Transcripts (SALT; Miller & Iglesias, 2008). Analysis of Variance (ANOVAs) tests comparing the three elicitation methods revealed no significant differences in Mean Length of Utterance in Words (MLUw) and the total number of different words (NDW) among the methods. The findings indicate that all three language elicitation methods are equally effective in assessing language skills in Spanish-speaking DLLs. Descriptive data demonstrates that some children benefitted more with one time of method that others. This suggests the importance of employing diverse methods for language sample collection, tailored to the children's cultural backgrounds and home language exposure, to ensure equitable language assessment practices. The study underscores the need for SLPs to adapt assessment protocols to the changing demographics and linguistic diversity of the populations they serve. |
