LANGUAGE LINK: An online screen of receptive language for children on arrival at school – A comparison of United Kingdom data against data from one Australian state Danielle Le Rossignol and Alison Henty (Dept. of Education, TASMANIA) Julia Ritchie and Pete Mc Leod (Language Link, UK)

Introduction/Disclaimer This research was initiated in response to Kinder screen data from Learning Services (North) which identified high percentages of children requiring follow-up assessment by SLPs This research reflects only one area of a range that are being investigated by, and tracked through, assessments by the Tasmanian Department of Education (DoE) Conclusions are drawn without reference to other banks of data being collected by the Dept. of Education

Background The Department of Education, Tasmania is divided into four learning services based on geographical factors: Learning Services – North [LS (N)] Learning Services – North West Learning Services – South Learning Services – South East

Background

Background LS (North) covers the northern part of Tasmania – “63” area code Approximately 16,900 students in Kinder to Grade 10 (44 Primary/District High) Language Link has been used with 16 schools within Learning Services (North) [LS (N)] over the past two years

Background Communication skills of all Kindergarten children within LS (North) have been screened over the past two years (approximately 1200 students per year) Kinder students are enrolled in DOE schools Approximately 50% of these children have been identified as requiring follow-up assessment by speech-language pathology (18.2% for language)

Background Language Link was therefore seen as a useful adjunct to Kinder screening in supporting teachers/schools with early identification of those students needing referral and/or support for receptive language difficulties

Language Link Data – LS (North) 16 schools and a total of 662 students (347 boys and 323 girls) (ESL students removed from the data due to small numbers) Schools represent a mix of socioeconomic groups (ENI) (12 = low need, 108 = high need) Tasmanian Mean 50.26 LS (North) Mean 52.60 Sample Mean 52.76

Language Link Data – LS (North) 85% of these children were identified as falling into the ‘age appropriate’ group 9.6% ‘support needed’ group 5.4% ‘discuss with SLT/refer to SLP’ group

Language Link Data – LS (North)

Language Link Data – LS (North)

Language Link Data – UK 10 887 students (5479 boys and 5408 girls) Schools represent a mix of socioeconomic groups 89.2% ‘age appropriate’ group 7.7% ‘support needed’ group 3.1% ‘discuss with SLT/refer to SLP’ group

Language Link – UK Data

Language Link – UK Data

LS (North) - Boys

LS (North) - Boys

Language Link – UK Data (Boys)

Language Link – UK Data (Boys)

LS (North) - Girls

LS (North) - Girls

Language Link – UK Data (Girls)

Language Link – UK Data (Girls)

Discussion Similar patterns of difficulty across LS (North) and UK data General pattern – LS (North) students performed better on earlier sections and UK children performed better on the later sections

Discussion LS (North): three main areas of difficulty (not necessarily statistically significant) Cause-Effect Basic Concepts Pronouns

Discussion Implications for academic development and literacy attainment Consideration of receptive language issues from Language Link and Kinder screen data Teacher feedback and KDC

Discussion Test/Re-test Issues Teacher Training Spread of SLP Kinder screen results

Summary Incidence of receptive language difficulties as measured by Language Link within LS (North) is similar to that identified from UK data Three main areas of difficulty for LS (North) data: basic concepts, cause-effect and pronouns

Summary Follow–up retest data for students who do not pass Language Link at start of Kinder Comparisons with ESL data not possible for LS (North) due to small numbers (8 out of 670 students)

Next Steps Continue to compare Language Link data with Kinder screen data Monitor students in Prep for literacy issues Seeking funding for Language Link as a universal screening tool for all students within Learning Services (North)

Contacts Danielle Le Rossignol danielle.le.rossignol@education.tas.gov.au Alison Henty alison.henty@education.tas.gov.au Julia Ritchie julia.ritchie@speechlink.co.uk

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