Performance on a Spanish Picture-Identification Task Using a Multimedia Format

Abstract

An option for estimating the word-recognition performance of patients who do not speak English as a first language involves using auditory materials, presented in the patient's native language, in conjunction with a closed-set response mode incorporating pictures or written words. The advantage of this auditory/visual paradigm is that the audiologist is not required to know the foreign language and is therefore not required to judge the accuracy of an oral response to speech stimuli in a foreign language. Spanish auditory/visual materials, known as the Spanish Picture-Identification Task, were developed to be used in a computer-driven multimedia administration and scoring format. Performance data, both in open- (word-recognition) and closed-set (word-identification) response modes, were established for the Spanish Picture-Identification Task using subjects whose first language was Spanish. The results from the open-set paradigm indicate that the Spanish Picture-Identification Task word lists are essentially equivalent to conventional Spanish and English materials used for word recognition. Findings from the closed-set conditions indicate that the Spanish Picture-Identification Task materials are appropriate for estimating the word-identification abilities of Spanish-speaking adult listeners.