Abstract
In this study we seek evidence of validity according to the socio-cognitive framework (Weir, 2005) for a new sentence repetition test (SRT) for young Deaf L1 Swiss German Sign Language (DSGS) users. SRTs have been developed for various purposes for both spoken and sign languages to assess language development in children. In order to address the need for tests to assess the grammatical development of Deaf L1 DSGS users in a school context, we developed an SRT. The test targets young learners aged 6–17 years, and we administered it to 46 Deaf students aged 6.92–17.33 ( M = 11.17) years. In addition to the young learner data, we collected data from Deaf adults ( N = 14) and from a sub-sample of the children ( n = 19) who also took a test of DSGS narrative comprehension, serving as a criterion measure. We analyzed the data with many-facet Rasch modeling, regression analysis, and analysis of covariance. The results show evidence of scoring, criterion, and context validity, suggesting the suitability of the SRT for the intended purpose, and will inform the revision of the test for future use as an instrument to assess the sign language development of Deaf children.
Highlights
Tests of sign language proficiency are a growing sub-field of language testing, one that is facing the same issues and challenges as in the assessment of spoken languages
Existing sentence repetition test (SRT) for American Sign Language (Hauser et al, 2008), British Sign Language (BSL; Marshall et al, 2015), German Sign Language (Deutsche Gebärdensprache, DGS; Kubus & Rathmann, 2012), Italian Sign Language (Lingua dei Segni Italiana, LIS; Rinaldi, Caselli, Lucioli, Lamana, & Volterra, 2018), and Swedish Sign Language (Svenskt Teckenspråk, STS; Schönström & Holmström, 2017) were used as a framework to inform the development of the Deaf L1 Swiss German Sign Language (DSGS) sentences, as well as studies on SRTs for spoken languages
This study has reported the results of the development and evaluation of an SRT for DSGS for the purpose of demonstrating scoring and criterion-related validity (RQ1 and RQ2), to ensure that test-taker characteristics impacted known factors that explain the performance of the children (RQ3), and demonstrating context validity (RQ4)
Summary
Tests of sign language proficiency are a growing sub-field of language testing, one that is facing the same issues and challenges as in the assessment of spoken languages. The number of tests available for sign languages is increasing, tests to assess the grammatical development of Deaf children who use Swiss German Sign Language (Deutschschweizerische Gebärdensprache, DSGS) as their primary language have only recently begun to be developed. Existing SRTs for American Sign Language (Hauser et al, 2008), British Sign Language (BSL; Marshall et al, 2015), German Sign Language (Deutsche Gebärdensprache, DGS; Kubus & Rathmann, 2012), Italian Sign Language (Lingua dei Segni Italiana, LIS; Rinaldi, Caselli, Lucioli, Lamana, & Volterra, 2018), and Swedish Sign Language (Svenskt Teckenspråk, STS; Schönström & Holmström, 2017) were used as a framework to inform the development of the DSGS sentences, as well as studies on SRTs for spoken languages
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