Language assessment of Polish-English bilingual children in Ireland: Towards developing diagnostic tools for speech and language therapy practice

Background The assessment of multilingual children presents an ongoing challenge for Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs), particularly within societal language speaking healthcare settings such as the Republic of Ireland (RoI). Despite increasing linguistic diversity amongst paediatric caseloads, evidence-based practice (EBP) in multilingual language assessment remains constrained by limited access to appropriate assessment tools for clinical use, insufficient specialist training, and organisational pressure. In addition, multilingual families are often underrepresented in the design and evaluation of assessment protocols, impacting the cultural validity and clinical relevance of assessment tools. Due to these limitations, multilingual children are at risk of inequitable assessment and misdiagnosis of Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). Addressing these challenges requires an integrated approach that incorporates research evidence, clinical expertise, and public perspectives, consistent with established models of evidence-based practice. Aim The research seeks to (i) to explore the assessment practices and the perspectives of assessment amongst SLTs working with multilingual children in the RoI, (ii) to describe involvement a Public Advisory Panel (PAP) in research on the development of a protocol for using Polish-English LITMUS Sentence Repetition (SRep) tasks for language assessment of bilingual Polish-English speaking children by English-speaking SLTs in the RoI, (iii) to evaluate the feasibility of using a novel scoring schema to assist English-speaking SLTs practising in the RoI in scoring Polish SRep in collaboration with Polish language teachers. Methods This thesis adopts a multi-phase, mixed-methods design and is presented in a thesis-by-publication format comprising three interrelated studies. Study 1 employed a national mixed-methods survey of SLTs working with multilingual children in the RoI (n = 131), incorporating quantitative descriptive statistics and qualitative content analysis to explore assessment practices, confidence, and perceived challenges. Study 2 utilised a participatory research design, establishing a Public Advisory Panel (PAP) of Polish–English bilingual parents and community members (n = 6) who contributed to recruitment strategies, the adaptation of assessment materials, and dissemination. Study 3 examined the feasibility of a novel collaborative scoring schema for Polish SRep tasks administered by English-speaking SLTs in collaboration with Polish language teachers or interpreters (n = 27), using quantitative analyses of scoring agreement and qualitative error analyses to compare outcomes with expert linguistic scoring and to profile cross-linguistic language performance. Findings Findings from Study 1 revealed a substantial mismatch between best-practice guidelines and clinical reality. Although SLTs demonstrated awareness of the need to assess all languages spoken by a child, assessment practices frequently relied on English norm-referenced tools due to limited access to multilingual assessments, interpreter support, and specialist training. Organisational constraints, including high caseloads and standardised scoring requirements, further undermined clinician confidence in diagnostic decision-making. Study 2 demonstrated that meaningful Public and Patient Involvement enhanced the cultural and linguistic appropriateness of assessment protocols, improved recruitment and study materials, and provided critical insights into bilingual language use, and parental and child insights regarding their lived experiences. Study 3 showed that the proposed collaborative scoring schema for Polish SRep tasks was feasible for clinical use and demonstrated strong agreement with expert linguistic scoring. Importantly, the SRep tasks differentiated between typically developing children and those suspected of having DLD when both Polish and English were assessed. Qualitative analyses highlighted limitations of monolingual error frameworks and the need for flexible, bilingual-sensitive scoring approaches. Conclusion This thesis demonstrates that current multilingual assessment practices in the RoI are constrained by systemic, organisational, and methodological barriers that limit the implementation of evidence-based guidelines. By integrating clinician perspectives, service user involvement, and methodological innovation, the research provides a feasible approach to improving assessment equity for Polish–English bilingual children. The findings support the necessity of assessing all languages spoken by bilingual children and underscore the value of participatory research in developing culturally responsive assessment tools. Collectively, this work contributes to advancing equitable, accurate, and evidence-based language assessment practices within Speech and Language Therapy in Ireland.

Publisher

University of Galway

Rights

CC BY-NC-ND

cbn

Collections

University of Galway Theses (PhD Theses)