The COVID-19 pandemic has created novel challenges in the assessment of children's speech and language. Collecting valid data is crucial for researchers and clinicians, yet the evidence on how data collection procedures can validly be adapted to an online format is sparse. The urgent need for online assessments has highlighted possible the barriers such as testing reliability and validity that clinicians face during implementation. The present study describes the adapted procedures for on-line assessments and compares the outcomes for monolingual and bilingual children of online and in-person testing using conversational, narrative and expository discourse samples and a standardized vocabulary test. A sample of 127 (103 in-person, 24 online) English monolinguals and 78 (53 in-person, 25 online) simultaneous French-English bilinguals aged 7–12 years were studied. Discourse samples were analyzed for productivity, proficiency, and syntactic complexity. MANOVAs were used to compare on-line and in-person testing contexts and age in two monolingual and bilingual school-age children. No differences across testing contexts were found for receptive vocabulary or narrative discourse. However, some modality differences were found for conversational and expository. The results from the study contribute to understanding how clinical assessment can be adapted for online format in school-aged children.

This study investigated access to and outcomes of Early French Immersion (EFI) for students with special education needs (SEN) attending a large school board in Canada. Data analysis was carried out on: provincially mandated achievement test scores for all Grade 3 students with SEN participating over a three-year period (n = 705) who attended either EFI or English programs; standardized French and English language and reading scores for a small subset of students (n = 20); and interviews with parents of Grade 4 students in EFI (n = 9). Results revealed lower participation but higher English academic and language performance for students with SEN in the EFI program as well as development of French language and reading skills. Interviewed parents often believed children with SEN ‘could not handle’ EFI and that withdrawal should be an option in response to learning difficulties. Implications for inclusive practices in EFI are discussed. Cette étude a examiné l’accès et les résultats des élèves ayant des besoins éducatifs spéciaux fréquentant un programme d’immersion française (EFI) d’un grand conseil scolaire au Canada. Les données analysées étaient : les résultats aux tests obligatoires de rendement scolaire pour tous les élèves de 3e année avec besoins spéciaux fréquentant un programme EFI ou anglais, sur une période de trois ans (n = 705); les scores aux tests standardisés du langage et de lecture en français et en anglais pour un petit sous-ensemble de ces élèves (n = 20); et des entrevues avec des parents d’élèves de 4e année en EFI (n = 9). Les résultats ont révélé une participation plus faible mais des performances académiques et linguistiques en anglais plus élevées pour les élèves ayant des besoins spéciaux du programme EFI et le développement des habiletés langagières et de lecture en français. Les parents interrogés pensaient souvent que les enfants ayant des besoins spéciaux «ne pouvaient pas gérer» la EFI et que le retrait du programme devrait être une option en réponse aux difficultés d’apprentissage. La discussion porte sur les retombées concernant les pratiques inclusives.

The present study investigated the role of syntactic awareness in reading comprehension among English–French bilinguals learning French as an additional language in Canadian French immersion programs. We examined the direct effect of French syntactic awareness on French reading comprehension as well as the indirect effects mediated through French word reading and French vocabulary. We further examined the extent to which English syntactic awareness contributed to French reading comprehension through cross-language transfer, again considering both the direct effect and the indirect effects through French word reading and French vocabulary. Mediation analyses indicated that, within French, the relationship between French syntactic awareness and French reading comprehension was fully mediated by both French word reading and French vocabulary. In contrast, English syntactic awareness contributed directly to French reading comprehension. Finally, French word reading partially mediated the relationship between English syntactic awareness and French reading comprehension. Our study suggests that children who learn French as an additional language rely on word reading and vocabulary, in addition to French syntactic awareness, to comprehend French texts. Given that English is French immersion children’s stronger language, they use English syntactic awareness to support French reading comprehension both directly and indirectly through French word reading.

This study examined the oral language skills of grade-two anglophone children enrolled in French Immersion and English-stream programs. The study had two objectives: (a) to compare performance between the groups on measures of receptive vocabulary, narrative comprehension, and narrative production (i.e., structure and language) in English, and (b) to explore the applicability of the Canadian Language Benchmarks/Niveaux de compétences linguistiques canadiens (CLB/NCLC) to assessment of their conversational competency. All children (English-stream n = 27, French Immersion n = 33, aged 7-8 years) were tested in English. In addition, the French Immersion students were tested using equivalent measures in French. The results comparing performance in English revealed no differences between the groups on receptive vocabulary, narrative comprehension and narrative structure. However, the English-stream children outperformed their French Immersion peers in narrative language. Furthermore, CLB/NCLC listening and speaking criteria were applied to conversational samples yielding level scores in English (both groups) and French (French Immersion only). The range of benchmarks that are appropriate for this population is discussed in detail.