© American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
The Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q): Assessing Language Profiles in Bilinguals and Multilinguals
Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Contact author: Viorica Marian, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, 2240 Campus Drive, Evanston, IL 60208. E-mail: v-marian{at}northwestern.edu.
Purpose: To develop a reliable and valid questionnaire of bilingual language status with predictable relationships between self-reported and behavioral measures.
Method: In Study 1, the internal validity of the Language Experience and Proficiency Questionnaire (LEAP-Q) was established on the basis of self-reported data from 52 multilingual adult participants. In Study 2, criterion-based validity was established on the basis of standardized language tests and self-reported measures from 50 adult Spanish–English bilinguals. Reliability and validity of the questionnaire were established on healthy adults whose literacy levels were equivalent to that of someone with a high school education or higher.
Results: Factor analyses revealed consistent factors across both studies and suggested that the LEAP-Q was internally valid. Multiple regression and correlation analyses established criterion-based validity and suggested that self-reports were reliable indicators of language performance. Self-reported reading proficiency was a more accurate predictor of first-language performance, and self-reported speaking proficiency was a more accurate predictor of second-language performance. Although global measures of self-reported proficiency were generally predictive of language ability, deriving a precise estimate of performance on a particular task required that specific aspects of language history be taken into account.
Conclusion: The LEAP-Q is a valid, reliable, and efficient tool for assessing the language profiles of multilingual, neurologically intact adult populations in research settings.
KEY WORDS: bilingualism, self-assessment, second language, language proficiency, questionnaire development
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Delicious 
Digg 
Facebook 
Reddit 
Technorati 
Twitter What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  M. Adamuti-Trache Language Acquisition Among Adult Immigrants in Canada: The Effect of Premigration Language Capital Adult Education Quarterly, May 1, 2013; 63(2): 103 - 126. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L.-F. Shi and N. Farooq Linguistic and Attitudinal Factors in Normal-Hearing Bilingual Listeners' Perception of Degraded English Passages Am J Audiol, December 1, 2012; 21(2): 127 - 139. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 J. Krizman, V. Marian, A. Shook, E. Skoe, and N. Kraus Subcortical encoding of sound is enhanced in bilinguals and relates to executive function advantages PNAS, May 15, 2012; 109(20): 7877 - 7881. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 Y. Faroqi-Shah Linguistic and Sociocultural Diversity Among South Asians Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations, March 1, 2012; 19(1): 6 - 11. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
H. Datta First-Language Attrition in Bengali-English-Speaking Individuals Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations, March 1, 2012; 19(1): 21 - 28. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 M. Kaushanskaya, H. K. Blumenfeld, and V. Marian The relationship between vocabulary and short-term memory measures in monolingual and bilingual speakers International Journal of Bilingualism, December 1, 2011; 15(4): 408 - 425. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
C. L. Caldwell-Harris, J. Tong, W. Lung, and S. Poo Physiological reactivity to emotional phrases in Mandarin--English bilinguals International Journal of Bilingualism, September 1, 2011; 15(3): 329 - 352. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L.-F. Shi How "Proficient" Is Proficient? Subjective Proficiency as a Predictor of Bilingual Listeners' Recognition of English Words Am J Audiol, June 1, 2011; 20(1): 19 - 32. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. G. Centeno The Relevance of Bilingualism Questionnaires in the Personalized Treatment of Bilinguals With Aphasia Communication Disorders and Sciences in Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Populations, October 1, 2010; 17(3): 65 - 73. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 L.-F. Shi and D. Sanchez Spanish/English Bilingual Listeners on Clinical Word Recognition Tests: What to Expect and How to Predict J Speech Lang Hear Res, October 1, 2010; 53(5): 1096 - 1110. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
L.-F. Shi Perception of Acoustically Degraded Sentences in Bilingual Listeners Who Differ in Age of English Acquisition J Speech Lang Hear Res, August 1, 2010; 53(4): 821 - 835. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 B. A. Goldstein, F. Bunta, J. Lange, J. Rodriguez, and L. Burrows The Effects of Measures of Language Experience and Language Ability on Segmental Accuracy in Bilingual Children Am J Speech Lang Pathol, August 1, 2010; 19(3): 238 - 247. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 E. Bialystok, F. I. M. Craik, D. W. Green, and T. H. Gollan Bilingual Minds Psychological Science in the Public Interest, December 1, 2009; 10(3): 89 - 129. [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|