Bilingual English–Spanish Assessment™ (BESA™)

MANUAL

Excerpted from Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment™ (BESA™) Manual By Elizabeth D. Peña, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Vera F. Gutiérrez-Clellen, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Aquiles Iglesias, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Brian A. Goldstein, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, & Lisa M. Bedore, Ph.D., CCC-SLP.

Bilingual English–Spanish Assessment™ (BESA™)

The BESA was developed in response to the need for valid, reliable instruments for assessment of speech and language ability in Spanish–English bilingual children ages 4 through 6 years. The BESA consists of two questionnaires, one activity, and three subtests in two languages. The questionnaires provide speech-language professionals with information about the child’s language environment as well as aspects of parent and teacher concern.

BESA COMPONENTS AND SUBTESTS

The BESA is a comprehensive assessment of a child’s speech and language abilities in English and Spanish. The BESA subtests address domains of phonology, morphosyntax, and semantics separately for both Spanish and English.

Bilingual Input-Output Survey (BIOS)

The BIOS helps the examiner to know when and in what context each of the child’s two languages were used. Parents are asked about the language exposure history of the child, including what language the child hears and uses during a typical school day.

Inventory to Assess Language Knowledge (ITALK)

The ITALK addresses relative use of a child’s two languages and five areas of speech and language development in Spanish and English. It provides a summary of parent and teacher concerns that can guide target areas of assessment.

BESA Pragmatics Activity

The Pragmatics activity is based on a model of assertiveness and responsiveness and provides an opportunity for the examiner to interact with the child within a realistic situation.

BESA Phonology Subtest

The Phonology subtest is a single-word phonological assessment designed to diagnose typical from atypical phonological skills in bilingual children. It assesses phonological production in both Spanish and English.

BESA Morphosyntax Subtest

The Morphosyntax subtest employs cloze and sentence repetition tasks to target grammatical morphemes and sentence structures in both languages.

BESA Semantics Subtest

The Semantics subtest targets six tasks based on the literature describing the acquisition of semantic breadth and depth in children, tapping into how children organize their lexical system.

USES OF THE BESA

The BESA is designed to identify language impairment (LI) in bilingual and monolingual Latino children, document progress in speech and language related to intervention, and conduct research studies of bilingual children.

Identification of Language Impairment

The primary use of the BESA is to identify phonological and/or LI in bilingual and ELL children via a standardized protocol.

Documentation of Progress

The BESA can monitor children’s progress in speech and language during intervention, with recommended regular documentation of progress.

Documentation of Language Input and Output

The BIOS surveys provide objective measures of children’s input and output of Spanish and English, helping to plan intervention and educational programming.

Research Uses

The BESA subtests can be used in research to qualify children for studies or to group children by ability. Studies have shown mixed dominance in language performance among bilingual children.

NEED FOR BILINGUAL ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENTS

The BESA addresses the challenges of assessing Spanish-speaking bilingual children in the U.S., where traditional assessments may not accurately reflect their language abilities.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

Understanding bilingual language acquisition involves recognizing the unique cognitive experiences of bilingual children. The development of effective bilingual language assessment instruments is essential to identify children with LI in both English and Spanish effectively.

LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT IN BILINGUALS

Bilingual children with LI exhibit patterns of speech and language difficulties similar to those of monolingual children, yet also face unique challenges related to their language exposure and experiences. Research on bilingual children emphasizes the need for tailored assessment tools that consider their linguistic and cultural contexts.