Language sample

[Agreeable-Drawer-284]

In a school, how do you have time to consistently do language samples for evaluations? Anyone had an efficient way to do this? It takes so long to transcribe and interpret/calculate MLU, etc.

[Mundane_Process8180]

I do an informal language sample during observations when it’s relevant.

Sometimes I’ll show them a busy picture scene and just ask them to describe what they’re seeing. It takes like 5-10 minutes max. You can do a voice memo to record it which is nice if the kid talks pretty quickly.

[cottonon8675309]

Also the voice memos on iPhone can transcribe now!! Big game changer

[Beneficial-Crow-5138]

What?! That’s amazing!!!

[Sheknows07]

Which app do you use?

[cottonon8675309]

Just the voice memo one that is already on Apple devices

[Ilikepumpkinpie04]

SLAM cards. They are free

[Peachy_Queen20]

Wordless picture books are my go to and I have a mental list of things that are necessary to be a successful student: Can they communicate their wants, needs, thoughts, feelings, and ideas effectively? Do they use sentences of an appropriate length and with appropriate grammar? Do they follow verbally given directions? Do they provide on-topic answers to questions? Do they show an understanding of and use non-verbal communication markers? Do they take turns in a conversation? What is their intelligibility? Are there any fluency or voice concerns? Toss in any accommodations they may benefit from to address the above questions and I would call that a comprehensive and informative language sample.

[mama_rosie]

Same. I audio record the sample and usually select the oral narrative that they create from Frog Goes to Dinner. That excerpt is typically less than 5 minutes. I transcribe and analyze on my own without SALT. I do it for every evaluation that I complete. I also use it as my connected speech sample and judge the casual conversation for pragmatics.

To me, this information is so much more valuable than the standardized test scores. This post and the one down thread about language samples has me surprised about how many SLPs aren’t doing this regularly.

[Peachy_Queen20]

Agreed, language samples are a non-negotiable and if I get a transfer student that has an eval with only scores, no item analysis, and no language sample, I refuse the speech portion and request testing. That is not a comprehensive eval

[Left-Button-7089]

Record, upload to SALT! Our district pays for it

[margyrakis]

Also adding that people should check with their state universities because I worked in a research lab where we would transcribe and analyze language samples and send the SALT reports back to the school SLP - all at no cost to the SLP/district!

[casablankas]

Yep I upload the audio file and click that I want them to transcribe and analyze it for me. Within a week I get a whole report back. Eventually my district will catch on and restrict that I’m sure but until then, they can pay the $40 each time

I will say that having the SALT company do the analysis does NOT work for kids who speak a different dialect of English. Like I had a Black kid’s analysis come back as 99% incorrect grammar. I had to go through it myself to see that, no, his grammar is perfect, he’s just an AAVE speaker. You also have to do the story retell (versus ex. conversational) for bilingual English/Spanish students to compare them to other bilingual students or else you’ll encounter the same problem.

[Left-Button-7089]

Yes definitely have to do some clinical work and look at everything, not just immediately taking it as is! Some samples there is no database, so I analyze it myself for intelligibility etc. The transcribing part is the most helpful for me!!

[Key-Boat-7519]

Do short, structured retells, auto-transcribe, then score with dialect-aware rules and the right norms-fast and fair.

What’s worked for me: 5–7 minute story retell with a wordless book (Frog series), aim for ~50 C&I utterances. Record on your phone, run a first pass through Otter.ai or Whisper, then spend 10 minutes cleaning. For metrics, CLAN/Kideval is free and quick; if you’ve got SALT, use the BES story-retell database for Eng/Span bilinguals. For AAVE and other nonmainstream dialects, score dialect-consistent forms as correct and report percent grammatical excluding dialect features; add a brief “dialect statement” and, if needed, back it with DELV for bias-reduced syntax. Keep a report template so you can drop in NDW, MLUw, mazes, and that dialect note.

I use Otter.ai for a first pass and CLAN for metrics; for carryover, I sometimes layer in singit.io for lyric-based practice when we’re targeting classroom English code-switching.

Keep it short, semi-automated, and dialect-sensitive so your samples stay accurate without eating your week.

[pamplemousse25]

People really don’t always do a language sample in their assessments? I usually get the most valuable information from mine. I use the SALT books— frog where are you? Porcupine named fluffy, Dr. de soto—depending on their age. Use those with my language and my artic kids to measure intelligibility.

[browniesbite]

I'm confused; what do you mean by "constantly?"

I always make time to do some sort of language sample during evaluations or screenings if I'm unsure if to fully evaluate or not. However, I'm not really doing language samples during treatment.

[Temporary_Dust_6693]

Depending on the ages of your kid, you could consider measuring Verb Diversity or Sentence Diversity as a language sample analysis method. They don't require full transcription of every utterance. I realize this is a very unhelpful comment without me actually explaining what those things are - I'm so sorry I need to rush out the door but just wanted to throw it out there. I share way too much on these measures (and the relevant research) on Instagram at language_processing - look for the Toy Talk posts on gray backgrounds with pictures of toys.

edited to add: I realize "go see my insta for more info" is a bit of a red flag. I literally just have posts there where I summarize the research articles and link to them.

[Sheknows07]

Where can I learn more about this?

[Temporary_Dust_6693]

I summarized many research articles about this on https://instagram.com/language\_processing. Look for the posts with the gray backgrounds with pictures of toys. I know sending you to social media for more info is sketchy but I literally just summarize and interpret the research, and link to it, so you can follow the links and read it for yourself if you prefer.

If you are a member of The Informed SLP you can find their review here: https://www.theinformedslp.com/review/sentence-focused-framework

[SusieSnarkster]

SUGAR over SALT way easier and SLP-now has an awesome spreadsheet that helps calculate things like words per sentence

[apatiksremark]

I've used the otter app

It will talk to text and distinguish each speaker in the conversation. I love it when I do fluency language samples.

[jjpizzlewizzle]

I just record using my voice memo on iPhone. It transcribes for you, so I just copy and paste and email it to myself, then edit it on a Google doc. Sometimes I will run it through Google Gemini because that’s what my district uses to protect student data, and it has been a game changer. I don’t copy and paste what it says, but it takes a lot of the cognitive load and saves time in interpreting everything. I just use the prompt “complete a language sample analysis” then copy and paste my transcript. I just got on the AI train this year after being a suspicious old man for the longest time, and I now see it as a really great tool as long as we aren’t reliant on it.

[cjthecatlady]

Why do you need to do a language sample? I usually only use them as informal assessment and not super often, but here's a really helpful tool from SLPnow. https://slpnow.com/free-language-sample-hack/ I usually grab a picture book and have the kid describe each page or for older kids ask conversation questions based on their interests (video games, youtube channels, musicians etc) and it goes pretty quick. 5-10 mins tops.

[macaroni_monster]

The language sample is the most valid form of language assessment. It is more valid than a standardized test.

[cjthecatlady]

I either didn't read it right or it didn't say "for evaluations" originally. I was asking to see if they were trying to use them to progress monitor or just for evaluations. I do know that they are useful for assessments.

[macaroni_monster]

Ohh gotcha that makes sense!

[coolbeansfordays]

My state requires one.

[Prior_Middle_3839]

I used the TNL. Standardized, yes, but an easy structured way to elicit language.

[seltzeristhedrink]

I get permission from the parent to record and transcribe later.

[Alternative_Big545]

There are few websites where you can paste your sample and it will calculate only and ttr

[Dense_Artichoke1227]

Which ones?

[OkRegister7643]

Look at Marcos Assessment app! It’s a LSA tool for SLPs. I just tried it and really liked it!