Construction of an instrument to assess oral language comprehension of children from 2 to 6 years

Abstract

Objective: This work aimed to describe the construction of an instrument to assess the oral language comprehension capability of 2 to 6-year-old children and get validity evidences based on content. Method: The research consisted in: gathering and characterizing existing national and international instruments used for the assessment of children oral language comprehension capability; elaborating a new instrument; and analysis of the instrument by five judges. Statistical analysis involved calculation of Percentage of Agreement, of Content Validity Ratio and of Content Validity Index. Results: Nineteen instruments were identified, which assess the oral language comprehension capability by using items formed by isolated words, simple and complex orders, and texts. It was subsequently developed an instrument consisting of eight stages containing eight items each. The task consists in the child manipulating figures in accordance with the orders of the evaluator with increasing level of difficulty. The judge’s assessment indicated satisfactory results for the calculated indices for the instrument as a whole. Items with unsatisfactory rate were reviewed for inclusion in the final version of the instrument. Conclusion: This study described the first step of the construction process of the instrument. Validity evidences based on content were obtained. Further studies will be conducted to obtain other sources of content validity.