2022/07/04 by Cécile De Cat, Draško Kašćelan, Philippe Prévost +3 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Health Professions · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Delphi Technique in Research #Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare #Language Development and Disorders
paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s1366728922000359
openalex publication_date 2022/07/04 · openalex created_date 2022/07/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Abstract While most investigations of bilingualism document participants’ language background, there is an absence of consensus on how to quantify bilingualism. The high number of different language background questionnaires used by researchers and practitioners jeopardises data comparability and cross-pollination between research and practice. Using the Delphi consensus survey method, we asked 132 panellists (researchers, speech and language therapists, teachers) from 29 countries to rate 124 statements on a 5-point agreement scale. Consensus was pre-defined as 75% agreement threshold. After two survey rounds, 79% of statements reached consensus. The need for common measures to quantify bilingualism was acknowledged by 96% of respondents. Agreement was reached to document: language exposure and use, language difficulties, proficiency (when it cannot be assessed directly), education and literacy, input quality, language mixing practices, and attitudes (towards languages and language mixing). We discuss the implications of these findings for the creation of a new tool to quantify bilingual experience.