Specific learning disorder in mathematics in a multilingual education context - Diagnosing with language in mind

In the diagnostic process of specific learning disorder in mathematics, individual weaknesses and strengths are identified to provide adequate support and hence minimize the impact on children’s scholastic achievement. In general, diagnostic tools use language to give instructions and present tasks and thus, test language proficiency is prone to impact student’s test performance, especially in linguistically diverse contexts. In Luxembourg, for instance, most children’s home languages differ from the language of math instruction, which is used in the diagnostic process. In addition, given that linguistic heterogeneity is generally not considered in currently used diagnostic instruments, difficulties arising from low language skills need to be disentangled from problems resulting from an underlying learning disorder. To optimize the diagnostic process, we have developed a test battery in mathematics for third-grade children, tailored to a multilingual education context. Based on diagnostic guidelines and neurocognitive models of number processing, we devised a total of 17 subtests addressing different key domains, with reduced language load both in the instructions and within the items. Results from the pilot study (N=211) show significant performance differences based on linguistic backgrounds in three tasks (number naming, number writing, and verbal counting), in favor of children most familiar with the test language. Moreover, we compared general performance in the test battery of a sub-sample (N=116) with the mathematics score of the same children in the Luxembourgish school monitoring program. A significant interaction between test and language profile revealed that differences in performance based on student’s language background profiles were less pronounced in the new test battery than in the monitoring tasks. These findings (a) highlight the importance of considering test language proficiency when diagnosing specific learning disorders and (b) provide first evidence of the new tool’s suitability in a multilingual education setting.