Development & Validation of Urdu Receptive Language Scale (URLS)

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Developmental Psychology
• Pediatric Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Language development assessment is crucial for early intervention in children.
• A standardized tool for assessing receptive language in Urdu-speaking Pakistani children aged 0-6 years was lacking.
• Existing assessments may not adequately capture the nuances of Urdu language acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Urdu Receptive Language Scale (URLS).
• To create a reliable and valid tool for assessing receptive language skills in Urdu-speaking Pakistani children aged 0-6 years.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory study involving 384 children aged 0-6 years.
• Item construction through literature review, expert input, parent feedback, and direct observation.
• Content validation by speech-language pathologists and Urdu experts.
• Reliability and validity analysis using SPSS Version-18.

Main Results:

• A 59-item Urdu Receptive Language Scale (URLS) was finalized, with age-specific item distribution.
• High content validity (index=1 for all items and the scale).
• Excellent internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha of 0.948.

Conclusions:

• The developed 59-item Urdu Receptive Language Scale (URLS) is a reliable and valid instrument.
• URLS is suitable for language assessment of Urdu-speaking Pakistani children aged 0-6 years.
• This scale addresses a critical need in pediatric language assessment in Pakistan.