Mandarin Localization of Instruments for Measuring Chinese Specific Language Impairment (SLI)/ Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) Children

Abstract

Specific Language Impairment (SLI), which is also known as Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), is a neurodevelopmental condition affecting approximately 7% of school-age children internationally. By using the Revised Scale for Assessing Language Disorders in School-Age Children (RSALD-SAC), a standard can be applied for a contextualized local Mandarin-speaking population in Xuzhou area. The purpose of this study is to adapt the RSALD-SAC for use in the Xuzhou region, with careful attention to linguistic accuracy, cultural relevance, and diagnostic validity. A Delphi method was used. By doing Delphi, educators from elementary schools, a public normal university, and scholars reviewed and refined the instrument. Across three rounds of consultation, the panel highlighted lexical difficulties, cultural mismatches, and issues in pragmatic use. As a result, revisions were made to test prompts, target responses, picture-book content, and phonetic symbols. Notable adjustments included updating vocabulary, replacing culturally unfamiliar references, and shifting phonetic transcription from Zhuyin to Pinyin. This study also created a structured training program for researchers to guarantee consistent use of the adapted scale. This study focuses on evaluating and revising local varieties of Mandarin use from a Taiwan context to Xuzhou for a more standardized and meaningful measurement for helping SLI/DLD children. Findings demonstrate that expression-level variations in Mandarin across regions are non-trivial and can impact the validity of standardized language assessments. The localized RSALD-SAC is better suited for Xuzhou children and provides a standard framework for adapting instruments across other regional dialects. Ultimately, this research contributes to the equitable identification and support of children with SLI/DLD in under-resourced areas.