Puzzle, bulmaca, or câu đố lắp hình: a comparison of mono- and multilingual Australian English-speaking children’s performance on the OZI-SF

Purpose: This study compared performance of multilingual and monolingual children on the OZI-Short Form (a parent-report checklist for early communication from 12-30 months) with reference to receptive and expressive vocabulary, gestures, and communicative games/routines. Scores for three semantic subcategories (animals, clothing, food and drink) were compared between cohorts to assess for any evidence of cultural bias. 

Method: Parents of children (n = 552) aged 10.5 to 31.5 months completed the OZI-SF. Total concept scores were calculated. Regression analyses were performed to compare performance between cohorts. 

Result: No differences between cohorts for three summary scores: Receptive vocabulary, gestures, and games/routines. Differences were found in expressive vocabulary, with multilingual children scoring lower than monolingual children. For semantic categories, there were differences receptively for ‘food and drink’, and expressively for ‘food and drink’ and ‘clothing’, with multilingual children scoring lower. No differences were found for ‘animals’. 

Conclusion: The use of total concept scores on the OZI-SF revealed consistent performance between cohorts on receptive and non-verbal scores suggesting clinical confidence in these aspects of the OZI-SF. Differences in performance on expressive measures encourage clinical caution. Further research is needed on the clinical utility of vocabulary screening tools acknowledging the cultural sensitivity of semantic categories.