First Language Evaluation by Native Speakers: A Preliminary Study Etude preliminaire de revaluation de la langue maternelle des autochtones

Abstract Language assessment of minority language populations (native speakers of languages other than English) is an important challenge for North American speech-language pathologists. This study was carried out as a preliminary step in assessing the feasibility of using native speakers to evaluate the first language of Inuit school children in Northern Quebec. The results showed that one Inuk teacher's ratings of children's Inuktitut language samples correlated with certain language complexity indices. This finding suggests interesting possibilities for further research as well as for the use of experienced native Canadian teachers as adjuncts to speech-language pathologists in the assessment of minority language children. Resume L' evaluation des connaissances linguistiques des populations minoritaires (autochtones dont la langue maternelle n' est pa