One Call Away: Bilingual Teleassessment for Preschool and Elementary Children: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: Despite the growing need for language and communication assessments in both languages for bilingual children, there remains a shortage of bilingual speech and language therapists (SLTs). Teleassessment has emerged as a promising solution to address this gap, but there is a pressing need for a comprehensive understanding of its organisation, implementation and feasibility across children of different ages, language combinations and proficiency levels. Aims: This systematic review aims to synthesise the current studies on bilingual language and communication teleassessment for preschool and elementary-aged children. Specifically, it focuses on the language skills assessed in teleassessments, the tools and technology used and the organisational and implementation factors associated with bilingual teleassessment. Methods: The review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. A systematic search was performed across five electronic databases as follows: APA PsycInfo, CINAHL, Education Source, Medline and Web of Science. Data from the selected studies were extracted and categorised, with study quality assessed using the Quality Assessment with Diverse Studies (QuADS). Main Contribution: A total of seven studies met the inclusion criteria. The review found that bilingual teleassessment typically focused on assessing productive and receptive vocabulary and grammar, using standardised tests adapted for remote administration. Most assessments were conducted in hybrid formats, combining both tele- and face-to-face elements. The results showed that language skills assessed via teleassessment were generally comparable to those assessed in face-to-face settings, indicating the feasibility of bilingual teleassessment. Conclusions and Implications: While bilingual teleassessment offers a promising approach to supporting bilingual children, its application should be approached with caution due to the limited number of studies and small sample sizes. Future research should prioritise the development of standardised guidelines for their implementation and the creation of targeted training and networking opportunities for bilingual SLTs. This will help enhance the quality and accessibility of bilingual teleassessment services. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS?: What is already known on this subject Telepractice has been studied for several decades, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, research on bilingual teleassessment for children with varying ages, language constellations and competencies remains limited. The variability in study objectives and target populations has made it challenging to identify optimal methods for organising bilingual teleassessment in both research and clinical practice. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This study contributes to the existing literature by synthesising and critically evaluating research on bilingual teleassessment. It provides a comprehensive overview of the language and communication skills assessed, the tools and technologies used and the organisational, implementation and feasibility considerations in bilingual teleassessment. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? Although research on bilingual teleassessment is still evolving, this review highlights several effective organisational methods, best practices and challenges. The findings suggest that, similar to monolingual teleassessment, bilingual teleassessment is generally comparable to face-to-face assessment. To further support evidence-based decision-making in bilingual teleassessment, future studies—both single-case and large-scale—along with further training and networking for bilingual and monolingual SLTs, are essential.