A computerized test of speed of language comprehension unconfounded by literacy

A computerised version of the Silly Sentences task developed for use with children (Baddeley et al, 1995) is found to be equivalent to the pencil-and-paper version from the SCOLP Test (Baddeley et al, 1992) with UK undergraduates, and is usable by a sample of young UK children. Because the sentences are presented aloud instead of being written, the computerised test is not affected by literacy skills. Translated into Kiswahili, the task was used in Tanzanian schools, despite the absence of an electricity supply and a very different cultural background. The decision latencies had a test-retest reliability of 0.69 over 5 months, and were independent of age and baseline decision speed. The task appears appropriate for longitudinal studies, including those in developing countries. Given its simplicity and the correlations with the original SCOLP version of the task, it may also be useful in studies on literate adults.