However, these programs often use a complex and highly structured syntax that may reduce its usability. To assess MAL s usability, fifty students in an undergraduate child language disorders class used MAL to perform a language sample analysis. The students demonstrated an understanding of the use of the program, although some errors were noted. The results of a usability questionnaire showed moderate ratings of the program in terms of overall user reaction and ease of learning. The analysis of a natural language sample is an important, yet time-consuming component of the communication assessment process.
Complaints often focus on the difficulty of entering text using the required syntax of the program.
This study focused on the development of a macro that would simplify the process of text entry and analysis. Users enter text into Microsoft Word using the speaker number for each line. MAL was assessed by students in an undergraduate class on child language disorders. They then completed a questionnaire rating MAL s usability. The language analysis involved a syntactic, semantic, cohesion, and narrative analysis of a 134-word language sample.