Narrative Language Sampling - What is it and how can I use it?

In this episode of SLP Coffee Talk, Hallie chats with Jacquilyn Arias—pediatric SLP and co-founder of Habla Cadabra SLP—about how narrative language sampling (NLS) can make your assessments faster, more meaningful, and way more aligned with real classroom demands. Jacquilyn breaks down why NLS is a must-have tool for busy school SLPs, how it works across languages and cultures, and which free resources (like MAIN, ENNI, and SLAM) she swears by. Plus, she shares how new-ish, objective measures like Percent Grammatical Utterances (PGU) can help you confidently distinguish between a language difference and a disorder—no fancy software required. Whether you’re brand new to NLS or just looking to level up your evals, this conversation will leave you feeling empowered, efficient, and ready to try it out.

Bullet Points to Discuss: 

• Narrative language samples save you time—they’re way more efficient when you’ve got a structured plan
• They’re super aligned with what students are doing in school and give you rich info on their grammar, vocab, and storytelling
• You can use them across languages and cultures—tools like MAIN and SLAM are built for that
• Newer measures like PGU are fast, easy to score, and actually help you spot a real language disorder—no fancy software needed

Here’s what we learned: 

• NLS saves time and gives richer data than conversational samples
• It’s aligned with academic standards and shows real classroom impact
• Tools like MAIN, ENNI, and SLAM are free, easy to use, and multilingual
• Great for bilingual evals—helps tell difference vs. disorder
• PGU is a quick, reliable measure—no special software needed
• AI tools make transcribing faster and easier than ever
• Even short samples can give strong, goal-driving insights
• Start small—confidence comes with trying it out

Learn more about Jacquilyn Arias: 

Website: www.hablacadabraslp.com 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/HablaCadabraSLP/ 

Freebies: https://www.hablacadabraslp.com/blog-english 

Learn more about Hallie Sherman and SLP Elevate:  

📝 Website: https://speechtimefun.com/

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