| This study is aimed to provide a normative sample of Arab-American performance on the Verbal Fluency Test as well as to provide some input regarding the effect of bilingualism on verbal fluency. The Verbal Fluency Test is widely used in neuropsychological assessments and in research protocols. The test requires individuals to generate as many words as possible, according to particular rules, during a specified time interval. This study consists of 78 participants: 40 females (51%) and 38 males (49%), ages 20 to 80. All were screened for bilingualism and given the Verbal Fluency Test in both English and Arabic. A sample of norms with average and standard deviation was compiled and stratified by gender, education, and age. Further results showed that Arab-American bilinguals' scored lower on the English version of the Verbal Fluency Test when compared to standardized norms of monolinguals compiled by Tombaugh, Kozak, and Rees (1999). Bilinguals' best average scores varied between age, gender and education groups from Arabic to English on the semantic fluency task (Animal Naming). However, the best average score on the phonemic task (FAS/HMT) was always English for all ages, gender, and education groups. |
