Cultural and Linguistic Diversity in Preschool Language Flashcards
BICS
Basic interpersonal communication skills
- can you play with other kids, request things from teacher
CALP
cognitive academic language proficiency
- can you succeed in a classroom. takes more years to master than BICS
Simultaneous bilingual
exposure to 2 languages from birth
Sequential bilingual
exposure to 1 language first
is simultaneous or sequential bilinguals more of a challenge for diagnosing language disorders?
sequential because more variability in their language
Collective language system
early s/l milestones are acheived at same time/rate as monolinguals when collective language system is taken into account
30 english words plus 20 russian words are equal to the 50 monolingual english words
Simultaneous bilingualism implications of LI
- by age 3-5, at least one language will be equivalent to monolingual norms across most language areas, just probably not vocabulary
- at least one language should be okay in assessment of LI, but still need to support both languages in treatment
language performance in sequential bilingualism
language experience plus language ability determine how well you’ll do on test.
more pronounce in kids with different experiences
Relevant parameters of experience
- age of L2 exposure
- contexts of L1 vs. L2 use over time
- school, friends, family, community media - sociolinguistic status of L1 vs. L2
- english holds more power and prestige
language growth in typical sequential bilingual preschoolers
- english gets better faster in preschool period, while L2 gets better slower
- english tends to grow very fast when introduced to sequential bilingual
vocabulary of sequential bilingual preschoolers
more overlap in expressive vocabulary
Cultural parameters of interest
- status of professionals/general social structure
- role of parents in the family
- role of children in the family
- beliefs about communication disorders
- pragmatic conventions
- views on time
high context culture
transmit knowledge less though words and more through context such as environment and gesture and reliance on shared knowledge
low context culture
rely more on words and verbal communication. classrooms and language assessments are very low context
What should be included in bilingual assessment
- non-linguistic play (joint attention)
- parent interview
- case history
- interviews: parents, teachers
- linguistic knowledge
- observation (child and child with peers, siblings, parents)
Processing-dependent measures premise
increase the processing demands, decrease the role of language knowledge/experience
processing-dependent measures examples
- nonword repetition
- digit span
- matching tone patterns
- memory for words while processing other information
processing-dependent measures evidence
TD AAE < TD white on standardized language tests but TD AAE = TD white on nonword repetition
processing dependent measures limitations
- little to no evidence in preschool populations
- most processing-dependent measures still have some influence of language knowledge
- provide little information for intervention planning
Bottom line: promising means of differentiating language difference vs disorder in combination with other assessment info
dynamic assessment
- test, teach, re-test
- modifiability ratings
- alter standardized test administration (give feedback, explain answers)
dynamic assessment evidence
- dis - not standardized, objective, is harder
- DA can separate LI from TD
- novel words = no cultural bias, learning new words is difficult for people with LI
- influence ability to learn novel words = number of presentations of word, neighborhood density (high is harder to learn closer it is to other words that sound the same the harder it is)
- 2 types of da = mediated learning experience, rating how hard it was to teach the child,
rating how well the child did at posttest. did teach-test-retest. did modifiability and support ratings - best was 78.6%. scores for producing novel words is very low
way to supplement assessment
Dual language assessment
-Language skills can vary depending on modality, topic, timepoint, etc. in each of the bilingual child’s languages.
• Assessment in “dominant” language only misses this variation
• BUT “dual-language assessment” does not mean you have to administer a standardized test in both L1 and L2
International adoption
• On average, internationally adopted children have higher rates of developmental disorders across a range of categories
• Two prominent concerns:
– Psycho-emotional well being – Language
• Does this population meet our definition of bilingualism?
– “second first language acquisition” (Scott et al., 2011)
– Cannot use L1 to facilitate L2 (Hwa-Froelich & Matsuo,
2010)
Language skills in internationally adopted children
- better outcome for kids adopted before age 1
- language deficit increases over time
children adopted from eastern europe vs those adopted from china
no group difference after adopted 8-20mo
1 year later, EE scored higher in expressive language than chinese. maybe because language more similar to english?
why should treatment for bilingual children with language disorders support both languages?
– It is family-centered. The primary learning environment for preschoolers is the family.
– Loss of L1 skills has substantial negative social and psychological impact.
– Better educational outcomes are obtained when children develop a sufficient foundation in their first language.
Advantages of bilinguals
– Bilingual adults have distinct cognitive processing advantages over monolingual adults
– Some authors argue even that teaching two languages will result in faster progress for any child with language impairment
-have ability to switch tasks back and forth improved cognitive processing capacity
both language tx evidence
- children in bilingual program improved more on english measures
- higher spanish skills also predicted english growth
How can we treat languages we don’t speak?
- train parents, paraprofessionals, or cultural community partners
- use peer-mediated intervention strategies
Training an intervention agent
training paraprofessionals instead of parents is better because only have to train once, they can see multiple kids, and it would be more consistent
Incorporate TD peers
Using a peer with typical development (e.g., an older sibling) to model play or language targets is an option.
– McGregor (2000) showed that peer tutors could help preschool African American children with weak narrative development improve their story- telling
treatment suggestions
- find areas of overlap between L1 and L2
- contrast elements of two dialects or languages
- directly teach a language structure, and talk about how you express the same thing in another language. easier with older, cognitively intact children - some “meta” skills may transfer across languages, such as emergent literacy
What language should parents use?
should counsel parents about importance of home language, but should speak in language that feels most comfortable for parents. shouldn’t tell them to communicate in a particular language all the time
why should treatment for bilingual children with language disorders support both languages?
– It is family-centered. The primary learning environment for preschoolers is the family.
– Loss of L1 skills has substantial negative social and psychological impact.
– Better educational outcomes are obtained when children develop a sufficient foundation in their first language.
Advantages of bilinguals
– Bilingual adults have distinct cognitive processing advantages over monolingual adults
– Some authors argue even that teaching two languages will result in faster progress for any child with language impairment
-have ability to switch tasks back and forth improved cognitive processing capacity
both language tx evidence
- children in bilingual program improved more on english measures
- higher spanish skills also predicted english growth
How can we treat languages we don’t speak?
- train parents, paraprofessionals, or cultural community partners
- use peer-mediated intervention strategies
Training an intervention agent
training paraprofessionals instead of parents is better because only have to train once, they can see multiple kids, and it would be more consistent
Incorporate TD peers
Using a peer with typical development (e.g., an older sibling) to model play or language targets is an option.
– McGregor (2000) showed that peer tutors could help preschool African American children with weak narrative development improve their story- telling
treatment suggestions
- find areas of overlap between L1 and L2
- contrast elements of two dialects or languages
- directly teach a language structure, and talk about how you express the same thing in another language. easier with older, cognitively intact children - some “meta” skills may transfer across languages, such as emergent literacy
What language should parents use?
should counsel parents about importance of home language, but should speak in language that feels most comfortable for parents. shouldn’t tell them to communicate in a particular language all the time
additive social context
motivational factors for speaking both languages
subtractive social context
learning a second language will take away something from your first language
(majority of contexts in US are subtractive)
