Brian Goldstein

Phonological Assessment and Treatment of Bilingual Speakers

Given the demographic changes currently taking place in the United States, speech-language pathologists increasingly are being asked to provide speech and language services to bilingual speakers. T...

Positive and negative transfer in the phonological systems of bilingual speakers

The present study examines the phonological skills of bilingual children, taking language use and proficiency into consideration, and compares their skills to monolingual peers. The main research question is whether bilingual children who have parent-reported language use and proficiency measures commensurate with those of their monolingual peers have phonological skills comparable to their monolingual peers. METHOD. Thirty typically developing Spanish- and English-speaking children participated in this study who were matched on age and language use and proficiency (10 monolingual English, mean age: 5;10; 10 monolingual Spanish, mean age: 5;10, and 10 bilingual, mean age: 6;0). The independent variable was language status (bilingual versus monolingual), and the dependent measures included phonological whole-word measures, segmental accuracy measures, and phonological patterns. RESULTS. Bilingual children did not differ from their monolingual peers on any of the Spanish measures, except on accuracy for stops, on which the monolinguals outperformed their bilingual peers. However, bilingual children outperformed their monolingual English-speaking peers on Proximity, PVC, PCC-R, and PCC for nasals. Moreover, bilingual children displayed lower frequencies-of-occurrence on phonological patterns than their English-speaking monolingual peers: weak syllable deletion, spirantization, and fronting. DISCUSSION. The findings of our study indicate that bilingual children may have an advantage over their monolingual peers when it comes to select phonological skills when language use and proficiency are controlled for.

Phonological whole-word measures in 3-year-old bilingual children and their age-matched monolingual peers

The present study investigated phonological whole‐word measures and consonant accuracy in bilingual and monolingual children to investigate how target approximations drive phonological acquisition. The study included eight bilingual Spanish‐ and English‐speaking 3‐year‐olds and their monolingual peers (eight Spanish and eight American English). Phonological whole‐word measures (pMLU and Proximity) and consonant accuracy (PCC) were calculated on elicited single words. Differences were found on each measure between bilinguals and monolinguals in English, but in Spanish, only the PCC displayed differences between bilinguals and monolinguals. Bilinguals displayed language separation on the pMLU and the PCC but not the Proximity, indicating structural phonological differences between the Spanish and English of bilinguals but commensurate target approximations. This suggests that maintaining a consistent level of phonological proximity to the target is an important factor in phonological acquisition. The measures and their relationships are also discussed.

Transcription of Spanish and Spanish-Influenced English

In the United States alone, almost 9% of the population-22 million individuals-speaks Spanish (Grimes, 1996). The population of Hispanics/Latinos is predicted to increase to 51 million individuals by the year 2025 (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 1995). Many of these individuals will be native Spanish speakers who will be acquiring English. More than likely, their production of the English phonological system will be influenced by their pronunciation of Spanish (and vice versa in some cases). This article provides information on the transcription of Spanish, common dialects of Spanish, Spanish-influenced English, and English-influenced Spanish.

Phonological cross-linguistic effects in bilingual Spanish – English speaking children

Paradis (2001) posed the Interactional Dual Systems Model of language representation in which bilingual children possess two separate phonological systems that have mutual influence. Frequency of phonological cross-linguistic effects has been cited as evidence for determining phonological representation. The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency and types of phonological cross-linguistic effects that occur over time in bilingual children. Three female typically developing, bilingual Spanish – English speaking children, ages 5;0, 6;2, and 7;0 participated in the study. Single word, conversation, and narrative samples were examined for each child to determine the phonological makeup of each participants speech. Two analyses were performed: (1) analysis of phonemic cross-linguistic effects and (2) analysis of syllabic cross-linguistic effects. There were eight occurrences of cross-linguistic effects across the three children. Overall, the frequency of cross-linguistic effects was low, supporting the Interactional Dual Systems Model in which a childs two phonological systems are separate, but non-autonomous.

Vowel errors in Spanish-speaking children with phonological disorders: a retrospective, comparative study

Investigations of vowel errors in children with phonological disorders have been primarily limited to English-speaking children. In the present study, the vowel productions of 23 three- and four-year-old Puerto Rican, Spanish-speaking children with phonological disorders are described and compared to those of 15 General American English-speaking children reported by Pollock and Keiser (1990). Results indicate that children with phonological disorders acquiring Spanish, which has a relatively simpler vowel system, produced far fewer vowel errors (M = 1%) than children with phonological disorders of similar severity acquiring American English (M = 11%). Those vowels most frequently in error for English-speaking children (/ae/, /U/, /I/ and /epsilon/) do not occur in Spanish. However, English-speaking children also showed higher error rates (M = 7%) on those vowels common to both languages. When errors did occur for Spanish-speaking children, the mid vowels /o/ and /e/ were most often in error. Both Spanish-speaking and English-speaking children showed frequent use of a Lowering error pattern. Vowel harmony patterns could also account for a number of errors produced by Spanish-speaking children, but were rarely reported for English-speaking children.Investigations of vowel errors in children with phonological disorders have been primarily limited to English-speaking children. In the present study, the vowel productions of 23 three- and four-year-old Puerto Rican, Spanish-speaking children with phonological disorders are described and compared to those of 15 General American English-speaking children reported by Pollock and Keiser (1990). Results indicate that children with phonological disorders acquiring Spanish, which has a relatively simpler vowel system, produced far fewer vowel errors (M = 1%) than children with phonological disorders of similar severity acquiring American English (M = 11%). Those vowels most frequently in error for English-speaking children (/ae/, /U/, /I/ and /epsilon/) do not occur in Spanish. However, English-speaking children also showed higher error rates (M = 7%) on those vowels common to both languages. When errors did occur for Spanish-speaking children, the mid vowels /o/ and /e/ were most often in error. Both Spanish-...

Whole word measures in bilingual children with speech sound disorders.

Phonological acquisition traditionally has been measured using constructs that focus on segments rather than the whole words. Findings from recent research have suggested whole-word productions be evaluated using measures such as phonological mean length of utterance (pMLU) and the proportion of whole-word proximity (PWP). These measures have been investigated mainly in typically-developing children, but their use with children with speech sound disorders has been limited. This study compares PMLU, PWP, and consonant accuracy in Spanish–English bilinguals with speech sound disorders (SSD) to age-matched monolingual peers. This study relates directly to the type of research that Adele Miccio favoured. First, it is focusing on bilingual children. For the past 5 years, she has been the principal investigator of a grant developing a comprehensive phonological assessment tool for bilingual speakers. Second, during her career, Miccio advocated using multiple analyses to gauge the phonological skills of children, especially those with speech sound disorders. Her work in stimulability is evidence of that perspective. This study examines one ‘raditional’ measure (consonant accuracy) and two newer ones (pMLU and PWP), thereby broadening the analyses of phonological skills in bilingual children with SSD and thus carrying out multiple analyses, just as Miccio recommended throughout her illustrious career.

Substitution patterns in the phonology of Spanish-speaking children

The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of substitution errors in typically developing Spanish-speaking children and those with phonological disorders. Previous research with English-speaking children has indicated that the frequency and types of substitution errors are two types of information that speech-language pathologists can use to differentially diagnose phonological disorders. In addition, previous studies with Italian speakers [Bortolini, U., & Leonard, L. (). The speech of phonologically disordered children acquiring Italian. Clinical Linguisitcs & Phonetics, 5, 1 – 12.] and Portuguese speakers [Yavaş, M., & Lamprecht, R. (). Processes and intelligibility in disordered phonology. Clinical Linguistics and Phonetics, 2, 329 – 345.] have indicated that substitution errors differ based on ambient language. No study has examined this phenomenon in Spanish-speaking children. In the current study, frequency and types of substitution errors in 39 typically developing children were compared to those in 39 age-matched children with phonological disorders. For both singletons and consonant clusters, typically developing children utilized a smaller number of substitutes per target, used a single substitute for a smaller number of targets, and exhibited dissimilar substitution patterns compared to their peers with phonological disorders. Some specific substitutions types were different than those reported for English-speaking children, indicating a language-specific pattern. These results have implications for the identification of Spanish-speaking children with phonological disorders and the cross-linguistic and language-specific nature of substitution errors.

Interlocutor differential effects on the expressive language skills of Spanish-speaking English learners

Abstract Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between language use with different interlocutors, maternal education level and the expressive language skills of US English learners (ELs) in Spanish and English. Method: Two hundred and twenty-four Spanish-speaking ELs in kindergarten provided narrative language samples in Spanish and English. Parents completed a questionnaire of maternal education level and language use with parents, older siblings and peers. Result: Multiple linear regression analyses demonstrated that language used with different interlocutors and maternal education level had unique effects on participants’ expressive language skills. ELs’ expressive language skills in English were predicted by interactions with older siblings, peers and maternal education level; Spanish expressive language skills were predicted by interactions with older siblings. Conclusion: The findings from this study suggest that the determination of language experience of school-age bilingual children should examine differential language use with multiple interlocutors, particularly interactions with older siblings and peers.

Cross-linguistic generalization in the treatment of two sequential Spanish–English bilingual children with speech sound disorders

Abstract Purpose. The effect of bilingual service delivery on treatment of speech sound disorders (SSDs) in bilingual children is largely unknown. Bilingual children with SSDs are typically provided intervention in only one language, although research suggests dual-language instruction for language disorders is best practice for bilinguals. This study examined cross-linguistic generalization of bilingual intervention in treatment of two 5-year-old sequential bilingual boys with SSDs (one with Childhood Apraxia of Speech), hypothesizing that selecting and treating targets in both languages would result in significant overall change in their English and Spanish speech systems. Method. A multiple baseline across behaviours design was used to measure treatment effectiveness for two targets per child. Children received treatment 2–3 times per week for 8 weeks and in Spanish for at least 2 of every 3 days. Ongoing treatment performance was measured in probes in both languages; overall speech skills were compared pre- and post-treatment. Result. Both childrens speech improved in both languages with similar magnitude; there was improvement in some non-treated errors. Conclusion. Treating both languages had an overall positive effect on these bilingual childrens speech. Future bilingual intervention research should explore alternating treatments designs, efficiency of monolingual vs bilingual treatment, different language and bilingual backgrounds, and between-group comparisons.