Helen Grech

Phonological acquisition in Malta: A bilingual language learning context

A total of 241 Maltese children aged 2;0—6;0 years, drawn randomly from the public registry of births, were assessed on a picture naming task to evaluate phone articulation, phonology and consistency of word production. Children were allowed to use the language they chose (either Maltese or English). Ninety-three children (38.6%) were reported by parents to speak both Maltese and English at home, 137 (56.9%) were reported to speak Maltese and 11 (4.7%) only English at home. The data gained were analyzed for percent consonants and vowels correct, adult phonemes absent, developmental speech error patterns, number of English and Maltese words used, and the percentage of children using translation equivalents. The children who were reported to be only exposed to English at home were not compared statistically with other children because of the small number in that group. The data showed an increase in phonological competence over the age range and differences between children reported to be exposed to one as opposed to two languages at home. Many children, irrespective of reported home language context, used both English and Maltese during assessment. The results were interpreted as showing independent phonological systems that nevertheless interacted; a bilingual language learning context affected word naming language choice.

Early expressive vocabulary skills: A multi-method approach to measurement

Investigations of early vocabulary production often employ a single method to measure children’s word use. This study examined expressive vocabulary development in children aged 1;0–2;6 years through a combination of picture naming, caregiver report and language sampling. The participants were predominantly exposed to Maltese at home, with gathered evidence providing novel documentation of early vocabulary development in this specific language-learning context. Expressive vocabulary reported by caregivers was compared to word use elicited through picture naming and sampled naturalistically during play. Analyses revealed commonalities between pairs of measures that pointed towards their validity. Resulting differences underscored the influences that data collection methods exerted on the measures they generated. Taken together, these findings highlight the relevance of multiple methods for ensuring validity and objectivity in the investigation of expressive vocabulary development.

A European Perspective on Auditory Processing Disorder-Current Knowledge and Future Research Focus

Current notions of “hearing impairment,” as reflected in clinical audiological practice, do not acknowledge the needs of individuals who have normal hearing pure tone sensitivity but who experience auditory processing difficulties in everyday life that are indexed by reduced performance in other more sophisticated audiometric tests such as speech audiometry in noise or complex non-speech sound perception. This disorder, defined as “Auditory Processing Disorder” (APD) or “Central Auditory Processing Disorder” is classified in the current tenth version of the International Classification of diseases as H93.25 and in the forthcoming beta eleventh version. APDs may have detrimental effects on the affected individual, with low esteem, anxiety, and depression, and symptoms may remain into adulthood. These disorders may interfere with learning per se and with communication, social, emotional, and academic-work aspects of life. The objective of the present paper is to define a baseline European APD consensus formulated by experienced clinicians and researchers in this specific field of human auditory science. A secondary aim is to identify issues that future research needs to address in order to further clarify the nature of APD and thus assist in optimum diagnosis and evidence-based management. This European consensus presents the main symptoms, conditions, and specific medical history elements that should lead to auditory processing evaluation. Consensus on definition of the disorder, optimum diagnostic pathway, and appropriate management are highlighted alongside a perspective on future research focus.

Early lexical expression in children exposed to mixed input: A case of monolingual or bilingual development?

Aims and objectives: This study documents early lexical expression in children whose language input in the home was predominantly Maltese, accompanied by regular exposure to English lexical mixing. Bilingualism and language contact were also present at the societal level. The study attempts to determine whether the children’s pattern of vocabulary growth corresponded to a monolingual or bilingual mode of development. Methodology: The expressive vocabularies of 60 children aged 1;0 to 2;6 years were measured using caregiver reports and language sampling. Data and analysis: Expressive scores representing total vocabulary, Maltese and English words as well as translation equivalents were derived from the language samples and caregiver-completed vocabulary checklists. Findings and conclusions: Both Maltese and English words were identified in the children’s expressive vocabularies. Higher translation equivalent proportions were reported across daily settings than were sampled. Participants seemed to introduce new equivalents for words previously used in one language according to the needs of the communicative context. These findings demonstrate a basic level of bilingualism in the participants and suggest selective use of equivalents in response to environmental demands. The latter would imply the presence of a double lexical system, indicating a more refined bilingual status, although insufficient contextual evidence made this a tentative proposition. Fragmented exposure to English appeared unable to support the participants’ bilingual development beyond the lexical domain. Originality: While documenting lexical development in children exposed to a distinctive language-learning context that is as yet under-researched, this study adds to the limited evidence on lexical expression in young children exposed to substantial lexical mixing in their input. Significance: These findings highlight the development of bilingual proficiency as a process that spreads across linguistic levels in accordance with input variables. They also suggest that Maltese children’s bilingual lexicons may have the potential to kick-start their sequential bilingual development once systematic exposure to integral English is introduced through schooling.

Early lexical expression in typically developing Maltese children: implications for the identification of language delay

Limited word production may be the first indicator of impaired language development. The unavailability of normative data and standardized assessments for young Maltese children hinders the identification of early language delays. This study aimed to document Maltese childrens expressive vocabulary growth and accompanying range of variation, to assist identification of children at risk for language impairment. The expressive vocabularies of 44 typically developing children aged 12–30 months were measured through caregiver report. Mean scores at each age point were characterized by substantial individual variation. Gender was not related to mean growth in vocabulary production. Minimum scores were compared to clinical thresholds for English-speaking children. Results emphasized the assessment- and language-specific nature of identification criteria. Nevertheless, established thresholds may be referred to when normative data for particular languages/language pairs are limited. In such contexts, the consideration of other risk markers gains importance in supplementing findings on lexical expression.

Cross-linguistic patterns in the acquisition of quantifiers.

Significance Although much research has been devoted to the acquisition of number words, relatively little is known about the acquisition of other expressions of quantity. We propose that the order of acquisition of quantifiers is related to features inherent to the meaning of each term. Four specific dimensions of the meaning and use of quantifiers are found to capture robust similarities in the order of acquisition of quantifiers in similar ways across 31 languages, representing 11 language types. Learners of most languages are faced with the task of acquiring words to talk about number and quantity. Much is known about the order of acquisition of number words as well as the cognitive and perceptual systems and cultural practices that shape it. Substantially less is known about the acquisition of quantifiers. Here, we consider the extent to which systems and practices that support number word acquisition can be applied to quantifier acquisition and conclude that the two domains are largely distinct in this respect. Consequently, we hypothesize that the acquisition of quantifiers is constrained by a set of factors related to each quantifier’s specific meaning. We investigate competence with the expressions for “all,” “none,” “some,” “some…not,” and “most” in 31 languages, representing 11 language types, by testing 768 5-y-old children and 536 adults. We found a cross-linguistically similar order of acquisition of quantifiers, explicable in terms of four factors relating to their meaning and use. In addition, exploratory analyses reveal that language- and learner-specific factors, such as negative concord and gender, are significant predictors of variation.

Education in Logopaedics in the Maltese Islands

The Communication Therapy (CT) Division of the University of Malta is relatively small and young and is the only local training establishment of speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in the Maltese Islands. It aims to achieve a distinctive profile of excellence and international standing in the education and training of caring, accountable and autonomous SLPs. Various strategies are adopted by the CT Division in order to reach its goals and to overcome its limitations and challenges. These include running its own Teaching and Research Clinic, engaging in European staff/student exchange and conducting research projects with other organizations to develop scientific data and tools for use with the Maltese communication-disordered population.

Speech-Language Pathology in Malta: Meeting Local Needs in a Global Perspective

Education in logopaedics and patterns of service delivery for the communication-disordered have expanded over the past decade in the Maltese Islands to address local needs, culture and circumstances. This paper provides an overview of the expansion of trained staff, caseloads and mode of service delivery. Various strategies are reported as having been adopted by the relatively underresourced training establishment to ensure the preparation and maintenance of competent and accountable practitioners, as recommended by the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics. The success in training is perceived as being the result of the collaborative approach adopted with local service providers and expatriate colleagues. Strategic plans to strengthen the profession and service provision are also discussed.

Auditory and language processing skills in Maltese children : a comparative study

Auditory processing disorder is described as a mixture of unrefined listening skills which, despite normal hearing, causes poor speech perception. These difficulties have also been reported in children with a diagnosis of language impairment (LI), literacy difficulties (LD)1, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The purpose of this study is to describe and compare the listening performance of typically developing (TD) children with those diagnosed with LI, LD, and ADHD on an assessment battery of auditory processing (AP) and language processing (LP). One hundred and one TD children and 53 children with a clinical diagnosis were assessed using four subtests of AP presenting linguistic stimuli, three AP subtests with non-linguistic stimuli and an assessment of LP. Parents of all children were required to fill in a questionnaire related to their listening difficulties. Parental report for the TD group on average yielded the lowest score, indicating fewer difficulties with listening skills in the TD group. The listening difficulties exhibited in the Maltese participants diagnosed with LI, LD and ADHD were mainly specific to the AP subtests using linguistic stimuli. The LI and LD groups generally performed significantly worse than the TD group on all AP subtests using linguistic stimuli, while the ADHD group performed significantly worse than the TD group on some of these tests. The same pattern did not emerge for the subtests using non-linguistic stimuli. Few significant effects between groups were evident. The LI groups were found to perform the weakest in all tests of language processing.

How do 5-year-olds understand questions? Differences in languages across Europe

The comprehension of constituent questions is an important topic for language acquisition research and for applications in the diagnosis of language impairment. This article presents the results of a study investigating the comprehension of different types of questions by 5-year-old, typically developing children across 19 European countries, 18 different languages, and 7 language (sub-)families. The study investigated the effects of two factors on question formation: (a) whether the question contains a simple interrogative word like ‘who’ or a complex one like ‘which princess’, and (b) whether the question word was related to the sentential subject or object position of the verb. The findings show that there is considerable variation among languages, but the two factors mentioned consistently affect children’s performance. The cross-linguistic variation shows that three linguistic factors facilitate children’s understanding of questions: having overt case morphology, having a single lexical item for both ‘who’ and ‘which’, and the use of synthetic verbal forms.