Stefka H. Marinova-Todd

Brief Report: An Exploratory Study of Lexical Skills in Bilingual Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Studying lexical diversity in bilingual children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) can contribute important information to our understanding of language development in this diverse population. In this exploratory study, lexical comprehension and production and overall language skills were investigated in 14 English–Chinese bilingual and 14 English monolingual preschool-age children with ASD. Results indicated that both groups had equivalent scores on all but one measure of language and vocabulary, including English production vocabulary, conceptual production vocabulary, and vocabulary comprehension. When comparing the two languages of bilingual participants, there were no significant differences in production vocabulary size or vocabulary comprehension scores. The results provide evidence that bilingual English–Chinese preschool-age children with ASD have the capacity to function successfully as bilinguals.

Phonological awareness skills in the two languages of Mandarin-English bilingual children

A number of studies have shown that bilingual children have an advantage when performing on phonological awareness tasks, particularly in their stronger language. Little research has been done to date, examining the effects of bilingualism on both languages of bilingual children. In this study Mandarin–English bilingual childrens performance on phonological awareness tests was compared with that of Mandarin monolingual children and English monolingual children. The Mandarin–English bilinguals performed better than English monolinguals on the Elision and Blending sub-tests of the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP). Similarly, Mandarin–English bilinguals also performed better than their Mandarin monolingual counterparts on most of the experimental Mandarin phonological awareness tasks. The results from the study are discussed in terms of the effects of bilingualism on phonological awareness in both languages of bilingual children. Further clinical and educational implications of these results are also discussed.

The Association Between Morphological Awareness and Literacy in English Language Learners From Different Language Backgrounds

Purpose: The main goal of this study was to examine whether the morphological structure of a childs first language determined the strength of association between morphological awareness and reading and spelling skills in English, their second language. Methods: The sample consisted of 888 Grade six students who had English as their first language and 244 English Language Learners (ELLs) who came from seven home language backgrounds: Chinese, Filipino, Germanic, Korean, Persian, Romance, and Slavic. Participants were given a series of standardized tests for word reading, reading comprehension, and spelling, and experimental measures of morphological, phonological, and syntactic awareness, as well as reading fluency and reading comprehension. Results: The results revealed that children in the ELL groups differed from the English monolingual group mostly on the oral language tasks, but their reading skills were high and equivalent to those of the monolingual group. Moreover, it was confirmed that morphological awareness is important for all aspects of reading and spelling, and its influence is independent of that of phonological awareness and syntactic awareness. Conclusion: The associations between morphological awareness and reading and spelling in a second language seem to be influenced by the morphological structure of the home language, such that the association was stronger for children whose home languages were morphologically transparent.

The development of language and reading skills in the second and third languages of multilingual children in French Immersion

The relationship between first language (L1) typology, defined as the classification of languages according to their structural characteristics (e.g. phonological systems and writing systems), and the development of second (L2) and third (L3) language skills and literacy proficiency in multilingual children was investigated in this study. The sample included 90 children in Grade 4: tested once at the beginning of Grade 4 (T1) and again at the end of Grade 4 (T2). The children belonged to one of three language groups: English monolinguals, multilinguals who were literate in an alphabetic L1, and multilinguals who were literate in a logographic/syllabary L1. The study examined the extent to which the development of L2 and L3 literacy skills varied primarily as a function of orthographic similarities with the L1. Results revealed that multilingual children who were literate in an alphabetic L1 showed advantages in L2 and L3 reading comprehension. However, there were no differences on tasks that measured word reading and pseudoword reading. A more accurate picture of what facilitates L2 and L3 reading development is enhanced when differences in L2 and L3 proficiency were considered as well.

Professional practices and opinions about services available to bilingual children with developmental disabilities: An international study

This study aimed to gather information from school- and clinic-based professionals about their practices and opinions pertaining to the provision of bilingual supports to students with developmental disabilities. Using an online survey, data were collected in six socio-culturally and linguistically diverse locations across four countries: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. In total, 361 surveys were included in the analysis from respondents who were primarily teachers and speech-language pathologists working in schools, daycares/preschools, or community-based clinics. The overall picture that emerged from the data reflected a disconnection between practice and opinion. In general, respondents believed that children with both mild and severe disabilities are capable of learning a second language, although their opinions were more neutral for the latter group. However, children with both mild and severe disabilities who spoke only a minority language at home had less access to services for second language learners than did their typically developing peers, although respondents agreed that such services should be more available. Regardless of clinical group, children who lived in homes where a minority language was spoken were often exposed to, assessed in, and treated in the majority language only; again, respondents generally disagreed with these practices. Finally, second language classes were less available to children in the two disability groups compared to typically developing bilingual children, with general agreement that the opportunity to acquire a second language should be more available, especially to those with mild disabilities. Although the results indicate that there is a considerable gap between current practices and professional opinions, professionals appear to be more supportive of bilingual educational opportunities for these populations than was suggested by previous research.

Speech assessment of Chinese–English bilingual children: Accent versus developmental level

Abstract The study aimed to evaluate the phonological profiles of Chinese–English bilingual children in primary grades relative to those of English monolinguals, and to compare these profiles with speech-language pathologists’ (SLPs’) ratings of childrens speech in terms of accent or developmental level. Participants were 29 Chinese–English bilinguals and 25 English-monolingual children. Speech samples were collected using the Goldman-Fristoe Test of Articulation–2, either a Cantonese or Mandarin phonology test, and three sentences in a delayed repetition task. In addition, 10 SLPs rated each of the randomized sentences on either an accent or developmental level scale. Bilingual children with identified accents had significantly lower standard scores than monolingual children on the GFTA-2, but on the Chinese phonological assessments the same children showed age-expected speech. The differences in the bilingual childrens scores on phonology tests in English vs Chinese highlight the need for phonological assessment in both languages. The SLP listener results further suggest that perceptual judgement may be a useful complement in phonological assessment of bilingual children but not a replacement for more formal testing.

A multi-site review of policies affecting opportunities for children with developmental disabilities to become bilingual

This review of special education and language-in-education policies at six sites in four countries (Canada, United States, United Kingdom, and Netherlands) aimed to determine the opportunities for bilingualism provided at school for children with developmental disabilities (DD). While research has demonstrated that children with DD are capable of learning more than one language (see Kay Raining Bird, Genesee, & Verhoeven, this issue), it was not clear whether recent policies reflect these findings. The review, conducted using the same protocol across sites, showed that special education policies rarely addressed second language learning explicitly. However, at all sites, the policies favoured inclusion and educational planning based on individual needs, and thus implied that students with DD would have opportunities for second language learning. The language-in-education policies occasionally specified the support individuals with special needs would receive. At some sites, policies and educational options provided little support for minority languages, a factor that could contribute to subtractive bilingualism. At others, we found stronger support for minority languages and optional majority languages: conditions that could be more conducive to additive bilingualism.

The effect of sociolinguistic factors and English language proficiency on the development of French as a third language

The classroom demographics in French immersion (FI) programs across Canada are changing: There are a growing number of multilingual students who are learning English as a second language (L2) and French as a third language (L3). However, little is known about the development of French language proficiency and reading skills of multilingual students in the FI programs. The association between sociolinguistic factors as well as metalinguistic awareness, language proficiency, and literacy skills in the L2 and language proficiency and literacy skills in the L3 was investigated in this study. The sample included 55 students with an average age of 11 years and six months, in early FI programs who were tested at the end of Grade 6. Multiple regression analyses revealed that oral language proficiency and reading comprehension in English predicted oral language proficiency and reading comprehension skills in French, controlling for amount of reading in French and morphological awareness in English. This study demonstrated that although the majority of instruction in FI programs is in French, multilingual students continue to develop age-appropriate oral language proficiency and reading skills in English and French.

Word-initial trill clusters in children with typical versus protracted phonological development: Bulgarian

ABSTRACT The current paper describes acquisition of word-initial (WI) trilled /r/ in clusters and as a singleton in 60 Bulgarian 3–5-year-olds with typically developing (TD) versus protracted phonological development (PPD). A native speaker audio-recorded and transcribed single-word responses to a picture-naming task (110 words) that included eight words with WI rhotic clusters and two with WI singleton /r/. Accuracy was significantly higher in the TD groups and for the PPD groups, by age. Mismatch patterns varied: the PPD cohort had the most varied patterns although the younger children with PPD showed more /r/ deletion in clusters, and the TD groups and 5-year-olds with PPD more substitutions for /r/. Substitutions for rhotics included taps (most frequent; possibly an acceptable variant), voiced uvular and palatal fricatives, laterals, glides, other rhotics, stops and nasals. These results add to the growing database on Bulgarian phonological acquisition concerning accuracy and mismatches by group and age.

Predictors of English spelling in bilingual and monolingual children in Grade 1: the case of Cantonese and Tagalog

In order to examine the effect of the home language on the spelling development in English in children who are learning English as a second language (ESL learners), it is best to directly compare groups of ESL learners from various home language backgrounds. This study compared the oral language, phonological awareness, reading, and spelling performance of Tagalog–English bilingual, Cantonese–English bilingual, and monolingual English-speaking children in Grade 1. The bilingual children had lower scores than the monolinguals on measures of oral proficiency, but demonstrated similar or better performance on most phonological awareness, reading, and spelling tasks after controlling for vocabulary size in English. A series of moderated regression analysis revealed that although phonological awareness was associated with English spelling performance regardless of language background, the associations between specific spelling tasks and related underlying skills seemed to differ across language groups.