missing); some questions have no results presented; most results are not subjected to statistical tests but are merely presented as frequencies of replies; and where statistical tests are reported, the details are often too sketchy to judge the validity of the procedure. Many of the studies seem to have been executed and analysed by the author’s students, which may account for some of the reporting and validity problems. Still, the patterns of results are intriguing and should prompt further, more controlled research into these issues. Also, where differences are exceptionally large, statistical tests are probably unnecessary to confirm the pattern that is discerned. Interpersonal communication scholars may therefore find the studies useful in revealing the social meanings ascribed to certain nonverbal behaviours and the mediating effects of perceived context and demographics on those interpretations. Practitioners should likewise discern many valuable conclusions about successful and unsuccessful interview behaviours.

Bilingualism and Special Education: Issues in Assessment and Pedagogy

This study investigated the relationships between home language learning activities and vocabulary in a sample of monolingual native Dutch (n = 58) and bilingual immigrant Moroccan–Dutch (n = 46) and Turkish–Dutch (n = 55) 3-year-olds, speaking Tarifit-Berber, a nonscripted language, and Turkish as their first language (L1), respectively. Despite equal domain general cognitive abilities, Dutch children scored higher than the bilingual children on a L1 vocabulary test, and Moroccan–Dutch children had higher second language (L2) vocabulary skills compared to Turkish–Dutch children. Multigroup analyses revealed strong impact on both L1 and L2 skills of language specific input in literate and oral activities. Finally, indications were found of positive cross-language transfer from L1 to L2 as well as competition between L1 and L2 input.

/pdf/the-home-language-environment-of-monolingual-and-bilingual-2oxifreusa.pdf

The home language environment of monolingual and bilingual children and their language proficiency

The purpose of this study was to determine if different language measures resulted in the same classifications of language dominance and proficiency for a group of bilingual pre-kindergarteners and kindergarteners. Data were analyzed for 1029 Spanish–English bilingual pre-kindergarteners who spanned the full range of bilingual language proficiency. Parent questionnaires were used to quantify age of first exposure and current language use. Scores from a short test of semantic and morphosyntactic development in Spanish and English were used to quantify children's performance. Some children who were in the functionally monolingual range based on interview data demonstrated minimal knowledge of their other languages when tested. Current use accounted for more of the variance in language dominance than did age of first exposure. Results indicate that at different levels of language exposure children differed in their performance on semantic and morphosyntax tasks. These patterns suggest that it may be difficult to compare the results of studies that employ different measures of language dominance and proficiency. Current use is likely to be a useful metric of bilingual development that can be used to build a comprehensive picture of child bilingualism.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/C7A7336B18DF6473954DBDF70F8FA71B/S1366728912000090a.pdf/div-class-title-the-measure-matters-language-dominance-profiles-across-measures-in-spanish-english-bilingual-children-a-href-fn1a-ref-type-fn-a-div.pdf

The measure matters: Language dominance profiles across measures in Spanish-English bilingual children.

PURPOSE: This study assesses the factors that contribute to Spanish and English language development in bilingual children. METHOD: 757 Hispanic Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten age children completed screening tests of semantic and morphosyntactic development in Spanish and English. Parents provided information about their occupation and education as well as their children's English and Spanish exposure. Data were analyzed using zero-inflated regression models (comprising a logistic regression component and a negative binomial or Poisson component) to explore factors that contributed to children initiating L1 and L2 performance and factors that contributed to building children's knowledge. RESULTS: Factors that were positively associated with initiating L1 and L2 performance were language input/output, free and reduced lunch, and age. Factors associated with building knowledge included age, parent education, input/output, free and reduced lunch and school district. CONCLUSION: Amount of language input is important as children begin to use a language, and amount of language output is important for adding knowledge to their language. Semantic development seemed to be driven more by input while morphosyntax development relied on both input and output. Clinicians who assess bilingual children should examine children's language output in their second language to better understand their levels of performance.

/pdf/what-you-hear-and-what-you-say-language-performance-in-3uua56507v.pdf

What You Hear and What You Say: Language Performance in Spanish English Bilinguals

Research at the interface of bilingual development and child language disorders has increased greatly in the past decade. The purpose of this article is to highlight the theoretical and clinical implications of this research. Studies examining the similarities in linguistic characteristics between typically developing sequential bilingual children and monolingual children with specific language impairment (SLI) the same age are reviewed in light of predictions from a maturational model of SLI. Studies examining the linguistic characteristics of bilingual children with SLI compared to monolinguals with SLI and their bilingual peers with typical development are reviewed in light of predictions of limited processing capacity theories of SLI. It is shown that data from bilingual children pose interesting challenges to both theoretical perspectives, although in different ways. Finally, the findings from this research are discussed in terms of their relevance for assessment of SLI in bilingual children.

/pdf/the-interface-between-bilingual-development-and-specific-34cr47s3ft.pdf

The interface between bilingual development and specific language impairment

There is limited research regarding what levels of proficiency in each language should characterize the language behavior of bilingual children and the impact of language exposure or language use variables on bilingual performance. This study was designed to examine the extent to which years of exposure to a language(s), amount of language input at home and at school, and amount of exposure to reading and other literacy activities in a language(s) relate to observed bilingual performance in young children, as obtained from parent and teacher reports. A secondary goal was to determine the extent to which parents or teachers could assist in determining language status by examining relationships between their ratings of the child's use and proficiency in the two languages and the child's grammatical performance. Fifty-seven children and their families were sampled from second grade classes of a large school district serving primarily low-income families in southern California. Multiple regression analyses for each language indicated that amount of Spanish input at home was a significant predictor of grammatical performance in that language. These input effects did not hold for English. Although there were some crosslinguistic differences, parent and teacher ratings of use and proficiency correlated with the child's grammatical performance in the target language. The findings suggest that parent and teacher estimates may be useful to determine bilingual status.

Vera F. Gutiérrez–Clellen

Papers

Understanding child bilingual acquisition using parent and teacher reports