How can we characterize, assess, and implement effective intervention in Early Sequential Bilinguals?
Wave of language
first wave of language development is characterized by the acquisition of consistent form-function mapping or rules.
children learn to differentiated between the vowels of their language, to comprehend and produce core lexical referents for items and actions they also learn to use grammatical forms to indicate tense, aspects, numbers and gender.
second wave of language is characterized by a refinement of performance skill resulting in increased speed and efficiency in processing know linguistic information.
Language Processing in an interactive theoretical framework
the theoretical framework considers basic cognitive mechanisms to be integral to efficient language learning.
Interactive processing framework is also consistent with a growing body of evidence pointing to deficiencies in attention, processing speed, and working memory in children diagnosed with primary or specific language impairment.
Language Proficiency
Balance Bilingualish is when skills level is comprable across two languages.
Dominant language is when one language is stronger than the other.
Research
Early Sequential Bilinguals have Specific Language Impairment
Second- Word gains were made in L2 (English) than in L1 (spanish). L2 merged as the stronger language as measured by processing-dependent picture naming and picture identification task.
first- Significant increases in word production and comprehension, in addition to increases in fluency in both Spanish L2 and English (L1).
Third-Variability Considerable variability within each child over time in L1 and L2. the children demonstrated positive change in naming speed, accuracy or cognitive control.
Results concluded upward gains in speed, accuracy, or control of the lexical systems across development and language experience for Early Sequential Bilinguals!
Language processing tasks, such as Non-Word Repetition Tasks (NRT) which use phonological (sounds) and verbal working memory, were found to be sensitive to SLI in children from culturally diverse populations.
Traits
Smaller vocabularies during preschool years.
Morphological weakness during school years
Poor discourse and academic skills
Overall, difficulty with understanding and creating language.
Non-word Repetition Task has been shown to useful in identifying or ruling out SLI in Spanish-English Bilinguals!!
Traditional Assessment
try to describe what is know in a given language.
A child with SLI will perform poorly on knowledge-dependent tasks (e.g., "Show me the lion") because something is wrong with his or her language learning system; this represents an impairment internal to the child.
In contrast, a child who is in the process of learning an L2 has an intact language-learning system (i.e., basic cognitive functions) but may perform poorly on language tasks relative to monolingual same-age peers because of differences external to the child (e.g., child was never taught to identify animals").
The ability to process information efficiently are accompanied by continuing grow in the areas of lexical-semantics, pragmatics and metalinguistic skills.
Intervention
Goal of intervention is to Increase the child's speed, accuracy, and efficiency in processing language during real-time, real-life, and communicative interactions.
increased verbal working memory
facilitate gains in perceptual and attentional skills
increased automatic of expressive language
Early
Sequential Bilingual
Children who learn a single first language (L1) from birth and begin the systematic learning of a second language (L2) during childhood, between 2 and 12 years of age.
Early Sequential Bilingualism can be viewed as
a product of individual experience interacting with general cognitive mechanisms which includes attention, emotions, memory, and perception
A dynamic system in which there is constant interplay between the languages with possible positive and negative transfer.