Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T07:07:54.391Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Lexical profiles of bilingual children with primary language impairment*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2014

KERRY DANAHY EBERT ,
GIANG PHAM  and
KATHRYN KOHNERT
KERRY DANAHY EBERT*
Affiliation:
Rush University, Chicago
GIANG PHAM
Affiliation:
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
KATHRYN KOHNERT
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
*
Address for correspondence: Kerry Danahy Ebert, Department of Communication Disorders & Sciences, Rush University, 1016D AAC, 600 S. Paulina St., Chicago, IL 60612, USA[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This study used lexical tasks to examine associations between languages, tasks, and age in bilingual children with primary language impairment. Participants (n = 41, mean age 8;8 years) lived in the United States, spoke primarily Spanish (L1) at home and English (L2) at school, and were identified with moderate to severe impairments in both languages. A total of eight tasks (four in each language) measured breadth of vocabulary knowledge (receptive and expressive vocabulary) and aspects of lexical processing (rapid automatic naming and nonword repetition). Correlational analyses revealed older children outperformed younger children on lexical tasks in L2 but not L1, as well as relative L2 dominance for most individuals and tasks. Positive associations were found between languages on processing-based tasks but not vocabulary measures. Findings were consistent with literature on typical bilingual learners, albeit with a notable increased risk of plateau in L1 growth. Results are interpreted within a Dynamic Systems framework.

Keywords

specific language impairmentDynamic Systemsprocessingvocabularynonword repetition
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 17 , Issue 4 , October 2014 , pp. 766 - 783
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

This study was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Deafness and other Communication Disorders (NIDCD R21DC010868) awarded to Kathryn Kohnert and by an NIDCD R21 Postdoctoral Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research to Giang Pham. Portions of this study were presented at the 2012 Symposium on Research in Child Language Disorders, Madison, WI, USA. We are very grateful for the collaboration of Dr. Frank Cirrin and the faculty, staff, and administrators in the Minneapolis Public Schools. We thank our two project coordinators, Jill Rentmeester Disher and Bita Payesteh; the many research assistants who contributed to the project; and the participants and their families. Finally, we are grateful for helpful comments on this manuscript from four anonymous BLC reviewers.

References

Armon-Lotem, S. (2010). Instructive bilingualism: Can bilingual children with specific language impairment rely on one language in learning a second one? Applied Psycholinguistics, 31, 253–260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benjamini, Y., & Hochberg, Y. (1995). Controlling the false discovery rate: A practical and powerful approach to multiple testing. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 57, 289–300.Google Scholar
Benjamini, Y., & Hochberg, Y. (2000). On the adaptive control of the false discovery rate in multiple testing with independent statistics. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 25, 60–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E., & Barac, R. (2012). Emerging bilingualism: Dissociating advantages for metalinguistic awareness and executive control. Cognition, 122, 67–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., & Luk, G. (2012). Bilingualism: Consequences for mind and brain. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16, 240–249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Branum-Martin, L., Mehta, P. D., Francis, D. J., Foorman, B. R., Cirino, P. T., & Miller, J. F. (2009). Pictures and words: Spanish and English vocabulary in classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 897–911.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, L., Sherbenou, R., & Johnsen, S. (1997). Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (3rd edn.). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Google Scholar
Brownell, R. (2000a). Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test. Novato, CA: Academic Therapy Publications.Google Scholar
Brownell, R. (2000b). Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test. Novato, CA: Academic Therapy Publications.Google Scholar
Brownell, R. (2001a). Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test–Spanish-Bilingual Edition. Novato, CA: Academic Therapy Publications.Google Scholar
Brownell, R. (2001b). Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test–Spanish-Bilingual Edition. Novato, CA: Academic Therapy Publications.Google Scholar
Bruck, M. (1982). Language impaired children's performance in an additive bilingual education program. Applied Psycholinguistics, 3, 45–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coady, J. A. (2013). Rapid naming by children with and without specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 56, 604–617.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Coady, J. A., & Evans, J. L. (2008). Uses and interpretations of non-word repetition tasks in children with and without specific language impairments (SLI). International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 43, 1–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cobo-Lewis, A. B., Pearson, B. Z., Eilers, R. E., & Umbel, V. C. (2002a). Effects of bilingualism and bilingual education on oral and written English skills: A multifactor study of standardized test outcomes. In Oller & Eilers, pp. 64–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cobo-Lewis, A. B., Pearson, B. Z., Eilers, R. E., & Umbel, V. C. (2002b). Effects of bilingualism and bilingual education on oral and written Spanish skills: A multifactor study of standardized test outcomes. In Oller & Eilers, pp. 98–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Bot, K., Lowie, W., & Verspoor, M. (2007). A Dynamic Systems Theory approach to second language acquisition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 10, 7–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dollaghan, C., & Campbell, T. (1998). Nonword repetition and child language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 41, 1136–1146.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ebert, K. D., Kalanek, J., Cordero, K. N., & Kohnert, K. (2008). Spanish nonword repetition: Stimuli development and preliminary results. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 29, 67–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ebert, K. D., Kohnert, K., Pham, G., Rentmeester Disher, J., & Payesteh, B. Three treatments for bilingual children with primary language impairment: Examining cross-linguistic and cross-domain effects. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, doi:10.1044/1092-4388(2013/12-0388). Published online by HighWire, July 30, 2013.Google Scholar
Gathercole, S. E. (2006). Nonword repetition and word learning: The nature of the relationship. Applied Psycholinguistics, 27, 513–543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Golberg, H., Paradis, J., & Crago, M. (2008). Lexical acquisition over time in minority first language children learning English as a second language. Applied Psycholinguistics, 29, 41–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gottardo, A. (2002). The relationship between language and reading skills in bilingual Spanish–English speakers. Topics in Language Disorders, 22, 46–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gray, S., & Brinkley, S. (2011). Fast mapping and word learning by preschoolers with SLI in a supported learning context: Effect of encoding cues, phonotactic probability, and object familiarity. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 54, 870–884.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutiérrez-Clellen, V. F., & Simon-Cereijido, G. (2010). Using nonword repetition tasks for the identification of language impairment in Spanish–English-speaking children: Does the language of assessment matter? Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 25, 48–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gutiérrez-Clellen, V., Simon-Cereijido, G., & Sweet, M. (2012). Predictors of second language acquisition in latino children with specific language impairment. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 21, 64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Håkansson, G., Salameh, E. K., & Nettelbladt, U. (2003). Measuring language development in bilingual children: Swedish–Arabic children with and without language impairment. Linguistics, 41, 255–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iluz-Cohen, P., & Walters, J. (2012). Telling stories in two languages: Narratives of bilingual preschool children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15, 58–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jia, G., Kohnert, K., Collado, J., & Aquino-Garcia, F. (2006). Action naming in Spanish and English by sequential bilingual children and adolescents. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 49, 588–602.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kail, R. (1991). Development of processing speed in childhood and adolescence. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 23, 151–185.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kohnert, K. (2002). Picture naming in early sequential bilinguals: A 1-year follow-up. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 45, 759–771.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kohnert, K. (2010). Bilingual children with primary language impairment: Issues, evidence and implications for clinical actions. Journal of Communication Disorders, 43, 456–473.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kohnert, K. (2013). Language disorders in bilingual children and adults (2nd edn.). San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing.Google Scholar
Kohnert, K., Bates, E., & Hernandez, A. E. (1999). Balancing bilinguals: Lexical-semantic production and cognitive processing in children learning Spanish and English. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 42, 1400–1413.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Laing, S., & Kamhi, A. (2003). Alternative assessment of language and literacy in culturally and linguistically diverse populations. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 34, 44–55.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leonard, L. (2000). Children with specific language impairment. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google ScholarPubMed
Li, M., Kirby, J., & Georgiou, G. K. (2011). Rapid naming speed components and reading comprehension in bilingual children. Journal of Research in Reading, 34, 6–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mainela-Arnold, E., Evans, J. L., & Coady, J. A. (2010). Explaining lexical-semantic deficits in specific language impairment: The role of phonological similarity, phonological working memory, and lexical competition. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 53, 1742–1756.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masoura, E. V., & Gathercole, S. E. (2005). Contrasting contributions of phonological short-term memory and long-term knowledge to vocabulary learning in a foreign language. Memory, 13, 422–429.Google Scholar
Munson, B., Kurtz, B., & Windsor, J. (2005). The influence of vocabulary size, phonotactic probability, and wordlikeness on nonword repetitions of children with and without specific language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48, 1033–1047.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oller, D. K., & Eilers, R. E. (eds.) (2002). Language and literacy in bilingual children. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oller, D. K., Jarmulowicz, L., Pearson, B., & Cobo-Lewis, A. (2011). Rapid spoken language shift in early second-language learning: The role of peers and effects on the first language. In Durgunoglu, A. & Goldenberg, C. (eds.), Language and literacy development in bilingual settings, pp. 94–120. New York: Guildford Press.Google Scholar
Paradis, J. (2007). Bilingual children with specific language impairment: Theoretical and applied issues. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28, 551–564.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, B. Z. (2007). Social factors in childhood bilingualism in the United States. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28, 399–410.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, B. Z., Fernandez, S. C., & Oller, D. K. (1993). Lexical development in bilingual infants and toddlers: Comparison to monolingual norms. Language Learning, 43, 93–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peña, E. D., Bedore, L. M., & Zlatic-Giunta, R. (2002). Category generation performance of young bilingual children: The influence of condition, category, and language. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 41, 938–947.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pham, G. (2011). Dual-language development among Vietnamese–English bilingual children: Modeling trajectories and cross-linguistic associations within a Dynamic Systems framework. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Minnesota.Google Scholar
Pham, G., & Kohnert, K. A longitudinal study of lexical development in children learning Vietnamese and English. Child Development doi:10.1111/cdev.12137. Published online by Wiley, July 13, 2013.Google Scholar
Phinney, J. S., Romero, I., Nava, M., & Huang, D. (2001). The role of language, parents, and peers in ethnic identity among adolescents in immigrant families. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 30, 135–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Restrepo, M. A. (1998). Identifiers of predominantly Spanish-speaking children with language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 41, 1398–1411.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Restrepo, M. A., & Kruth, K. (2000). Grammatical characteristics of a Spanish–English bilingual child with specific language impairment. Communication Disorders Quarterly, 21, 66–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roeper, T. (2012). Minimalism and bilingualism: How and why bilingualism could benefit children with SLI. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15, 88–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rojas, R., & Iglesias, A. (2013). The language growth of Spanish-speaking English language learners. Child Development, 84, 630–646.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rothweiler, M., Chilla, S., & Clahsen, H. (2012). Subject–verb agreement in specific language impairment: A study of monolingual and bilingual German-speaking children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15, 39–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sahlén, B., Radeborg, K., Wagner, C. R., Friberg, C., & Rydahl, L. (2000). A preliminary version of a computerized naming test for preschool children with language impairment. Logopedics, Phoniatrics, Vocology, 25, 115–121.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sanz-Torrent, M., Serrat, E., Andreu, L., & Serra, M. (2008). Verb morphology in Catalan and Spanish in children with specific language impairment: A developmental study. Clinical Linguistics & Phonetics, 22, 459–474.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Semel, E., Wiig, E. H., & Secord, W. A. (2003). Clinical evaluation of language fundamentals (4th edn.). San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Sheng, L., Bedore, L. M., Peña, E. D., & Taliancich-Klinger, C. (2013). Semantic convergence in Spanish–English bilingual children with primary language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 56, 766–777.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sheng, L., Peña, E. D., Bedore, L. M., & Fiestas, C. E. (2012). Semantic deficits in Spanish–English bilingual children with language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 55, 1–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Summers, C., Bohman, T. M., Gillam, R. B., Peña, E. D., & Bedore, L. M. (2010). Bilingual performance on nonword repetition in Spanish and English. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 45, 480–493.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Swanson, H. L., Orosco, M. J., Lussier, C. M., Gerber, M. M., & Guzman-Orth, D. A. (2011). The influence of working memory and phonological processing on English language learner children's bilingual reading and language acquisition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103, 838–856.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tseng, V., & Fuligni, A. J. (2000). Parent–adolescent language use and relationships among immigrant families with East Asian, Filipino, and Latin American backgrounds. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62, 465–476.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uccelli, P., & Páez, M. M. (2007). Narrative and vocabulary development of bilingual children from kindergarten to first grade: Developmental changes and associations among English and Spanish skills. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38, 225–236.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2012). Indicator 6: Children who spoke a language other than English at home. In The condition of education 2011. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.Google Scholar
van Geert, P. (1998). A dynamic systems model of basic developmental mechanisms: Piaget, Vygotsky, and beyond. Psychological Review, 105, 634–677.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verhoeven, L. T. (1994). Transfer in bilingual development: The linguistic interdependence hypothesis revisited. Language Learning, 44, 381–415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verhoeven, L. [T.], Steenge, J., & van Balkom, H. (2012). Linguistic transfer in bilingual children with specific language impairment. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 47, 176–183.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Verhoeven, L. [T.], Steenge, J., van Weerdenburg, M., & van Balkom, H. (2011). Assessment of second language proficiency in bilingual children with specific language impairment: A clinical perspective. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 32, 1798–1807.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wagner, R. K., Torgesen, J., & Rashotte, C. (1999). Comprehensive test of phonological processing. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.Google Scholar
Westman, M., Korkman, M., Mickos, A., & Byring, R. (2008). Language profiles of monolingual and bilingual Finnish preschool children at risk for language impairment. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 43, 699–711.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wiig, E. H., Secord, W. A., & Semel, E. (2006). Clinical evaluation of language fundamentals (4th edn., Spanish). San Antonio, TX: The Psychological Corporation.Google Scholar
Wiig, E. H., Zureich, P., & Chan, H. H. (2000). A clinical rationale for assessing rapid, automatic naming in children with language disorders. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 33, 359–374.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Windsor, J., Kohnert, K., Lobitz, K., & Pham, G. (2010). Cross-language nonword repetition by bilingual and monolingual children. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 19, 298–310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wolf, M., & Bowers, P. (1999). The double-deficit hypothesis for developmental dyslexias. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 415–438.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong Fillmore, L. (1991). When learning a second language means losing the first. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 6, 323–346.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, S. C., Taylor, D. M., & Macarthur, J. (2000). Subtractive bilingualism and the survival of Inuit language: Heritage- versus second-language education. Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 63–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zhou, M., & Bankston, C. L. (1994). Social capital and the adaptation of the second generation: The case of Vietnamese youth in New Orleans. International Migration Review, 28, 821–845.CrossRefGoogle Scholar