Bilingualism as a kind of therapy?

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 297-303 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aafke Hulk ◽  
Sharon Unsworth
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Child Language ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Bilingual Development ◽  
Challenging Question

In her very interesting Keynote Article, Johanne Paradis gives a clear overview of recent research at the interface of bilingual development and child language disorders, and highlights its theoretical and clinical implications. She raises the challenging question of “whether bilingualism can be viewed as a kind of ‘therapy’ for SLI.” At first sight, this is perhaps a surprising question, because one of the predominant views in the literature is that bilingual children with specific language impairment (SLI) will exhibit difficulties and perhaps a “double delay.” It is this challenging question that we consider in more detail here.

The interface between bilingual development and specific language impairment

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
JOHANNE PARADIS
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Processing Capacity ◽  
Typical Development ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
The Past ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Bilingual Development

ABSTRACTResearch 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.

Identification of bilingual children with Specific Language Impairment in France

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 331-358 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laetitia de Almeida ◽  
Sandrine Ferré ◽  
Eléonore Morin ◽  
Philippe Prévost ◽  
Christophe dos Santos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Typical Development ◽  
Minimal Impact ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Word Repetition ◽  
Sentence Repetition ◽  
Parental Questionnaire ◽  
Bilingual Development

Abstract We report on the usefulness of three LITMUS tools in distinguishing bilingual children with SLI (Bi-SLI) from bilingual children with typical development (Bi-TD), in France: LITMUS-NWR-FR (non-word repetition), LITMUS-SR-FR (sentence repetition), and LITMUS-PABIQ (parental questionnaire). 82 bilingual children, aged 5–8, who had all been exposed to both French and either Arabic, Portuguese or Turkish, recruited both in ordinary schools and in SLP practices, were divided into Bi-TD (n = 61) and Bi-SLI (n = 21) groups based on parental questionnaire (LITMUS-PABIQ) information and standardized language scores in each language. Monolingual controls included 17 children with SLI and 37 TD children. NWR and SR significantly distinguished between the Bi-TD and the Bi-SLI children, and there was minimal impact of different factors related to bilingual development on children’s performance.

An Overview of Prosody and Its Role in Normal and Disordered Child Language

1998 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 38-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
LouAnn Gerken ◽  
Karla McGregor
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Child Language ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Acoustic Phenomenon

This tutorial presents an overview of prosody and its application to specific language impairment. First, prosody is defined as both a phonological and acoustic phenomenon. Prosody is further explored through a review of research concerning perception and production of prosody in the normally developing child and in the child with specific language impairment. The tutorial concludes with a discussion of clinical implications and directions for future research.

Instructive bilingualism: Can bilingual children with specific language impairment rely on one language in learning a second one?

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 253-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Armon-Lotem
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Specific Language

Only a decade ago, a very few researchers considered the study of language disorders in bilingual population worth pursuing. It was mostly argued that there were enough challenges in studying bilingualism, and even more challenges in the study of specific language impairment (SLI). So why complicate things and combine the two domains?

The use of descriptive data from bilingual children to inform theories of specific language impairment

2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Ellis Weismer ◽  
Margarita Kaushanskaya
Keyword(s):  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Processing Capacity ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Descriptive Data ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Bilingual Language Development ◽  
Language Profiles

In her Keynote Article, Paradis reviews evidence from bilingual language development to assess the claims of two opposing theoretical views of language disorders. Specifically, she examines the evidence for similarities in language profiles of typically developing (TD) sequential bilingual (second language [L2]) children and monolingual children with specific language impairment (SLI) with respect to Rice's extended optional infinitive (EOI) account. A limited processing capacity (LPC) account of SLI, Leonard's surface hypothesis, is evaluated within the context of comparisons among bilingual children with SLI, monolingual children with SLI, and TD bilingual children. Paradis concludes that the evidence from bilingual children poses challenges for both accounts of SLI.

scholarly journals Connective processing by bilingual children and monolinguals with specific language impairment: distinct profiles

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 329-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
WILLEM M. MAK ◽  
ELENA TRIBUSHININA ◽  
JULIA LOMAKO ◽  
NATALIA GAGARINA ◽  
EKATERINA ABROSOVA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Dominant Language ◽  
Production Studies ◽  
Two Populations

AbstractProduction studies show that both Russian-speaking children with specific language impairment (SLI) and bilingual children for whom Russian is a non-dominant language have difficulty distinguishing between the near-synonymous connectivesi‘and’ anda‘and/but’.Iis a preferred connective when reference is maintained, whereasais normally used for reference shift. We report an eye-tracking experiment comparing connective processing by Russian-speaking monolinguals with typical language development (TLD) with that of Russian–Dutch bilinguals and Russian-speaking monolinguals with SLI (age 5–6). The results demonstrate that the processing profiles of monolinguals with TLD and bilinguals are similar: both groups use connective semantics immediately for predicting further discourse. In contrast, children with SLI do not show sensitivity to these semantic differences. Despite similar production profiles, bilinguals and monolinguals with SLI are clearly different in connective processing. We discuss the implications of these results for the possible causes of the errors in the two populations.

Children with specific language impairment. Laurence B. Leonard. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998. Pp. 339.

2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 307-311
Author(s):  
Lynne E. Hewitt
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Language Impairment ◽  
Specific Language Impairment ◽  
Language Disorders ◽  
Unknown Origin ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Specific Language ◽  
Sensory Deficits ◽  
Nature Versus Nurture ◽  
Linguistic Impairment

Laurence Leonard is one of the most prolific and well-respected researchers in the area of specific language impairment (SLI) in children, and he is well qualified to write a book surveying the topic. SLI is a disorder of unknown origin, which appears to have a genetic component, causing delays and disorders of language development in children of normal nonverbal intelligence with no significant medical, emotional, or sensory deficits. The primary purpose of this book is to provide a comprehensive review of research in the field of SLI, and Leonard has the minute knowledge necessary to succeed at the task. The coverage in the book reaches back to the earliest nineteenth-century descriptions of children who fit the profile and then moves forward quickly to the massive literature that has accumulated on the topic in the last 20 years. Following the introductory historical and definitional section, Leonard goes on to describe the nature of the linguistic impairment in SLI, including important cross-linguistic accounts and nonlinguistic cognitive issues. The book also covers hypotheses of causation, in a “nature versus nurture” section, and clinical issues of assessment and intervention. Part V, on theory, may be of most interest to psycholinguists who are not language disorders specialists. Overall, there is no doubt that this book is both an excellent introduction for those unfamiliar with SLI and a welcome overview and resource for experts. Leonard's knowledge is encyclopedic, his presentation erudite, and his grasp of detail unfailingly impressive.

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