Ya Era Tiempo (It’s About Time): Latinas/os Training to be Counselors Share the Meaning of Obtaining Recognition for their Spanish Proficiency

In the current study, an initiative that focuses on bilingual proficiency among masters-level counseling students provided the opportunity to qualitatively answer the question: For Latina/o bilingual graduate students who are training to be licensed counselors, what is the meaning behind pursuing and obtaining recognition of their Spanish language proficiency? The thematic findings from ten interviews illuminate topics related to bilingualism in post-baccalaureate education with respect to programing and scholarship.

Fine-tuning language discrimination: Monolingual and bilingual infants’ detection of language switches

The ability to differentiate between two languages sets the stage for bilingual learning. Infants can discriminate languages when hearing long passages, but language switches often occur on short time scales with few cues to language identity. As bilingual infants begin learning sequences of sounds and words, how do they detect the dynamics of two languages? In two studies using the head-turn preference procedure, we investigated whether infants (n = 44) can discriminate languages at the level of individual words. In Study 1, monolingual and bilingual 8- to 12-month-olds were tested on their detection of single-word language switching in lists of words (e.g., “dog… lait [fr. milk]”). In Study 2, they were tested on language switching within sentences (e.g., “Do you like the lait?”). Infants detected language switching within sentences, but not in lists of words. Moreover, there was no difference between bilingual and monolingual infants’ performance. Based on these contrasting effects for natural sentences versus lists of words, we conclude that infants may detect language switches more successfully if preceded by sequences of sounds and words in a single language. The ability to detect disruptions in such sequences is likely important in supporting the beginnings of bilingual proficiency.

“My French is rusty”: Proficiency and bilingual gesture use in a majority English community

Gestures serve many functions, including aiding language access and message construction, particularly in spatial tasks. Some researchers have argued that gesture frequency is linked to proficiency in bilinguals, although results have been inconsistent. We tested Nicoladis’ (2007) proposal that bilinguals’ proficiency interacts with task: namely, more spatial tasks elicit greater proficiency effects. French–English bilinguals completed a cartoon-retell task (high spatial) and an interview task (low spatial) in both languages. We measured bilingual proficiency categorically by first language (L1) and continuously by assessing receptive vocabulary, oral fluency, and word types. Participants gestured more in the cartoon-retell task, but there were minimal proficiency effects and no interactions between proficiency and task. Interestingly, only participants with English as their L1 gestured more in their second language (L2), potentially due to ‘rustiness’, or lexical access difficulties in French from low usage in the majority English community.

The Ethnologue and L2 Mapping

The early focus of the Ethnologue was on L1 use and is reflected in the maps that are included with each new edition. Typically, the maps show locations and boundaries corresponding to the distribution of L1 speakers. The location of widespread, second, or additional languages (such as national languages, lingua francas, and languages of wider communication) is only occasionally represented by maps, using a variety of methods. Major factors affecting this effort are related to language identification (ISO 639-3), categorization (status: sociohistorical, official recognition, vitality), and analytical and research methods (lexical similarity, intelligibility, bilingual proficiency). This chapter examines the Ethnologue’s approach in all of these areas. Currently, significant effort is being made to structure the Ethnologue database to provide expanded data on the ecological setting of each language. This should significantly increase capacity for mapping the use of widespread L2s. A sample map showing the use of Lingala/Bangala is provided.