BILINGUISTICS

BILINGUISTICS

Current Challenges in Assessment

• The intent of this section:– Highlight common challenges we face in all

types of assessment with bilingual children– Discuss the reason for the challenges– Discuss ways to overcome the challenges

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Why EVERYONE Needs to Understand Bilingualism

• The New “Mainstream” Students

• RRISD current data not available

Neighboring ISD SPED Statistics

0

5

1015

20

25

30

35

4045

2001-2002

2002-2003

2003-2004

2004-2005

2005-2006

% of Hispanics in District

% of Hispanics in SPED

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¿Por qué?

• A) More Hispanics have developmental problems than other groups.

• B) Learning a second language causes developmental problems.

• C) Sometimes second language learning issues mimic developmental problems.

• CORRECT ANSWER: C

BILINGUISTICS

Problems with Over-referral

• Social stigma• Different expectations• High caseloads• Greater expense to schools

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BILINGUISTICS

Current Challenges: Referral

Referral Checklists• Difficulty paying attention• Reliance on gestures rather than speech• Disorganization and confusion• Trouble following directions• Need for frequent repetition• Difficulty using precise vocabulary• Short mean length of utterance

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Current Challenges: Referral

Common characteristics of children in recent second language environments

• Difficulty paying attention• Reliance on gestures rather than speech• Disorganization and confusion• Trouble following directions• Need for frequent repetition• Difficulty using precise vocabulary• Short mean length of utterance

BILINGUISTICS

Ways to overcome challenges

• Go beyond the referral checklist before making referrals

• Understand “normal mistakes” by bilinguals

• Understand the process of learning two languages

••

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BILINGUISTICS

Copyright © 2007

Models of Bilingualism

Proficiency

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Language Proficiency

• BICS - Basic Interpersonal Communicative Skills– fewer cognitive demands– high physical and social context

• CALP - Cognitive Academic Language Proficiency– higher cognitive demands– low context--highly abstract

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Language Proficiency

Level ofLanguage Proficiency

Ages: 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12Grades: PK K 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

Testing: TAKS TAKS

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The Bilingual Continuum (Valdés & Figueroa, 1994)

S Se Se SE Es Es E

SD BS BE ED

English IPT

Spanish IPTNES-A LES-B LES-C FES-D FES-E

FSS-E FSS-D LSS-C LSS-B NSS-A

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Another way to conceptualize bilinguals

Spanish

Engl

ishED BE

BS

SD

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Another way to conceptualize bilinguals

Spanish

Engl

ish

E-FES/NSS E-FES/LSS E-FES/FSS

C-LES/LSS

D-FES/LSS

A-FSS/NES

B-LES/LSS

NSS/NES LSS/NES

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Current Challenges: Language Proficiency

• Language proficiency tests do not measure academic language

• “English proficient” does not necessarily mean a child is ready to transition or be tested in English only

• Language proficiency influences achievement and intelligence measures

BILINGUISTICS

Copyright © 2007

“Bilingualism is random chaos for psychometrics”

Figueroa

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Bilingualism

• Influencing Factors• Conceptualizing Bilingualism• Bilingualism & Cognition

(Activity)

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Bilingualism -Influencing Factors

– Onset• Simultaneous • Sequential

– Time of Acquisition• Early • Late

– Intention• Circumstantial • Elective

– Manner• Additive • Subtractive

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Bilingualism -Influencing Factors

Unique patterns of development• Tests are based on assumptions of “typical”

learning patterns of mainstream students.• Learning and development patterns are

influenced by linguistic and cultural background

• Bilingual students may display different patterns of learning and development that are often misinterpreted as disordered

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Bilingualism -Influencing FactorsCross-linguistic Influence• Cues help children learn language• Children learn from frequent and

consistent cues• Cues differ across languages

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Bilingualism -Influencing FactorsThe Bilingual is not two monolinguals in one• Thus, testing in each language separately may

underestimate true ability• High performance on English language proficiency

tests does not indicate that scores on other standardized tests (intelligence, achievement, language) normed on English speakers are valid and reliable

• Why? Because different cultural and linguistic backgrounds are not necessarily reflected in the content and norms

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ACTIVITY

• Fact or Myth?– Children code switch between languages because

they don’t know either language well.– Poor academic performance indicates poor

cognitive ability– Raising children with two languages will confuse

them.– It can 7 years to acquire academic proficiency in a

second language.

BILINGUISTICS

Copyright © 2007

Models of Bilingualism

Cognition

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Cognition: Common Questions

• Is learning two languages detrimental to children’s educational or cognitive development?

• Does learning two languages enrich children’s educational and cognitive development?

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Cognitive Differences in Bilinguals

Cognitive Disadvantages• Possible delay in vocabulary growth for

a time (Byalystok, 2001)• Slower retrieval processes for mental

arithmetic• Confusion in early stages of literacy

acquisition for languages with written language differences

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Cognitive Differences in Bilinguals

Cognitive Advantages• Greater creativity and open-mindedness1

• Stronger problem solving skills 1

• Better at abstract thinking tasks than monolinguals 2

• Bilingual preschoolers solved simple contrived tasks earlier than monolingual preschoolers

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Lexical Storage & Access: Word Association Concept Mediation

L1 Lexical L2 Lexical

Conceptual

L2 Lexical

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Copyright © 2007

Research on Dual Language Learning

Vocabulary

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Dual language learning: vocabulary

• High correlation between language exposure and vocabulary production1

• For toddlers there is a 30% of vocabulary are translation equivalents2

• Young school age bilinguals produce same # of category items in Spanish and English BUT 70% are unique to one language3

• 1 Pearson, Fernandez, Lewedeg, & Oller, 1997 • 2 Pearson, Fernandez & Oller, 1995• 3 Pena, Bedore & Zlatic, 2002

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Dual language learning: vocabulary

• Bilinguals performed better on some tasks in Spanish (functions) and other tasks in English (Linguistic Concepts)1

• Hispanic bilinguals in the U.S. (school-age to young adults) showed more growth in English over time than Spanish2

• 5-to-10-year-old children matched pictures with words similarly in their two languages, 11-to-13-year-olds performed better (accuracy & time) in English3

• 1 Kester, 2002• 2 Kohnert, Bates, & Hernandez, 1999• 3 Kohnert & Bates, 2002

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Dual language learning: vocabulary

• Functionalist theory• What do children talk about with their

families at home?• What do children talk about with their

peers and teachers at school?• If they use different languages in these

two settings, what should we expect?

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Bilingualism

Accepting the variety of issues that a bilingual student presents with:

How can we make confident decisions about assessment, qualifying, disqualifying, and treating a student?

BILINGUISTICS

Copyright © 2007

Theory to Practice

Case StudiesNew Direction in Assessment and

Qualifying

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This section’s intent

• Gain confidence in qualifying or dismissing students from non-English speaking backgrounds.

• Account for secondary cultural or linguistic influences on academic abilities.

• 2 CASE STUDIES TO PRACTICE

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Problem

– Problem:• Initially referral/evaluation does not appear to

require bilingual testing• Evaluator may get well into an evaluation

before a red light goes off that indicates a need for bilingual testing

– Solution: • Interview teacher, parent, siblings immediately.

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CASE STUDY #1

Arabic (see handout)

• Could his English language scores be “flat” due to being bilingual?

• Should I have an Arabic assessment done?

• Since he isn’t LEP should we go ahead and qualify him as SI

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CASE STUDY #2

• Spanish (Ana and Isabel) (see handout)

• Using the Evaluation Summary Chart, what would you have done differently and why?

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Review of Current Challenges1

What do we do when Referral Checklistsmirror language influence?

• Difficulty paying attention• Reliance on gestures rather than speech• Disorganization and confusion• Trouble following directions

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Distinguishing Differences and Disorders

• Disorder must be present in both languages

• Conduct testing in both languages• Assess language in a variety of contexts• Determine error patterns • Compare language performance to

other bilinguals with similar cultural/linguistic experiences

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Difference vs. Disorder

• Consideration of social language versus academic language experience

• Typical traditional indicators of language disorders may be result of being in a new language environment

• Consider language loss; may lose L1 as acquiring L2

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Indicators of Language Disability Not Common to L2 Learners

• Difficulty learning language at normal rate, even with adult mediation/assistance

• Family history of language/learning disabilities • Communication difficulties at home• Slower development than siblings• Difficulty interacting with peers from similar

backgrounds• Inappropriate pragmatic/social language skills (i.e.,

turn-taking, topic maintenance, considering listener needs, non-verbal communication)

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Our Challenge

• There are some patterns in bilingual development that may mimic disordered development.

• Our job is to differentiate those experiencing language learning difficulties from those acquiring a second language normally.

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Review of Current Challenges 2• What do we do for a child whose testing indicates

skills within normal limits but who is not successful academically?

Ages: 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12Grades: PK K 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th

Testing: TAKS TAKS

Level of

Language

Proficiency

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Our Challenge

• The IPT (LEP) score is designed for classroom placement and does not measure cross-language influence or language dominance.

• Our job is to: – Do a thorough interview of Parent, Student,

Siblings, Teacher– Determine language influence– Test in both languages if needed– Dynamically assess

BILINGUISTICS

Copyright © 2007

Language Specific Information

Differences in Spanish & EnglishSemantics (Content)

Syntax (Form)

BILINGUISTICS

Semantics (see handout for specific examples)

• Verb-framed (e.g.,Spanish “subir”) vs. Satellite-framed (English; “go up”)

• Multi-purpose/general verbs• Code-switching

– Substitutions of words, phrases, sentences

• Prepositions• Multipurpose verbs

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Syntax Differences(see handout for specific examples)

• Irregular plurals• Word order (flexible vs. rigid)• Question formulation• Pronouns• Negation• Plurality

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Different cues in each language

Spanish English

Verb-framed (subir) Satellite framed (go up)

Flexible word order Fairly rigid word order

Highly inflected verbs (person, tense, aspect)

Minimally inflected verbs (tense + a little person info.)

Penultimate stress (mariposa)

Word initial stress (butterfly)

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CASE STUDY

• Read the language sample transcript.• Identify errors• Make a judgment about whether they

are– Errors resulting from cross-linguistic

influence– Atypical errors

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Our Hopes

• That we provided a broader understanding of Bilingualism and how it influences performance, assessment, and intervention.

• That we can more confidently RULE OUT/RULE IN second language influence

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Difference or Disorder? Understanding Speech and Language Patterns in Culturally and Linguistically 

Diverse Students

Rapidly identify speech‐language patterns related to second language acquisition to distinguish difference from disorder.