Speaking Clearly

The Challenges of a Bilingual Child

By Karen Guerra, M.S., CCC-SLP

Because the heart of a family is its shared culture, differentiating between language disorders and language differences in bilingual children offers special challenges.

Graciela is almost 3, but she’s not able to answer her mother’s questions, identify objects or combine two or three words to express her needs. At the time of her bilingual speech and language evaluation, Graciela communicated her wants and needs by mostly using gestures and one-word utterances (mostly in Spanish). Her parents report that Spanish is used about 80 percent of the time by mom, dad and Graciela’s grandmother, while English is spoken 20 percent of the time by her two older brothers.

Raising bilingual children
There are obvious benefits in raising a bilingual child. For example, knowing two languages provides a student with cognitive and academic advantages. Bilingualism allows a child to maintain cultural ties with his parents’ heritage thereby promoting cross-cultural understanding and communication. However, the task of maintaining both languages does come with its share of challenges. Respected researcher, educator and linguist, Dr. Lily Wong Fillmore, emphasizes that success in raising children to be bilingual is difficult since most children eventually become English dominant or even monolingual in English. This is due in part to the perceived status associated with speaking English. Children may experience negative attitudes regarding their home language and may refuse to use it. Among the consequences of losing the native language is the compromised communication with family members who don’t speak English. For a child who is experiencing learning difficulties in two languages, the struggles at school and at home can seem daunting.

Important linguistic terms

Monolingual – The use of one language.

Bilingual – The use of two or more languages by an individual.

Proficiency – The know ledge, accuracy, and fluency in which one speaks an acquired (learned) language.

L1 – First language (usually native or primary language).

L2 – Second language (in the United States typically English).

Simultaneous Bilingual – Learning languages at the same time (typically from birth).

Sequential Bilingual – Learning one language at birth and then learning a second or third language after 3 years of age.

Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist – Speech-language pathologists or audiologists who present themselves as bilingual for the purposes of providing clinical services and are able to speak their primary language and to speak (or sign) at least one other language with native or near-native profi ciency (ASHA)

Interpreter – A person specially trained to transpose oral or signed text from one language to another.

Language Loss – A potential consequence of second language acquisition whereby a person may lose his/her ability to speak, write, read, and/or understand a particular language or dialect due to lack of use or exposure.

Assessing and evaluating the problem
Regardless of whether children with deficits in language learn one or two languages at a time, the risk for significant negative social and academic outcomes is the same. Katherine Kohnert, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, an expert in bilingualism and language disorders, reports there is a significant subset of bilingual children who will have chronic deficits in language. She further states that although being bilingual does not cause a language disorder, if an underlying deficit is present (such as dyslexia) it will manifest in both languages.

The greatest challenge bilingual children face is ensuring that they are assessed appropriately. According to Dr. Vera Gutierrez-Clellen, CCC-SLP and Director of the Bilingual Child Language Research Laboratory at San Diego State University, if bilingual children are assessed appropriately, there is no evidence that bilingualism impairs their rate or quality of development in the target languages. When a bilingual child is having difficulty with language learning, the first step is to identify whether he needs more time to acquire a second language versus whether he is exhibiting true language delays in both languages. This can be accomplished through a bilingual speech and language evaluation. Though in some areas the number of bilingual speech-language pathologists is limited, in most cities there are resources available through the child’s school system, university clinics, hospitals and/or outpatient centers. If an interpreter is necessary to assist with the assessment, it is critical to have one that is properly trained. Sometimes using family members as interpreters causes problems, since there are nuances and subtleties in medical and clinical language. When deciding if an interpreter is necessary for a bilingual speech and language evaluation, the following points should be considered:

The certified speech-language pathologist or audiologist on the staff does not meet the recommended competencies according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to provide services to limited-English proficient speakers.
An individual who needs services speaks a language which is uncommon for that local area.
There are no trained professionals readily available with proficiency in that language that would permit the use of one of the previously described alternative strategies

If it is determined in the speech and language evaluation that a child is experiencing difficulties in one language, but scored within normal limits in the second language, it is likely that he has a language difference. In other words, the child may be experiencing a period of language deficiencies in the less proficient language but continues to exhibit age-appropriate receptive and/or expressive language skills in his preferred or dominant language. However, based on anassessment conducted by a bilingual speech and language pathologist, if a child exhibits deficits in both languages, a true language disorder is present. It may be time to pursue speech and language therapy provided by a bilingual clinician.

Resources for finding
a bilingual speech-language pathologist:

• Babies Can’t Wait (children under 3)
• Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
• American Speech-Language Hearing
Association
• Georgia Speech Language and
Hearing Association

Helpful resources:

• www.bilingualfamilynewschildren.org
• www.bilingualbablies.org/modules/news
• www.mantralingua.com
• www.multilingualchildren.org
• www.bilingualbabies.org/modules/news
• www.hanen.org (national organization
for speech-language pathologists and
audiologists)
• www.asha.org (bilingual books in
English and 22 languages)

Graciela’s evaluation was conducted primarily in Spanish, using a trained interpreter, and it was determined that a true language disorder was present. She began regularly attending speech and language therapy sessions with a bilingual clinician for six months. Her therapy sessions were conducted in Spanish. At the same time, Graciela was enrolled in a daycare program where she was immersed in English.
One language or two?

Kohnert suggests that before one decides between using only one language with a language-impaired child or both languages, it is imperative to remember the role his environment plays. Some environments exacerbate difficulties, while other environments facilitate language learning and performance. The following questions can help guide parents and professionals decide if the therapy plan should include one language or both.

Are there personal, social or vocational advantages to functional skills in two different languages that warrant providing opportunities and support in both?
Are both languages needed for meaningful communication in different settings, with different partners?
Can one language be sacrificed without compromising the person’s quality of life, in terms of personal relationships or social or professional aspirations?

If a child has been diagnosed with a language disorder, there will be several questions that arise regarding how to structure language at home, school and in speech-language therapy to help increase the child’s overall communication skills. It is important to remember that parents are not alone in finding the answers. Parents can turn to their child’s speech-language pathologist and other professionals involved in his care to assist in deciding how to choose the best intervention.

Regardless of which approach is implemented, the key should rest on what is best for the family dynamics. If the ultimate goal is for the child to speak both languages, the family and those involved in the child’s care must collaborate together in efforts to structure his environment so that it can support both languages in his daily routines.

During the course of her therapy, Graciela began to use more English utterances in her sessions and began to use more two-word utterances. Although she was still exhibiting some deficits in both languages at the time of her re-evaluation after one year of therapy, she was demonstrating an ability to use both Spanish and English for functional purposes. Despite her language impairment, she always used Spanish when speaking with abuela (grandma) and English when communicating with her teacher and peers at school. Graciela continued to make steady progress.

For parents facing a possible language learning issue with their bilingual child, it’s imperative to seek the best resources for an effective assessment and course of therapy. At the same time, the child’s home environment and family culture should be taken into account by both the parents and the professionals involved. By assessing all the child’s needs, including the cultural issues, the child’s bilingual language development will progress successfully.

Karen P. Guerra M.S., CCC-SLP is a bilingual speech-language pathologist, with 9 years of experience with pediatric population and bilingualism. In March 2008, Karen was interviewed on her expertise with bilingual children with disabilities (i.e. Autism) on CNN Espanol’s “En Familia.” Karen can be reached via email at karen.guerra@choa.org or at 404-785-3737.