ABSTRACTThis longitudinal study investigated changes in reported language usage between Puerto Rican mothers and their preschoolers over a 4-year period. It also examined whether differences in language usage occurred depending on the timing of children's exposure to English and children's gender. Seventy-six mothers reported the languages they and their children used when talking to each other during 2 years in Head Start, kindergarten, and first grade. Mothers of children who were exposed to Spanish and English prior to preschool entry reported using more English to their children than mothers of children who were not exposed to English until after preschool entry. The language usage of the children followed the same patterns as their mothers. The difference between the groups was maintained over the 4 years, although both groups increased their English usage. A gender effect was observed. Mothers of girls were five times more likely to use “More or All Spanish” than mothers of sons. In addition, girls who were exposed to Spanish only prior to preschool entry were six times more likely to speak to their mothers in “More or All Spanish” than other participating children. The bidimensional model of acculturation is used to present and interpret the findings.

Generalization refers to the extension of learned behaviours to novel conditions, and it is one of the criteria by which the effectiveness and efficiency of a remediation programme may be judged. This article extracts principles of generalization from the treatment literature, and provides examples of how this information may be used to help guide treatment decisions. Included is a discussion of client, clinician, and treatment variables that may contribute to the generalization process.

This investigation examined the impact of maternal language and children's gender on bilingual children's vocabulary and emergent literacy development during 2 years in Head Start and kindergarten. Seventy-two mothers and their children who attended English immersion programs participated. Questionnaires administered annually over a 3-year period revealed that mothers increased their usage of English to their children. In addition, more mothers of sons reported using More or All English with their children than mothers of daughters. Growth curve modeling indicated that increased usage of English did not impact children's English vocabulary or emergent literacy development. However, increased usage of English slowed the growth of children's Spanish vocabulary. Despite differences in mother-to-child language usage, gender did not impact growth in either language. These findings provide evidence that maternal usage of Spanish does not negatively affect children's developing English vocabulary or emergent literacy abilities. Maternal usage of Spanish appears necessary to maximize children's developing Spanish vocabulary.

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Theoretical Underpinnings Clinical Application of Phonological Processes Issues in the Clinical Application of Phonological Processes Phonological Processes and Treatment Decision Making Contributions of Phonological Process Analysis to Phonological Disorders References

The purpose of the investigation was to examine the developmental trajectories of bilingual preschoolers' comprehension of Spanish and English and to determine whether a lengthy summer vacation impacted children's development during the preschool years. Participants included 83 bilingual children who were followed over a 2-year period during which time children attended a federally funded preschool programme for children from low-income homes living in the US. Children were divided into two groups based on whether their scores on receptive language measures increased or decreased during their first year of Head Start. Results revealed that children whose scores increased experienced positive growth in their language comprehension in Spanish and English over the 2-year period, whereas children whose scores decreased during the first year continued to experience a negative developmental trajectory in their second year. Additionally, it was found that a lengthy summer vacation had a differential effect on children's development. Summer vacation had a negative effect on the developmental trajectories of children who experienced gains in their comprehension of English and Spanish and a positive impact on children whose scores declined during the school year. Clinical implications suggest that children may require differential support during the school year and summer vacation depending upon their developmental trajectories during the first year in preschool.

This investigation examined the Spanish and English receptive vocabulary and language comprehension abilities of bilingual preschoolers who attended Head Start over a two-year period. It was hypothesised that bilingual children's development would follow linear trajectories and that the development of children who were only exposed to Spanish in the home prior to school entry would differ from children with exposure to Spanish and English from birth. Results revealed that the two groups' language abilities in Spanish and English differed at the beginning of the study as measured by raw and standard scores and that these differences were maintained over the two years. The exceptions to this were found in the children's vocabulary abilities, with the difference between the two groups' English standard scores narrowing over time and the difference between their Spanish standard scores increasing during the two-year period. Similar to research on monolingual and bilingual children with low socioeconomic status (SES), children's development in both languages essentially followed linear trajectories. Children's raw scores on the English receptive vocabulary test accelerated, similar to research findings on monolingual children of middle SES. Also, children's standard scores on the Spanish language comprehension measure decelerated after an initial period of linear growth. Future directions for research are discussed.

Purpose The aims of this investigation were to examine the parenting beliefs and literacy practices of mothers of Puerto Rican descent and to determine if relationships existed between the mothers' beliefs and practices. Method Eighty-one mothers of bilingual children who attended Head Start programs participated in the project. As part of a larger project, the children were divided into 2 groups depending on the timing of when they were exposed to English. Children who were exposed to Spanish and English from birth were classified as having home English communication (HEC); children who were not expected to communicate in English until age 3 when they entered Head Start were classified as having school English communication (SEC). Trained home visitors used questionnaires to collect information from the mothers on their background, beliefs about parenting and education, and home literacy practices. Results The results revealed that Puerto Rican mothers held both traditional and progressive beliefs. Additionally, differences between the mothers of children in the HEC and SEC groups were observed on some of the measures of beliefs and practices. Relationships between beliefs and practices were not observed. Implications The findings demonstrated that Puerto Rican mothers integrated aspects of both the Puerto Rican culture and the mainstream culture of the U.S. mainland into their views concering child rearing and education. Implications for practice are discussed.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Head Start children’s receptive language development and their kindergarten reading outcomes. Method Eighty-eight bilingual children who were eligible to attend Head Start for 2 years participated in the study. Growth curve models were used to examine the relationship between children’s language abilities during 2 years in Head Start and end-of-kindergarten reading outcomes. Results The results revealed that children’s English and Spanish receptive language abilities increased during Head Start, and children’s early reading abilities in English were within the typical range of monolingual norms at the end of kindergarten. Children’s early reading abilities in Spanish were nearly 1 SD below the test mean or lower. The results also showed that children’s growth in their English and Spanish language abilities during Head Start predicted their early reading abilities in English and Spanish. Implications The findings imply that preschool programs are needed that target children’s growth in language and not their performance measured at a particular point in time. Also, the results demonstrate the importance of early and regular evaluation of bilingual children’s development in both languages in order to monitor children’s growth in their two languages.

Learning to read is a complex process and a number of factors affect a child's success in beginning reading. This complexity increases when a child's home language differs from that of the school and when the child comes from a home with limited economic resources. This article discusses factors that have been shown to contribute to children's success in early reading, namely-phonological awareness, letter-word identification, oral language, and the home literacy environment. Preliminary evidence suggests that bilingual children from low-income backgrounds initially perform poorly on phonological awareness and letter identification tasks, but appear to acquire these abilities quickly in kindergarten once these abilities are emphasized in early reading instruction. In addition, the findings show that bilingual preschoolers' receptive language abilities in English and Spanish positively impact their early letter-word identification abilities at the end of kindergarten. A positive relationship between bilingual preschoolers' home literacy environment and early reading outcomes has not been found to date. Educational implications for serving young, bilingual children from programs such as Head Start are discussed.

Latinos have recently become the largest minority living within the United States. Although usually grouped into one category, Latinos are a very heterogeneous group. Spanish-speakers in the United States are struggling with both maintaining their home language and learning English, the school and community language. Because language development is a critical precursor to literacy, we must understand the language skills of bilingual children as they begin the learning-to-read process. It is also important to understand factors in the home and school that will assist in predicting children’s literacy skills (Hammer, Miccio & Wagstaff, 2003; Payne, Whitehurst, & Angell, 1994; Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998). Studies of monolingual English-speaking children in the U.S. and monolingual Spanish-speaking children in Mexico and Spain have provided the benchmark against which the language development of bilingual Englishand Spanish-speaking children has been measured. As a result, a small body of literature provides us with information about the developmental course of bilingual children living in the United States (see Merino, 1992; Anderson, 1995; Bedore, 1999, for a review). No evidence, however, suggests that bilingual learners are similar to monolingual learners of Spanish and English. Vocabulary development is an important precursor to reading development (Tabors, Páez, & López, 2003). Although many researchers have studied vocabulary development in monolingual children, much more information is needed about the dual language vocabulary development of young bilingual children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the vocabulary development of bilingual Head Start children of Puerto Rican descent who live in two different locations in the mainland United States and monolingual Spanish-speaking Head Start children living in Puerto Rico. Mothers’ education and the usage of Spanish and English in the homes are also reported.

Recent investigations have supported the ability of persons with Down syndrome to continue learning language on into adulthood. The importance of intervention to increase communicative competence is evident—what is not known is the effectiveness of such intervention. The authors report here on a series of case studies that investigated a language intervention that targeted syntax for adults with Down syndrome. The intervention used a hybrid approach combining naturalistic intervention contexts with structured elicitations of targets. Three adults with Down syndrome, ranging in age from 29 to 52 years, participated in 12 treatment sessions targeting grammatical morphemes. Results indicated that all three participants increased their use of target structures in obligatory contexts.

The purpose of this study was to describe longitudinally the phonological acquisition of 43 children of Puerto Rican descent who were acquiring Spanish and English sequentially or simultaneously from the ages of three to five years. Spanish and English language samples were obtained at the beginning and end of each year of two years of Head Start preschool (Times 1-4). Language samples were analyzed to determine vowel, consonant and syllable type inventories in English and Spanish. The first data collection indicated richer Spanish phonologies in those children from Spanish-speaking homes. At Time 2, all children had less complex Spanish phonological systems than reported for monolingual children. By Time 3, English phonologies of the simultaneous group were within the range reported for typical monolingual children and the reverse was true of children in the sequential group. At Time 4, all children produced most English phonemes in simple phonetic environments but continued to have difficulty with later developing English phonemes and consonant clusters. Children in both groups continued to have difficulty with Spanish trills.

Purpose: This study investigated the relationship between home literacy experiences and bilingual preschoolers’ early literacy outcomes. Method: Forty-three Puerto Rican mother-child dyads recruited from Head Start programs in central Pennsylvania participated in this study of home literacy experiences and emerging English literacy abilities. The dyads were grouped according to whether the children had learned Spanish and English from birth (simultaneously; n = 28) or Spanish from birth and English in Head Start (sequentially; n = 15). Mothers of simultaneous and sequential learners were compared on the value they placed on literacy, press for achievement, the number of reading materials that were available in the home, and how often they read to their child. The children were compared on their scores on the Test of Early Reading Ability-2 (Reid, Hresko, & Hammill, 1991), which was given during the first and second years of their Head Start program. Results: Mothers of simultaneous and sequential learners differed with regard to mothers’ press for achievement. No differences were found between the two groups with respect to the other measures. When the early literacy abilities of the two groups of children were assessed, all learners had comparable mean emergent reading scores. The mean literacy scores of the entire group of children were significantly lower at Year 2 as compared to Year 1. Clinical Implications: Although the children experienced literacy activities at home and in Head Start, it appears that children’s literacy development would benefit from increased exposure to literacy materials and literacy events during the preschool years.

The study examined the types of mistakes children make during conversations with a familiar partner. The current investigation differs from previous studies because it asked what it is about the language of children with specific language impairment and phonological disorder (SLI:PD) that causes mothers to ask for clarification. Videotaped interactions were coded with the Breakdown Coding System to describe breakdowns. Not surprisingly, results indicated that children with SLI:PD were more difficult to understand than peers because of phonological errors and reduced intelligibility, supporting long-held beliefs about the functional impact of phonological impairments. Less predictable, however, was the finding that when children with SLI:PD were intelligible, mothers had more difficulty understanding them because of ambiguous utterances and underspecified pronouns, or because of semantically inappropriate or inaccurate information. Implications are discussed, and breakdown descriptions are presented as a useful supplement to current assessment methods and intervention planning.