HOW FAR FROM THE PREMISE; A META-ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF LITERATURE ON CONTENT AND LANGUAGE INTEGRATED LEARNING

Background: Although there are numerous success records of Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) implementation in educational settings and its principles have been found effective, the impact of the whole educational methodology may be overrated. Method: A comprehensive search conducted to retrieve articles published between August 2005 and July 2016 using the scholarly databases. Results: We identified 102 potentially relevant articles of which only 6 met the inclusion criteria. Positive effect sizes in 5 studies indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group. These effect sizes were analyzed separately to provide an interpretative context for the main results. High heterogeneity was observed (Q = 5, P < .001). The Chi-squared significance test shows that the distribution of effect sizes has heterogeneity. Likewise, I-squared statistic quantifies the heterogeneity on the data. Conclusion: Despite the positive feedbacks reported by researchers on the efficiency of such methodology applied in primary and secondary schools, it is occasionally admitted that the results of the study are in doubt as the participants of CLIL and non-CLIL groups do not have equal exposure to the foreign language. To compare both groups in the same conditions, it is necessary for both to receive the same number of instruction hours in L2.  Article visualizations

Language development disorder in Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD), a case study

Prenatal alcohol exposure can cause developmental damage in children. There are different types and ranges of alterations that fall under the name of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Disabilities in learning, cognition, and behavior are observed. Environmental conditions are an influencing factor in this population since they are generally adverse and are either not diagnosed at an early stage or given the appropriate support and approach. We present a case study of a 9-year-old child, in which all the variables affecting his development (FASD diagnosis and socioenvironmental conditions) were observed and analyzed. His early childhood under institutional care, the move to a foster home at the age of 6, and several measures of evaluation from foster care to the present are described. Difficulties in vocabulary, access to vocabulary, morphology, syntax, grammar, oral narrative, pragmatics, speech, and communication were observed, along with cognitive difficulties in memory, perception and executive functioning, social adaptation, learning, and behavior. An early diagnosis and approach enable this population to develop skills in different dimensions to address early adversity despite their neurological and behavioral commitment. Speech-language pathologist services are crucial for the diagnosis and treatment of the language and communication difficulties that characterize this syndrom

Voice characteristics in smith–magenis syndrome: An acoustic study of laryngeal biomechanics

Smith–Magenis syndrome (SMS) is a rare genetic disease characterized by intellectual disability, serious behavior disorders, neurodevelopment delay, and speech and language disorders. An acoustic and biomechanical analysis of the voice of SMS young adults was carried out due to (a) the close relationship between the laryngeal biomechanics and the clinical and emotional state of a person; (b) the fact that no research on the voice in this syndrome has been conducted previously. The vocal timbre of most people diagnosed with SMS does not seem to be according to the complexion of diagnosed individuals, nor to their gender and age, so it could be interesting to attend the analysis of phonation of people with a rare genetic syndrome such as SMS. We used BioMetPhon, a specific piece of software to analyze the glottal source and biomechanics of vocals folds. Nineteen features related to dysphonia, physiology, and biomechanics of the vocal folds were considered. The adult phonation of 9 individuals with SMS was analyzed and compared to 100 normative male and female adult voices. Results showed that the phonation of the SMS group significantly deviates from the adult normophonic profile in more than one of the 19 features examined, such as stiffness of the thyroarytenoid muscle and dynamic mass of the vocal fold cover, among othersThis research was funded by grant TEC2016-77791-C4-4-R (Plan Nacional de I+D+i, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Competitiveness of Spain

MRI assessment of superior temporal gyrus in Williams syndrome

Prova tipográfica (In Press)Objective: To evaluate volumes and asymmetry of superior temporal gyrus (STG) and correlate these measures with a neurocognitive evaluation of verbal performance in Williams syndrome (WS) and in a typically developing age-matched and sex-matched group. Background: Despite initial claims of language strength in WS, recent studies suggest delayed language milestones. The STG is implicated in linguistic processing and is a highly lateralized brain region. Method: Here, we examined STG volumes and asymmetry of STG in WS patients and in age-matched controls. We also correlated volume of STG with a subset of verbal measures. Magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained on a GE 1.5-T magnet with 1.5-mm contiguous slices, and were used to measure whole gray matter, white matter, and cerebrospinal fluid volumes, and also STG volume. Results: Results revealed significantly reduced intracranial volume in WS patients, compared with controls. Right and left STG were also significantly smaller in WS patients. In addition, compared with normal controls, a lack of normal left >right STG asymmetry was evident in WS. Also of note was the finding that, in contrast to controls, WS patients did not reveal a positive correlation between verbal intelligence quotient and left STG volume, which further suggests a disruption in this region of the brain. Conclusions: In conclusion, atypical patterns of asymmetry and reduced STG volume in WS were observed, which may, in part, contribute to some of the linguistic impairments found in this cohort of WS patients.National Institutes of Health - (K05 MH 01110)Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) - POCTI/PSI/58364/2004, RH/BD/16091/200

Evidencias de una protolengua en el lenguaje del deficiente mental

Centro de Informacion y Documentacion Cientifica (CINDOC). C/Joaquin Costa, 22. 28002 Madrid. SPAIN / CINDOC - Centro de Informaciòn y Documentaciòn CientìficaSIGLEESSpai

Aprendizaje de la lectura en los niños con síndrome de Williams

Las personas con síndrome de Williams se caracterizan por tener capacidades lingüísticas superiores a lo que corresponderían por su inteligencia. Respecto al nivel de lectura existe controversia dada la escasez de estudios. El objetivo de este trabajo era comprobar las capacidades de lectura de un grupo de niños con SW en edad escolar, y para ello se contrastó su ejecución con un grupo control de la misma edad mental. Tres tipos de tareas fueron utilizadas: lectura de palabras y pseudopalabras, tareas metafonológicas y de denominación rápida. Los resultados muestran que el grupo con SW tiene una ejecución similar al grupo control en la precisión lectora de pseudopalabras, aunque son más lentos en la lectura tanto de palabras como de pseudopalabras. También son más lentos en las tareas de denominación rápida. Estos resultados sugieren que los SW no tienen dificultades para desarrollar los mecanismos de conversión grafema-fonema, pero muestran ciertas dificultades en el desarrollo de la lectura léxica

Discurso Narrativo y Vocabulario en población con Trastornos del Espectro Alcohólico Fetal (TEAF). Estudio de Casos

Narrative discourse is a complex task that involves linguistic, cognitive, social, and affective skills. The level of development and performance found when evaluating this task are good predictors of oral language proficiency and reading comprehension. Moreover, narrative discourse significantly influences communicative interactions and social dynamics Conversely, children diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) often exhibit compromised narrative discourse due to associated linguistic and cognitive challenges. However, evidence is still scarce on this matter. The objective of this study was to describe the narrative discourse and vocabulary in individuals with FASD. To this end, narrative discourse was evaluated in 19 people between the ages of 6.6 and 17.7 years diagnosed with FASD, using the story "Frog, Where Are You". Additionally, micro- and macro-structural analyses of narrative discourse were conducted employing the Monitoring Indicators of Scholarly Language (MISL) index, and vocabulary was assessed using the Peabody test. At the macro-structural level, the discourse of the population with FASD was characterized by the presence of a singular protagonist, the use of non-specific names, generic temporal and spatial references, little or no connection between described events, low complexity, an absence of emotion, and the use of action verbs. At the micro-structural level, they exhibited grammatical errors, as well as minimal use of subordinating conjunctions, adverbs, metacognitive and metalinguistic verbs, and nominal phrases. Vocabulary was well below chronological age expectations. In conclusion, an impairment in narrative discourse and vocabulary is evident in the population with FASD, significantly impacting their communication and social performance. Consequently, narrative discourse performance may serve as a diagnostic indicator for FASD. These difficulties require early, interdisciplinary intervention that encourages educational and social inclusion.El discurso narrativo es una tarea compleja que involucra habilidades lingüísticas, cognitivas, sociales y afectivas. Su desarrollo y rendimiento es un buen predictor de habilidades lingüísticas orales y de la comprensión lectora; a su vez influye en las interacciones comunicativas y en las relaciones sociales. En las personas con Trastornos del Espectro Alcohólico Fetal (TEAF), la escasa evidencia muestra que existe un compromiso en el discurso narrativo como consecuencia de sus dificultades lingüísticas-cognitivas, que también incluyen un vocabulario descendido. Con el objetivo de describir el discurso narrativo y el vocabulario, se evaluó a 19 personas diagnosticadas con TEAF de entre 6,6 y 17,7 años, con el cuento “Frog, Where Are You”. Se analizó el nivel micro y macroestructural de las narraciones mediante el índice Monitoring Indicators of Scholarly Language MISL. El vocabulario se evalúo mediante el test Peabody. Los resultados muestran: a nivel macroestructural, las personas con TEAF incluyen solo un personaje principal, presentan etiquetas poco específicas, se refieren de forma general a un tiempo/lugar, describen eventos poco iniciadores de otros o poco cohesionados, no generan episodios complejos, declaran escasos sentimientos y verbos de acción; a nivel microestructural, producen errores gramaticales y usan escasos recursos lingüísticos, conjunciones subordinadas, adverbios, verbos metacognitivos y metalingüísticos y frases nominales. Su nivel de vocabulario está muy por debajo de su edad cronológica. Se concluye que el discurso narrativo está muy comprometido en la población con TEAF al igual que el desempeño en vocabulario pasivo. Debido a su compromiso este discurso podría constituir un marcador diagnóstico del cuadro TEAF. Estas dificultades demandan un abordaje temprano no solo en el ámbito fonoaudiológico, sino también interdisciplinariamente, que les facilite una mejor inclusión educativa y social

Desempeño lingüístico y comunicativo en población con Trastornos del Espectro Alcohólico Fetal. Un estudio de Caso

Los Trastornos del Espectro Alcohólico Fetal (TEAF) constituyen una serie de manifestaciones clínicas que incluyen déficits en el crecimiento, tanto físicos, conductuales como cognitivos. Estos déficits interfieren en el desarrollo del lenguaje, del habla y de la comunicación. El presente estudio busca examinar las características lingüísticas y comunicativas en 19 casos de personas con TEAF con edades comprendidas entre los 6 y los 17 años. Para ello se utilizaron las pruebas PEABODY y CELF-5.  En cuanto a los resultados de la prueba PEABODY se obtuvo una puntuación media de grupo calificada como moderadamente baja. En la prueba CELF-5, todos los índices se ubicaron por debajo de la media, en todas las habilidades lingüísticas. Parece, por tanto, que la población con TEAF presenta un perfil de alteraciones lingüísticas y comunicativas que repercute en su desempeño en los diferentes contextos de desarrollo. Estas limitaciones afectan de manera significativa en la forma en la que esta población  se desenvuelve en las interacciones sociales y en su día a día