2022 ASHA Research Symposium: Margarita Kaushanskaya, Combining Languages in the Input to Bilingual Children With Developmental Language Disorder

This presentation video is from the Research Symposium at the 2022 Annual Convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association held in New Orleans, LA.The abstract for the accompanying article is below. This article is part of the JSLHR Forum: Research Symposium in Bilingualism.Purpose: Traditional approaches to studying bilingual language development through bilingual–monolingual comparisons are deeply flawed. They are also insufficient as the evidence base for informing advice to bilingual parents regarding the optimal bilingual exposure strategy and for supporting the formulation of bilingual intervention approaches. The purpose of this review article is to provide an overview of empirical studies that have queried the question of how different types of dual-language input shape learning and language outcomes in bilingual children.Method: We rely on tightly controlled experimental studies of word learning in Spanish–English bilingual children, where we contrast children’s learning in dual-language conditions (defined as distributed exposure and code-switched input) to a single-language condition in a within-subjects design.Results: Word-learning studies querying the role of distributed exposure indicated that distribution of exposures across Spanish and English reduced children’s performance in comparison to English-only exposure. However, this effect was rooted in the abrupt switch from Spanish to English rather than distributed exposure itself. In contrast, an experiment designed to test the role of code-switched context on children’s word learning revealed that code-switched context where switches resembled naturalistic code-switching behaviors enhanced learning in Spanish–English bilingual children. Notably, across different studies, children with weaker language skills (developmental language disorder) were no more affected by dual-language input than children with typical language skills.Conclusions: Together, experimental studies of word learning indicate that bilingual children can effectively learn from dual-language input but that different ways of combining languages in the input to bilingual children can have distinct consequences for learning. Ultimately, word-learning experiments, beyond answering critical questions regarding bilingual learning, can serve as an effective bridge between laboratory-based work and intervention studies whose goal it is to discover the optimal way of combining languages in the input to bilingual children with communication impairments.Kaushanskaya, M. (2023). Combining languages in bilingual input: Using experimental evidence to formulate bilingual exposure strategies. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1044/2023_JSLHR-23-00181</p

Activation of nontarget language phonology during bilingual visual word recognition: Evidence from eye-tracking

Russian-English bilingual and English monolingual participants were tested on the Picture-Word Interference task modified for use with an eye-tracker. Distractor words were 1) non-words in English, but viable phonological words in Russian, 2) control bigram matched non-word stimuli, and 3) English translations of the Russian words. Russian-English bilinguals looked at the phonological Russian words more than monolingual participants, and took longer to name pictures accompanied by these stimuli than did monolingual participants. Proportion of eye-movements and reaction times to the other two types of distractor stimuli did not differ for the two groups. These results suggest that phonology of the non-target language is activated automatically during visual word recognition in the target language, even for written stimuli that do not carry orthographic information for the nontarget language

The Effect of Second-Language Experience on Native-Language Processing

Abstract Previous work on bilingual language processing indicates that native-language skills can influence second-language acquisition. The goal of the present work was to examine the influence of second-language experiences on native-language vocabulary and reading skills in two groups of bilingual speakers. English-Spanish and English-Mandarin bilingual adults were tested on vocabulary knowledge and reading fluency in English, their native language. Participants also provided detailed information regarding their history of second-language acquisition, including age of L2 acquisition, degree of L2 exposure, L2 proficiency, and preference of L2 use. Comparisons across the two bilingual groups revealed that both groups performed similarly on native-language vocabulary and reading measures. However, in EnglishSpanish bilinguals, higher self-reported reading skills in Spanish were associated with higher English reading-fluency scores, while in English-Mandarin bilinguals, higher self-reported reading skills in Mandarin were associated with lower English reading-fluency scores. These findings suggest that second-language experiences influence native-language performance, and can facilitate or reduce it depending on the properties of the second-language writing system. Key words: L2 experience, vocabulary, reading fluency, bilingualism, transfer Resumen Trabajos anteriores en el procesamiento del lenguaje de los bilingües indican que las habilidades de la lengua materna pueden incidir en la adquisición de la segunda lengua. El presente trabajo examina la influencia de experiencias en la segunda lengua 55-77 56 sobre el vocabulario y las habilidades de lectura en dos grupos de hablantes bilingües. Adultos bilingües inglés-español e inglés-mandarín fueron sometidos a pruebas de conocimientos de vocabulario y facilidad de lectura en inglés, en ambos casos su lengua materna. Los participantes también suministraron información detallada con respecto a su historia de adquisición de la segunda lengua, incluyendo la edad de adquisición de la L2, el grado de exposición a la L2, dominio de la L2 y preferencia de uso de la L2. Las comparaciones entre los dos grupos bilingües mostraron que ambos grupos tuvieron resultados similares en el vocabulario de la lengua materna y mediciones de lectura. Sin embargo, en los bilingües inglés-español, la facilidad de lectura, según ellos mismos, se asociaba con resultados más altos de facilidad de lectura en inglés, mientras que en los bilingües inglés-mandarín, la facilidad de lectura en mandarín se asociaba con resultados más bajos de facilidad de lectura en inglés. Estos resultados sugieren que la experiencia en la segunda lengua tiene influencias sobre el dominio de la lengua nativa, y que puede facilitarlo o reducirlo según las propiedades del sistema de escritura de la segunda lengua. Palabras clave: Experiencia en la L2, vocabulario, fluidez en la lectura, bilingüismo, transferencia