Dual Language Homes:Review of Research & Implications for Early

Intervention

Lena G. Caesar, Ed.D., Ph.D., CCC-SLPAndrews UniversityBerrien Springs, MIJanuary 21, 2011

Webinar Outline

I. The Challenge of Changing Demographics

II. Literacy & English Language Learners

III. Connecting with Parents thru Journaling

IV. The SALSA Approach

V. Implications for Early Intervention

VI. Debunking the myths

VII. ‘ATE’ Tips for Working with Parents from Dual Language Homes

THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS

Part I

Why talk about Dual Language?

• US experiencing a demographic shift

• Minority populations –especially Hispanics—experiencing rapid growth

• Demographics of ASHA membership not keeping up with changes nationwide

(ASHA membership survey, 2009)

US Demographics(US Census Bureau, 2006)

ASHA Demographics(ASHA, 2010)

Michigan SLP Survey(Caesar & Kohler, 2007)

MSHA Demographic Profile(Caesar & Kohler, 2007)

94.7

0.3

4.30.5

0.3

African American

Asian

Caucasian

Latino

Biracial

MSHA CLD Profile(Caesar & Kohler, 2007)

0100

200300400

M B

mono-

bilingual

Michigan Linguistic Profile(Caesar, 2004-unpublished dissertation)

Top 5 (of 40) Languages (students on caseload)

1. Spanish 63%

2. Arabic 42%

3. Chinese 18%

4. Korean 9%

5. Laotian 6%

Top 5 (of 9) Languages(responding clinicians)

1. ASL (7) 28%

2. Spanish (5) 20%

3. German ( 3) 12%

4. Bulgarian (1) 1%

5. French (1) 1%

Why talk about Dual Language?

• Children were ‘born to talk’— pre-wired for communication

• Research on infant perceptual skills suggests innate multilingual abilities

• Consistent early stimulation (regardless of language) is vital to language acquisition

»

LITERACY AND ELLS

Part II

Significance of Pre-literacy Skills

−More than any other single skill, the ability to read and read well will allow a child to succeed in school, society and the world.

(National Literacy Panel, 2006)

− Problems children experience learning to read are related to pre-literacy skills they bring from their home environments and/or preschools.

(Lonigan, 2006)

Literacy and ELLs-1

• Improvement of literacy outcomes is an area of national concern

• ELLs twice as likely to demonstrate sub-average literacy skills (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998)

• Oral proficiency- a prerequisite for literacy development of ELLs (August & Shanahan, 2006)

»

Literacy and ELLs-2

In general, ELLs:

• Do worse than majority of peers of similar SES

• Do not ‘catch up” –even with intervention

• Derive fewer benefits from Shared-Book Reading

Literacy and ELLs-3

• Parental literacy strongly associated with children’s language/literacy development

• ELLs tend to have poorer literacy outcomes & lower academic achievement

• ELLs who may be especially vulnerable:• Low SES• Low literacy parental background• Nomadic/Itinerant lifestyle

Importance of Parental Input

• Effective Home Literacy Environments• Verbal interactions are abundant• Literacy valued• Experiences with print encouraged• Strong Parental Beliefs/Expectations held

• Poor Home Literacy Environments (Hart & Risley)

• “meaningful differences” in vocab knowledge• Delayed language acquisition• Lack of “school readiness’ & literacy skills

Issues in Second LanguageIntervention

• Role and impact of L1 on L2

• Language of Instruction and Intervention

• Impact of mothers’ use of Spanish

• Culturally-relevant intervention

• Insufficient parent involvement

Barriers to Parental Involvement

• Low literacy (in both languages)

• Difficult working conditions (exhaustion)

• Poor Housing conditions

• Beliefs re role of educators

• Poor self-image regarding literacy

Part III

A picture is worth a thousand words………

PRESCHOOL JOURNALLING(Nelson, 2010)

• Send spiral notebook home with requests for “news” of the night

• Parent makes primitive drawing and records child’s dictated comments exactly

Doggie eat grass. Got sick. Yucky.

TEACHER/CLINICIAN STEPS

• Looks at news picture with child

• Redraws picture on bigger paper

• Scaffolds retelling of “there and then” narrative

• Invites child to color picture, add features, write name

Doggie eat grass. Got sick on floor. Mommy clean it up.

THE SALSA APPROACH (TO PARENT INVOLVEMENT)

Part IV

The SALSA Project

• Collaborative Intervention Study

• Andrews University (AU) and

Western Michigan University (WMU)

• Co-investigators:– Lena G. Caesar, Ed.D., Ph.D.– Nickola W. Nelson, Ph.D.,• Student Clinicians:

• AU: Natalya Franco, Kalina Shaw & Kimaura Jackson • WMU : Paula Vergunst, Megan Kovach, & Katie Smoes

Goals of the Project

• To support parental involvement in children’s literacy development

• To train parents in providing language and literacy stimulation in the home environment

Students and Teachers Telamon Migrant Head Start Center

SALSA ‘Bag Day’

The SALSA Project

Project Participants

• CHILD participants– 21 Spanish-speaking ELLs – Ranging in age from 2;8 – 5;9

• PARENT participants– 18-20 families of Mexican descent– Educational Level: < HS (85%); HS (15%)

– Primary Language: Spanish (70%); Other (30%)

(Indigenous languages: Nahuatl & Mixtec)

Parents’ Role

• PARENTS

– Attend a training session regarding language-based parent-child interactions

– Draw pictures with the child using materials in the pre-school journal kit (SALSA bag)

– Return drawings once weekly

Clinician’s Role--Redraw and expand parent’s drawing

--Scaffold child’s language, extend vocabulary

Wilcoxon p = .013**

IMPLICATIONS FOR EARLY INTERVENTION

Part V

SALSA & Parental Involvement

• Structured venue for parent-child interaction

• Involvement of parents in print activity

• Functional language stimulation in L1 (and L2)

• Source of functional, relevant content

• Positive parent-clinician partnerships

• Clinical Implications– Provides alternative approach to parent-clinician

communication– Provides source of information on family’s interests

• Ethno-cultural Implications– Cultural appropriateness of intervention

– Validation of L1 ( Kayser, 1998; Brice, 2002)

– Parental Empowerment

Other Implications

LET’S DEBUNK THE MYTHS!

Part VI

• To effectively work with bilingual families, all SLPs should become bilingual

• Using an interpreter guarantees open and clear communication

• Clinicians should encourage parents to speak L1 to the child---regardless of parental proficiency

• Clinicians should provide therapy in L2 ---regardless of their proficiency

Debunking the myths-1

• Learning 2 languages produces confusion and delay

• Bilingualism produces delays in both languages

• Language mixing/code switching is a sign of a language disorder

• Parents of ELLs are not concerned about their children’s language development

Debunking the myths-2

HOT TIPS FOR WORKING WITH PARENTS

Part VII

‘ATE’ Tips for working with Parents in DL Homes

• Initiate (Don’t be afraid to lead)

• Relate (Relationships transcend language barriers)

• Educate (Training is essential)

• Validate (value culture and language)

• (be) Appropriate (Sensitive, relevant, feasible)

• Innovate – just do it!

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