What is "normal" in bilingual children?

[Barbara Pearson]

Dear Infochildes,

I am sure to be leaving someone out, but...

I can only add that the people I know who are dealing with
bilingualism in Communication Disorders are the team
headed by Aquiles Iglesias at Temple.  They have a contract
from NIH to make a language test for 4 to 6 year old bilinguals (like
the one we have here at UMass for African Americans).

The other principals are Liz Pena at UTexas, and Vera Gutierrez-
Clellen at San Diego State.  (Vera also works a lot with Adelaida
Restrepo at Georgia, who has also been vocal in the field.)

The NIH test is nearing completion.  I'm not sure whether it uses the
"strongest language"  or the "combined strengths" approaches that we
have
seen referred to this morning--or maybe both in different parts of
the test.

Perhaps one of the people on that project will weigh in on Marita's
question.

It's a thorny issue.
Till soon,
Barbara


On Tuesday, September 30, 2003, at 09:19 AM, Annick De Houwer wrote:

> Hi Marita---
>
> The problem you raise is really a very big one. It requires a very
> complex
> answer, but I will here, at the great danger of oversimplifying
> things, just
> write a few things that can perhaps help.
> As Barbara Pearson and others have shown, you can't really judge a
> bilingual
> child's knowledge on the basis of just one language (let alone, a CDI
> i one
> language). By definition, a bilingual child knows a lot more than just
> one
> language. But the problem is: there are no norms available that can
> easily
> and reliably used for bilingual children. In the mean time: what to
> do?? My
> own experience as a researcher in child bilingualism leads me to say
> that
> one should get as much information from all the people in the child's
> environment - from all the normal 'carriers' of each of the child's
> languages, and hear what they have to say. If a child is functioning
> well in
> all the languages he/she is exposed to, according to the people who
> know the
> child, there is no cause for undue concern. If the child does OK in one
> language, and not so well in the other, the child most likely has fewer
> opportunities to learn/use the weaker language, and more intense input
> might
> be a good 'remedy'. (It is quite normal for young bilingual children
> to know
> each of their languages to different extents.) A real problem exists
> if the
> child does not function well in any language. Then professional help is
> called for - and more input in all the child's languages.
> I'm sure that other colleagues will also attempt to respond. In the
> mean
> time, I hope the above can be of some help.
>
> Best regards,
>
>
> Annick De Houwer
>
>
> ****************
> Annick De Houwer, PhD
> Director, Research group Language, Communication and Socialization
>
> Dept. of Communication
> Campus Drie Eiken
> University of Antwerp
> Universiteitsplein 1
> B2610-Antwerpen
> Belgium
>
> tel +32-3_8202863
> fax +32-3-8202882
> email annick.dehouwer at ua.ac.be
>
>> Van: "Marita Boehning" <boehning at kronos.ling.uni-potsdam.de>
>> Datum: Tue, 30 Sep 2003 11:57:26 +0200
>> Aan: info-childes at mail.talkbank.org
>> Onderwerp: What is "normal" in bilingual children?
>>
>> Dear members,
>> I was recently asked for advice by a mother of a 3;5 year-old son who
>> learns 3 languages as his mother tongue.  Turkish is the language
>> coming
>> from the father, English from the mother and German from everywhere
>> else
>> (as they live in Germany) and sometimes from the parents, too.
>> As I haven't dealt with much research on bilingualism, I have hardly
>> any
>> idea, what is normal for a child who has to acquire 3 languages
>> simultaneously. I looked at the German equivalent of the CDI
>> (ELFRA-2),
>> and it turns out his results equal a 2;5 year-old.
>> Would a year delay be "normal" for such a child or is intervention
>> indicated? And if intervention, then are there special approaches for
>> those children?
>>
>> Thanks for any help!
>>
>> Marita Boehning
>>
>>
>>
>> ******************************
>> Marita Boehning
>> Department of Linguistics
>> University of Potsdam
>> P.O. Box 60 15 53
>> D - 14415 Potsdam
>> Germany
>>
>> *****************************
>>
>>
>>
>
>
>

*****************************************
Barbara Zurer Pearson, Ph. D.
Project Manager, Research Assistant
Dept. of Communication Disorders
University of Massachusetts
Amherst MA 01003

413.545.5023
fax: 545.0803

bpearson at comdis.umass.edu
http://www.umass.edu/aae/