Gutiérrez-Clellen, V., Calderón, J., & Ellis Weismer,
S. (2004). Verbal working memory in bilingual children. Journal of Speech,
Language, and Hearing Research, 47, 863-876.
Language assessment measures rely heavily on
the child’s previous experience with language. Bilingual children may be at a
disadvantage on such tests simply because of the low levels of exposure to the
language being tested. As a result, differentiating children with language
disorders from children with language differences among bilingual children is
challenging. Processing measures that require manipulation of familiar or
simple language stimuli have the advantage of being less dependent on a child’s
previous language experience, and as such, may hold promise for differentiating
those with language impairment from those with age appropriate processing who
are still learning the language.
In this study, the authors examined
individual differences within bilingual groups on two verbal working memory
measures. A total of 44 school-age bilingual children (Spanish-English) participated
and were grouped based on proficiency in one or both languages according to
parental interviews, teacher questionnaires, and child’s spoken narrative
samples. Results revealed no significant differences between bilingual children
with high proficiency in both of their languages and children with proficiency
in only one language on either verbal working memory tasks. This result suggested
that bilingual proficiency differences have no effect on processing
performance.
The results of this study indicate that
processing measures might help to differentiate language impairment from
language difference in bilingual speakers. In addition, the findings provide no
evidence for a bilingual advantage, at least on the types of measures included
in the present study.
Areej Balilah, PhD Candidate with Dr. Lisa Archibald
