Towards evidence-based practice in language intervention for bilingual children.

Area of Science:

• Speech-Language Pathology
• Developmental Psychology
• Linguistics

Background:

• Evidence-based practice in speech-language pathology necessitates strong research evidence.
• Limited research exists on clinical interventions for bilingual children.
• Current clinical decisions for this population often rely on inferred evidence.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review intervention research for bilingual children.
• To examine current clinical recommendations and their empirical support.
• To suggest future research directions for optimizing interventions.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of intervention studies on bilingual children.
• Analysis of current clinical recommendations.
• Evaluation of empirical and theoretical support for existing practices.

Main Results:

• Few studies directly examine intervention efficacy for bilingual children.
• Existing research suggests interventions incorporating both languages are superior to monolingual approaches.
• Current research provides limited guidance on specific effective treatment methods.

Conclusions:

• Interventions for bilingual children should consider both languages.
• Further research is required to establish efficacy with diverse bilingual groups.
• Future interventions must account for linguistic and cultural heterogeneity.