Exploring Explicit Intervention to Target Grammatical Forms With Spanish-English Bilingual Children With...

Area of Science:

• Linguistics
• Speech-Language Pathology
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Multilingual children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have limited evidence-based grammar interventions.
• Explicit grammatical intervention may promote cross-linguistic transfer between languages.
• This study addresses the need for effective grammar interventions for bilingual children with DLD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present steps for implementing an explicit grammatical intervention for bilingual children with DLD.
• To investigate the potential for cross-linguistic transfer from English to Spanish.
• To examine evidence of treatment effects in Spanish-English speaking children with DLD.

Main Methods:

• A single-subject, nonconcurrent multiple-baseline design was used.
• Three Spanish-English speaking children (ages 4-8) with DLD participated.
• An explicit-based intervention targeting English past and present tense forms was adapted for cross-linguistic transfer to Spanish.

Main Results:

• Participants demonstrated preliminary positive treatment effects on English grammatical markers (-ed, -s).
• Varying degrees of cross-linguistic transfer were observed in Spanish grammatical measures.
• The intervention was adaptable for monolingual clinicians.

Conclusions:

• This is the first study of explicit-based grammatical intervention for Spanish-English bilingual children with DLD.
• The approach shows potential for improving the untreated first language by leveraging metalinguistic strengths and cross-linguistic similarities.
• Careful design and planning are crucial for successful implementation.