Bilingual Language Development and Disorders in Spanish English Speakers

Because dual language learners are the fastest-growing segment of the U.S. student population—and the majority speak Spanish as a first language—the new generation of SLPs must have comprehensive knowledge of how to work effectively with bilingual speakers. That's what they'll get in the second edition of this book, an ideal graduate-level text and an essential resource for every practicing SLP. Fully updated with five new chapters on hot topics (see below), an expanded age range that includes infants and toddlers, and cutting-edge research findings, this book arms SLPs with the most current information on language development and disorders of Spanish-English bilingual children. More than 25 leading researchers give SLPs in-depth, high-level coverage of a broad range of critical topics, including -social-cultural factors affecting language acquisition -diagnosis of language disorders -effective professional development -infant/toddler language development -first language loss -bilingual lexical development -semantic development -verbal morphology and vocabulary -morphosyntactic development -code-switching -grammatical impairments -narrative development and disorders -phonological development and disorders -fluency -SLPs will have the sophisticated knowledge they need to accurately distinguish language disorders from typical bilingual development, and they'll get a complete language intervention framework they can use as a guide for their own practice. Whether used as a graduate text or a trusted reference, this book will help SLPs fully understand the complexity of language development in bilingual children, diagnose disorders accurately, and conduct effective assessment and intervention for the growing number of Spanish–English bilingual speakers.

Both SLPs and researchers must understand speech and language developments in children - and SLPs also need reliable assessment and intervention approaches for serving bilingual children with language disorders. This comprehensive text is one of the few to offer readers in-depth theoretical and practical information on these timely topics. Focusing on children from 3 to 12 years of age, this urgently needed resource brings together more than a dozen top researchers to present developmental data, best assessment practices, and appropriate intervention approaches in the following areas: language processing skills; lexical development; morpho-syntactic development; first language loss; grammatical impairments; semantic development; phonological development and disorders; narrative development and disorders; fluency; A concluding chapter provides readers with a framework for appropriate language intervention for bilingual speakers. The chapter outlines the major purposes of intervention for bilingual children with speech and language disorders, explores the debate over which language SLPs should use with bilingual children, and examines ways to promote gains in both languages. With this research-based text, SLPs will understand the complexity of language development in bilingual children and learn appropriate assessment and intervention approaches.