The Impact of Language Status on Bilingual Language and Literacy Development

Author

Ashley Ippolito, University of the PacificFollow

Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Department

Speech-Language Pathology

First Advisor

Madhu Sundarrajan

First Committee Member

Nalanda Chakraborty

Second Committee Member

Jeannene Ward-Lonergan

Abstract

This study investigated narrative and literacy differences between monolingual and bilingual children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) and examined caregivers' perspectives on their language and literacy development. This mixed methods project involved semi-structured ethnographic interviews and case histories for caregiver measures, and it included a narrative production task and a literacy skills assessment for child measures. There were two participant groups: monolingual children with a DLD in kindergarten to sixth grade (Group 1) and bilingual children (English + additional language) with a DLD (Group 2). Thematic analysis of caregiver interviews revealed that monolingual families engaged in storytelling and reading activities to enhance literacy skills, while bilingual caregivers highlighted challenges in language and literacy, with less emphasis on storytelling. On literacy assessments, both groups exhibited varied performance with no systematic differences between groups observed. This varied performance for the participants could indicate an influence on their skills from their existing diagnosis. Overall performance did not suggest that there was an observable difference between monolingual and bilingual children in this study. Future research is needed to investigate these dynamics across larger and more demographically and linguistically diverse populations.

Pages

66

Recommended Citation

Ippolito, Ashley. (2024). The Impact of Language Status on Bilingual Language and Literacy Development. University of the Pacific, Thesis. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/4268