****PRAXIS Cultural Considerations

The language learned first and used most frequently in early language development

The language spoken most proficiently; may change when there are changes in language usage patterns in a child’s environment

The child’s level of skill in the use of a particular language

Occurs when children are exposed to two languages at the same time, from birth

Children learn their home language first, and then another language, usually when they enter school

AN UNDERLYING DIFFICULTY IN LEARNING LANGUAGE – ANY

LANGUAGE. THE DIFFICULTY CAN BE IN EXPRESSING LANGUAGE, UNDERSTANDING LANGUAGE, OR BOTH

OCCURS WHEN THE FIRST LANGUAGE INFLUENCES PRODUCTION OF THE

SECOND LANGUAGE; THIS IS A TYPICAL PROCESS, NOT A DISORDER

• Also called the Observational/Listening Period

• Children listen and observe, but there is little production of L2

• Occurs when an individual switches back and forth between

languages or dialects

• A type of situational pragmatic language behavior

Fossilization occurs when, even after having acquired a high level of

proficiency in a language, certain errors remain; may occur because

of the inconsistencies of the English language (e.g. “the news are;”

“my foots hurt”)

• Test items are not sensitive to cultural and linguistic

differences; this is a particular problem when the child is

bilingual

• The samples of children on whom standardized tests are

normed are often not representative of CLD children

• Even tests advertised as being suitable for multicultural

populations may not be valid or reliable

• If modifications are made to a test, this further weakens

validity

• Omission of:

• Possessive –s (e.g., Steve car)

• Plural –s (e.g., I got two cat)

• Copular is (e.g., It Steve car)

• Auxiliary is (e.g., He talking to me)

• Past tense –ed (e.g., I walk to the store yesterday)

• Third person singular present tense –s (e.g., She sing in the choir)

• Use of:

• Be as an auxiliary verb for present progressive tense (e.g., She be

sleeping)

• Be as a copular verb (e.g., She be my teacher)

• Multiple negatives (e.g., I don’t got none)

• Do instead of does (e.g., It do look like rain)

• Substitution of:

• /f/ for /θ/ in medial and final word positions (e.g., somefin for something, and teef for

teeth)

• /t/ for /θ/ in initial word position (e.g., tank for thank)

• /d/ for /ð/ in initial and medial word position (e.g., dat for that and moder for mother)

• /v/ for /ð/ in final word position (e.g., bav for bathe)

• /b/ for /v/ in initial word position (e.g., base for vase)

• /n/ for / ŋ/ (e.g, talkin’)

• Omission of:

• Final consonants (e.g., moo for moon)

• /l/ in medial and final positions (e.g., ebow for elbow and foo for fool)

• /r/ in consonant clusters and final word positions (e.g., bake for break and floah for

floor)

• Consonant cluster reduction in final word position (e.g., lef for left)

• Three Phases (Langdon & Cheng, 2002):

• Briefing: An initial consult with the interpreter/translator

(IT); some training may be necessary

• Interaction: The actual event – professionals should sit

respectfully while the interpreter is speaking to the client

or parent

• Debriefing: A post-session discussion of how it went

• When speaking, the SLP should look at the family members and not

at the interpreter.

• It is never permissible to say to the interpreter, “Tell them. . .”

• The SLP should speak in short sentences, pausing often to allow the

interpreter to interpret the message.

• The SLP should not speak in professional jargon that the interpreter

may not be able to adequately interpret.

• While the interpreter is relaying the message to the family members,

the SLP and any other professional people present should sit silently

and respectfully; no “sidebar” conversations

having an interpersonal stance that is other-oriented rather than self-focused, characterized by respect and lack of superiority toward an individual's cultural background and experience

A four-step process:

1. Identifying the cultural bases for a professional’s interpretation of a

student’s (or client’s or patient’s or family’s) difficulties

2. Discovering whether or not the family shares the bases for this

interpretation

3. Acknowledging any cultural differences that may be revealed and

explaining the cultural bases for the professional’s interpretation

4. Determining ways to adapt the professional’s interpretations to the

value system of the family through discussion and collaboration