Vocabulary production in toddlers from low-income immigrant families: evidence from children exposed to Romanian-Italian and Nigerian English-Italian.

The relationship between first and second language in early vocabulary acquisition in bilingual children is still debated in the literature. This study compared the expressive vocabulary of 39 equivalently low-SES two-year-old bilingual children from immigrant families with different heritage languages (Romanian vs. Nigerian English) and the same majority language (Italian). Vocabulary size, vocabulary composition and translation equivalents (TEs) were assessed using the Italian/L1 versions of the CDI. Higher vocabulary in Italian than in the heritage language emerged in both groups. Moreover, Romanian-Italian-speaking children produced higher proportions of TEs than Nigerian English-Italian-speaking children, suggesting that L1-L2 phonological similarity facilitates the acquisition of cross-linguistic synonyms.

Home Language Activities and Expressive Vocabulary of Toddlers from Low-SES Monolingual Families and Bilingual Immigrant Families.

Children from low-SES (socioeconomic status) and minority language immigrant families are at risk of vocabulary difficulties due to the less varied and complex language in the home environment. Children are less likely to be involved in home language activities (HLA) in interaction with adults in low-SES than in higher-SES families. However, few studies have investigated the HLA variability among low-SES, minority language bilingual immigrant families. This longitudinal study analyzes the frequency and duration of HLA and their predictive roles for expressive vocabulary acquisition in 70 equivalent low-SES monolingual and bilingual toddlers from minority contexts. HLA and vocabulary were assessed at 24 and 30 months in the majority language (Italian) and in total (majority+minority language) using parent and teacher reports. The frequency and duration of HLA in interaction with adults in total, but not in the majority language, at 24 months were similar for the two groups. These activities uniquely accounted for expressive vocabulary at 30 months, after accounting for total vocabulary at 24 months, in both groups. In conclusion, a minority-majority language context is not an additional risk factor for vocabulary acquisition if HLA is considered in interaction with adults in both languages. HLA are proximal environmental protective factors for vocabulary acquisition.

Impacts of a shared book-reading intervention for Italian-speaking children with developmental language disorder.

BACKGROUND: The regular practice of shared book reading (SBR) at home may play a key role in fostering the linguistic development of children with developmental language disorder (DLD). However, more evidence is needed of the benefits of home-based SBR interventions on the parents' conversational strategies and on the communicative and linguistic production of children with DLD. AIMS: To examine the impacts of a parent-based SBR intervention on the parent's use of conversational strategies, and on the engagement, conversational participation and linguistic production of Italian-speaking children with DLD. The mothers trained in the use of SBR strategies were expected to increase their use of these strategies. The children were expected to show gains in their level of engagement and conversational participation during SBR; in turn, moderate increments of the indices of language production were expected. METHODS & PROCEDURES: Thirty-two preschool children with DLD participated in the study; all were receiving speech language therapy. Using a non-randomized pre-post-test control trial, 20 mother-child dyads implemented an 8-week SBR programme (the SBR intervention group), while 12 dyads acted as a comparison group. Based on the 'dialogic reading' method, eight verbal and non-verbal SBR strategies were employed during individual and small-group parent training sessions. Speech-language therapists were involved in the individual parent training sessions to provide suggestions focused on the specific characteristics of each mother-child dyad. Measures of parents' intervention strategies, children's engagement, conversational participation and oral language were included. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: At post-test, mothers in the SBR intervention group used three of the eight SBR strategies-Shared Book Handling, Captivating Talking, and Utterances with a familiar topic-significantly more than the comparison group. Children whose mothers implemented the intervention showed significant gains in terms of time spent in engagement and amount of verbal production during shared reading. No effects were found for the children's communicative initiatives and answers, or for indices of language complexity and diversity. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The present parent-based SBR intervention for Italian-speaking preschoolers with DLD showed effects, albeit modest, on both maternal and child communicative behaviours. The results suggest that extralinguistic strategies may be implemented successfully by parents and may be effective in enhancing children's engagement and language production in the short term. Further investigations are needed that provide a longer intervention period and examine the joint impact of therapist- and parent-based intervention for children with DLD.

Communication dynamics between mothers and their children with cochlear implants: Effects of maternal support for language production.

This study examined (a) the functions and modalities of maternal and child communication during interaction between mothers and children with cochlear implants (CIs), comparing them with mothers and normally hearing (NH) children, and (b) the effectiveness of maternal support strategies in eliciting adequate answers in children with CI. Twenty preschoolers with CIs (M = 40 months) and 40 NH children - 20 matched by chronological age (CANH, M = 40 months) and 20 matched by hearing age (HANH, M = 25 months) - were videotaped during shared book reading and toy play with their mothers. Child and maternal utterances were coded for communicative functions and modalities (vocal, gestural, bimodal), including gesture types; maternal repairs were examined for type of support provided, and child answers for adequacy. Mothers in the CI group and in the CANH group displayed higher proportions of Informative Repairs than mothers of HANH children. However, unlike the mothers of NH children, mothers of children with CIs used bimodal utterances significantly more than vocal utterances. Sequential analysis revealed that maternal Informative Repairs elicited the production of Adequate Answers in both children with CIs and CANH. Interestingly, in the CI group this association was found only when Informative Repairs were accompanied by gestures. These findings offer suggestions for intervention programs focused on parent-child conversation.

Gesture and speech during shared book reading with preschoolers with specific language impairment.

This study examined (a) the relationship between gesture and speech produced by children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing (TD) children, and their mothers, during shared book-reading, and (b) the potential effectiveness of gestures accompanying maternal speech on the conversational responsiveness of children. Fifteen preschoolers with expressive SLI were compared with fifteen age-matched and fifteen language-matched TD children. Child and maternal utterances were coded for modality, gesture type, gesture-speech informational relationship, and communicative function. Relative to TD peers, children with SLI used more bimodal utterances and gestures adding unique information to co-occurring speech. Some differences were mirrored in maternal communication. Sequential analysis revealed that only in the SLI group maternal reading accompanied by gestures was significantly followed by child's initiatives, and when maternal non-informative repairs were accompanied by gestures, they were more likely to elicit adequate answers from children. These findings support the 'gesture advantage' hypothesis in children with SLI, and have implications for educational and clinical practice.

Responsiveness of children with specific language impairment and maternal repairs during shared book reading.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies indicate that (1) children with specific language impairment (SLI) produce a high number of problematic answers during shared book reading, and that (2) adult communicative input has a key role in supporting child responsiveness. However, little is known about the strategies used by parents to repair children's inadequate answers and their effectiveness in supporting appropriate responses. AIMS: Repairs (any utterance aimed to correct a child's problematic answer) produced by mothers of children with SLI and mothers of typically developing children during shared reading conversation were compared: (1) to examine whether there are significant differences in their features, and to what extent these differences (if any) are accounted for by limitations in child responsiveness and language abilities; and (2) to assess whether-and in which cases-maternal repairs are effective in eliciting appropriate answers from children with SLI. METHODS & PROCEDURES: Ten preschool-aged children with SLI, ten age-matched typically developing children, and ten mean length of utterance-matched typically developing children with their mothers participated in the study. Each mother-child dyad was videotaped during four sessions of shared book reading at home. Each maternal repair was coded according to the level of support (i.e., presence of crucial information and familiar topic) provided to elicit the child's correct answer. Each child's answer following a maternal repair was coded on the basis of both linguistic production and content appropriateness. OUTCOMES & RESULTS: Mothers of children with SLI produced significantly more high-supportive repairs than mothers of age-matched children, but not more than mothers of mean length of utterance-matched younger children. Sequential analysis applied to maternal repairs and children's answers showed that supportive repairs significantly affected the occurrence of minimally acceptable answers produced by children with SLI, while non-supportive repairs affected significantly the occurrence of inadequate answers. Children with SLI behaved in a similar way to mean length of utterance-matched younger children, showing spontaneous motivation to imitate crucial information included in high-supportive repairs. CONCLUSIONS & IMPLICATIONS: The findings suggest that mothers of children with SLI adjust their repairs to their children's linguistic limitations. The use of supportive repairs is functional to model the children's answers, enables them to practise new words, and contributes to the children's experience of being an active interlocutor. These findings have a potential clinical value that can be used in language intervention programmes based on shared book reading.