ERIC Number: EJ1446280
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024
Pages: 9
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: EISSN-2325-7466
Evaluating Emergent Bilinguals for Specific Learning Disabilities: Considering Second Language Development and Culture
Edward Karl Schultz; Emily Smith; Stephanie Zamora-Robles
Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, p108-116 2024
Evaluating students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds (i.e., emergent bilinguals) presents challenges to evaluation teams, as distinguishing between a language disorder and typical second language development is more complex. The skills and knowledge required to do this task often exceed the level of training that evaluators (e.g., educational diagnosticians, LSSPs, speech pathologists) possess. To conduct a nondiscriminatory evaluation, evaluators must determine native language proficiency to select tests, understand the impact of culture on the learner, and interpret results. This requires an understanding of typical second language development and the influence of culture. This paper aims to add to evaluators' knowledge base by describing typical second language development and considering cultural implications. Implications for test selection and interpretation will also be discussed.
Descriptors: Emergent Literacy, Bilingualism, Bilingual Students, Learning Disabilities, Student Evaluation, Second Language Learning, Native Language, Language Proficiency, Language Tests, Cultural Influences, Test Interpretation, Test Selection
American Academy of Special Education Professionals. 3642 East Sunnydale Drive, Chandler Heights, AZ 85142. Tel: 800-754-4421; Fax: 800-424-0371; e-mail: editor@aasep.org; Web site: http://www.aasep.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A