Taking into account speech, language, and culture, we aim to provide educators with a solid framework and information about many languages to support their understanding of speech and language development in English Language Learners. We explore Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, and other languages to help SLPs support English Language Learners. Both linguistic and cultural knowledge are critical when working with families and children from different language backgrounds (Goldstein, 2012). Our goal in exploring the most commonly spoken languages in the United States is to enhance our understanding of patterns common to English language learners with different native languages. Our framework for analyzing errors provides parents, teachers, and other educators with the process they need to determine whether language production errors are indicative of language impairment or are the result of the normal process of language acquisition with more than one language. It is a very simple framework—if sounds/structures exist in both languages, they should not be affected in second language production. If sounds/structures do not exist in both languages, we expect transfer of skills or features from one language to another.

1. Are these errors due to native
language influence?
Ellen Kester Scott Prath, Phuong Palafox
November 20, 2014
American Speech‐Language Hearing Association Convention
Orlando, Florida

2. One in five school children speak a language other than English at home.

5. SLP Self‐report of level of qualification
serving multicultural population
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
Not at all qualified Under qualified Neutral Somewhat qualified Very Qualified
2010 ASHA Schools Survey
2012 ASHA Schools Survey

6. Disproportionality
ELLs

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to listen to this course live?
Click here to visit
the online courses.

8. Click for Audio‐over‐Powerpoint Presentation

9. This is hard!

10. But there is so much that you
already know!

12. Difference or Disorder?
Understanding Speech and Language
Patterns in Culturally and Linguistically
Diverse Students
Rapidly identify speech‐language
patterns related to second language
acquisition to
distinguish difference from disorder.

14. STREET CRED ‐ Teacher

15. Difference vs. Disorder
NORMAL
DEVELOPMENTAL
ERRORS
SECOND-
LANGUAGE
INFLUENCE
ATYPICAL
ERRORS

16. Positive Transfer ‐ Speech
• [d] exists in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese
• [t] exists and can occur in final position in
English, Spanish, and Vietnamese,
• If a child can produce it in L1, that skill
transfers well to English production

17. Negative Transfer ‐ Speech
In the L2 acquisition process children often
use the closest sound/combination in their
repertoire.
– Voiceless [th] exists in English but not
Vietnamese or Spanish
– Consonant cluster cannot occur in word final
position in Spanish and do not exist in
Vietnamese

18. Shared vs. Unshared sounds

19. Phonotactic Constraints
Syllables
Consonant
Clusters in
Word Final
Position

20. /ɲ/
/ɾ/
/R/
/x/
/ð/ /dʒ/
/h/ /ŋ/
/θ/
/r/ /ʃ/
/v/
/z/ /ʒ/
SPANISH ENGLISH
/b/ /d/ /ɡ/
/p/ /t/ /k/
/m/ /n/
/s/ /tʃ/
/j/ /l/ /f/
/w/*
/w/ is produced as a bilabial in English and as a labiovelar in Spanish
Click here to download this chart as a pdf.

21. Spanish Phonotactics
• S‐clusters are not allowed in word initial
position
• Clusters are not permitted in word final
position
• Few words end in consonants
• Only [l, n, d, s, r] are allowed in word final
position

22. /b/
/d/
/g/
/p/
/t/
/θ/ /r/ /ʃ/
/dʒ /

23. /ɲ/
/ɾ/
/R/
/x/
/ð/ /dʒ/
/h/ /ŋ/
/θ/
/r/ /ʃ/
/v/ /w/
/z/ /ʒ/
SPANISH ENGLISH
/b/ /d/ /ɡ/
/p/ /t/ /k/
/m/ /n/
/s/ /tʃ/
/j/ /l/
/f/

24. /b/
/d/
/g/
/p/
/t/
/θ/ /r/ /ʃ/
/dʒ /

25. /ʃ/
/dʒ / /b/
/θ/ /g/
/p/
/d/
/r/ /t/

26. Spanish Consonant
Difference Activity
BATH BAT

27. THREE TREE
Spanish Consonant Difference
Activity

28. SHOE CHEW
Spanish Consonant
Difference Activity

29. VASE BASE
Spanish Consonant Difference
Activity

30. /th / /ʈ//c/
/ʔ/ /ɲ/
/ɣ/
/x/ /ɽ/
/ð/ /dʒ/
/ŋ/ /θ/
/ʃ/
/v/ /s/
/ʒ/
VIETNAMESE ENGLISH
/p/ /b/ /t/
/d/ /k/ /ɡ/
/m/ /n/ /j/
/w/ /f/ /z/
/h/ /tʃ/
/l/ /r/

31. Vietnamese Phonotactics
• In addition to consonant and vowel
consonants, tones are also phonemic
• Words are monosyllabic (except borrowed
words). Thus, no medial consonants.
• Final consonants can only be nasals or
voiceless stops
• There are no consonant clusters

32. Vietnamese Consonant
Difference Activity
BATH BAT

33. THREE
Vietnamese Consonant
Difference Activity
TEE

34. SHOE
Vietnamese Consonant
Difference Activity
CHEW

35. VASE
Vietnamese Consonant
Difference Activity
BAYS

36. /æ/ /ɔ/ /ʊ/
/ʌ/ /ɛ/
/ɪ/ /ə/
/ɑ/
/e/
/i/
/o/
/u/
SPANISH ENGLISH

37. SpanishSpanish

38. HAT HOT
Spanish Vowel Difference Activity

39. GET GATE
Spanish Vowel Difference Activity

40. HIT HEAT
Spanish Vowel Difference Activity

41. LOOK LUKE
Spanish Vowel Difference
Activity

42. /ɯ/
/ɤ/
/ɤ̌/
/ɑ̆/
/ɔ̌/
/ʌ/
/ɪ/
/e/
/o/
VIETNAMESE ENGLISH
/ɑ/ /æ/
/ɔ/ /ʊ/
/u/
/ɛ/ /i/

43. HAT
Vietnamese Vowel Difference
Activity
HAT

44. GET
Vietnamese Vowel Difference
Activity
GET

45. LOOK
Vietnamese Vowel Difference
Activity
LOOK

46. All of the documents and charts in this presentation
can be downloaded from our Free Resource Library.
Click here to visit the Resource Library

47. Mean Errors Per Grade Spanish
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
PK K 1st 2nd 3rd
NumberofErrors
SpnMorph
SpnSemantic
SpnSyntactic
SpnTotal
Mean Errors Per Grade English
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
PK K 1st 2nd 3rd
NumberofErrors
EngMorph
EngSemantic
EngSyntactic
EngTotal
Cross‐linguistic Errors in
Children with Typical
Development

48. Positive Transfer ‐ Language
• SVO for English, Spanish, Vietnamese
• Note that in Spanish, other word orders are
permissible.
• In English, adjectives
precede nouns.
• Prepositional phrases are
similar in Vietnamese and
English.

49. Negative Transfer ‐ Language
In the acquisition process, ELLs will often use the
structure from their first language.
• Adjective‐noun order
• Prepositions
• Copula
• Articles
• Plurality
• Verb differences

50. English Spanish Vietnamese
Adjective‐noun
order
Adjective‐Noun Noun‐Adjective Noun‐Adjective
Copula Used with nouns
and adjectives
Used with nouns
and adjectives
Used with nouns,
not adjectives
Plurality Add –s to mark
plurals, some
irregulars
Add –s when word
ends in vowel, ‐es
when ending in
consonants, no
irregulars
Marked by adding
the concept of
“more than one”
before the noun
Verbs 2 forms of verb
person, many
tenses
5‐6 forms of verb
person, many
tenses
One form of verb
person, 4 tenses

51. Spanish Language Transfer Activity
• Adjective‐Noun Order
• Copula
• Plurals
• Verbs

52. English
Blue Dress
Adjective‐Noun Word Order
Spanish
Vestido
azul/Dress blue

53. English
Susana is tall.
Use of the Copula
Spanish
Susana es alta.

54. English
Two trees
Plurals
Spanish
Dos árboles/
Two Trees

55. English
He walks.
Verb Use
Spanish
Él camina/
He walk.

56. Vietnamese Language Transfer Activity
• Adjective‐Noun Order
• Copula
• Plurals
• Verbs

57. English
Blue Dress
Adjective‐Noun Word Order
Vietnamese
Phuong‐ Fill
in/Dress color
blue

58. English
Susana is tall.
Use of the Copula
Vietnamese
Susana Phuong‐fill
Susana tall.

59. English
Two trees
Plurals
Vietnamese
Phuong fill in/
More than one tree

60. English
He walks.
Verb Use
Vietnamese
Phuong fill in/
Boy? walk.

61. Application ‐ Speech

62. Application: The Goldman Fristoe
Test of Articulation (GFTA)
Using clinical judgment to
analyze errors due to
cross‐linguistic influence

63. Get Testing Data
• Parent Interview
– Do you have
difficulty
understanding your
child?
– What language do
you speak with your
child.

64. Find Information on the
Second Language
• “difference between ___________ and English
Language”

67. • Give the GFTA

68. • Get Results
• Fill this in with
Spanish

69. Application ‐ Language

70. 2 Spanish‐English Students
• STUDENT 1 – 1st
Grade, English
classroom
– Below grade level in
Kindergarten
– Wears glasses
– Reading is below grade
level
– Difficulty answering
questions
– Easily distracted
• STUDENT 2 – 1st
Grade, English
classroom
• Repeating 1st grade
• Struggling
academically
(especially math and
reading)
• Does not talk
– often in class
• Talks at recess
• Bilingual home

71. IM English ER
• The kid (is) buy a frog and the dog see the
frog.
• Now the frog and the boy fell asleep, was
sleepy.
• And the frog go away. [verb error]
• (And the) and the kid and the dog gray up.
• And the old one wasn’t there.
• And the frog is no more allí, not there.
• (And the, and the) and the kid [said], “Where
are you, frog?
• Koook!
• (And the) and the dog pull a bucket, house,
dog.
• And a dog fall in the window.
• And the kid was bad for the dog.
• And the kid say woooo.
• And some bees come.
• And the dog smell the bees.
• (And the) and the kid say, “kooook.”
• And there was the dog.
• The, it it fell down of the (out) out of the
tree.
• The kid was looking for a tree.
• The kid fell down.
• And the flies was chasing the, the dog.
• The kid was, was climbing a rock.
• He got up on it.
• He found, he found something.
• What he found he got on it. [The log, he got
on it: word order]
• The dog was right in front of it.
• The dog and the kid fell down and got wet.
• They found a tree.
• They were hided (in) in a tree.
• The kid found the frog and the dog
• The kid and the dog was looking at the frog.
• He call to the, the frogs.

72. IM Spanish ER
• Niño.
• Sapo, dónde estás?
• Y la perro llores.
• En una arbole.
• Yo (la) la perro corrió.
• Y ahora la niña di, “ooooh ooooh.”
• La niño se sentó.
• Errrr, errrr.
• Shhhhh.
• Y la niño cae.
• Y el perro también.
• Y el niño y el perro buscarlos.
• Allí está sapos. Ya
• El está mirando a la, a la rana.
• El perro también.
• La rana se fue y se fue.
• El niño fue a dormir.
• Él se dio cuenta que no era la rana.
• El perro estaba en la, adentro de la jarra,
donde estaba la rana.
• El niño está gritando que venga la rana.
• Pero el perro se cayó.
• Y el niño se fue afuera para agarrar al perro.
• Allí está buscando el niño a la rana que no
encontró.
• Aquí está el niño, digo, adentro de un hoyo y
el perro estaba ladrando las moscas.
• Y que el niño se levantó del hoyo.
• Y la casa donde viven las moscas, se cayó del
arbol.
• El niño estaba buscando la rana en un arbol.
• El niño se cayó.

73. • Difficulty learning both languages,
even with adult assistance
• Difficulty producing sounds in both languages
• Family history of language/learning disabilities
• Slower development than siblings
• Difficulty interacting with peers
• Inappropriate pragmatic/social language skills (i.e., turn‐
taking, topic maintenance, considering listener needs,
non‐verbal communication)
• Difficulty with language in many routines
• Idiosyncratic error patterns
• Speech and language performance unlike others with
similar cultural/linguistic experiences
Click here to download this chart as a pdf.

74. It is hard!