INTRODUCTION TO COMMUNICATION

DISORDERS IN MULTICULTURAL POPULATIONS

This semester, I will have some youtube videos for you to demonstrate assessment and treatment techniques

Go to youtube and type in

Celeste Roseberry

This will get you to my youtube channel

Sometimes we’ll use google earth to locate places we’re talking about

How many of you….

Speak another language?

Were born outside the U.S.?

Spent more than a few weeks in a country outside the U.S.?

My own story…I was born in southern CAWhen I was 6, my family went to the Philippines where my parents served as Baptist missionaries for 10 yearsFor several years in elementary school, I was the only White childI went to boarding school for grades 5 and 7-12We came back to the U.S. when I was a 17-year old college freshman

Google earth

My parents and sisters and I spoke Standard American English at home

We spoke Odionganon with our friends in the barrio of Odiongan

Church services were preached in Hiligaynon

I learned Tagalog formally in school

Studied German in high school and college

Learned Spanish later

I have been blessed to visit:Philippines (lived there ages 6-17 years)GuamTaiwan London ItalyHawaii Austria FijiJapan Germany AustraliaHong Kong SwitzerlandMexico FranceCanada LuxembourgAthens VeniceNew Zealand

I. DEMOGRAPHICS (not on test)

The U.S. Census Bureau report in 2010 identified persons in our country who represent more than 207 different ancestral groups. More than 55 million people, or 20% of the population over 5 years of age, speak a language other than English at home (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011).

From the 1997-1998 school year to the 2008-2009 school year, the number of ELLs in U.S. schools increased by 51%, going from 3.5 million to 5.3 million nationwide.

By the year 2025, one in every four school-aged children will be an ELL.

II. CHALLENGES FOR OUR PROFESSION

1. Increasing numbers of ELLs in U.S. schools, but not enough bilingual, bicultural professionals to serve them

2. Socioeconomic differences that can impact learning.

3. Helping English Language Learners with language impairments achieve the demands of the Common Core State Standards

4. Keeping up with tech advances that can help these students learn faster and better

In just one week in my job in the public schools, I assessed students from these backgrounds:

African AmericanVietnameseChineseSpanishHindiPunjabiIbo

III. LEGAL CONSIDERATIONSIDEA 1997 and 2004 states that:

Testing procedures and materials must not be discriminatory

Assessment instruments must measure a student’s ability in the area tested, not English proficiency

It is critical to know what is normal in L1 for each student—difference vs. disorder

IV. DEVELOPING CULTURAL COMPETENCE

View all students as individuals; don’t stereotype!

Describe “cultural tendencies”

Look at cultural variables that influence behavior

1. Educational level2. Country of birth3. Length of residence4. Language(s) spoken5. Urban vs. rural background6. Gender7. Age8. Socioeconomic status9. Religious beliefs and their impact10. Peers, neighborhood11. Generational membership

V. VARIABLES INFLUENCING INDIV IDUAL BEHAVIOR

VI. INCREASING CULTURAL COMPETENCE

Visit students’ homesTeam up with members of the communityRead!!Be aware of your own values and beliefsAsk students to share with youLearn some basic vocabulary in other languagesAttend churches, festivals, gatherings of other cultures

Kohnert, 2013 (Language Disorders in Bilingual Children and Adults (2nd ed); Plural Publishing)

Conduct ethnographic interviews

The SLP asks broad, open-ended questions to find out more (e.g. “Tell me about how Filipinos view communication disorders.”)

In 2015, consider the impact of the economy (SES):

In 2000, 11.3% of Americans were living below the poverty line

By 2008, 13.2% were below the poverty line

Today, 15.4% of Americans do not have health insurance

Percent of Americans in poverty: (not on exam)

Terry, P., Connor, C., Thomas-Tate, S., & Love, M. (2010).Examining relationships among dialect variation, literacy skills, and school context in first grade. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 53, 126-145.

Meta-analysis of research--widely varying achievement among children in American schools

When children enter school (kindergarten), achievement gaps are observable even before they start learning to read

The most salient child characteristics that predict academic success are SES and race

Low-SES, non-White children tend to lag behind White, middle-SES children

We need to work hard to close this gap

According to Education Week:

Nationwide, only 12% of students with limited English scored “at or above proficient” in mathematics in 4th grade compared with 42% of students not classified as ELLs. The gap was much wider in 8th grade math, where 5% of ELLs were proficient or above proficient in math, compared with 35% of non-ELLs.

On a national reading test, in 8th grade, only 3% of ELLs scored at or above proficiency, compared with 34% of non-ELLs.

In this class, we will emphasize

Justice and equal opportunities for everyone, regardless of race, SES, or primary language

Leveling the playing field