Bilingual Education and Research Laboratory

New Manuscript Alert!
This collaborative research from our lab, the BEST Lab and Dr. Nydia Bou at Emerson examines how clinician training can improve identification of Spanish dialect features during speech assessment.

Which of these productions is a disorder?

/ˈpweɾto/ → [ˈpwelto]
/ˈriko/ → [ˈʁiko]
/ˈpweɾta/ → [ˈpwejta]
/ˈbaɾbaɾa/ → [baˈβaɾ̞a]

Answer: none.

These productions can reflect dialect features of Spanish. But the clinical task is not memorizing “country = feature.” The task is determining whether a production fits the child’s linguistic community, language contact, and input history.

That is why this training matters.

Our recent study examined whether computer-based transcription training improves clinicians’ ability to identify Spanish dialect features. Clinicians improved in distinguishing dialect variation from disorder after training.

This post is educational, not a diagnosis.
Ask your SLP or school team for individualized guidance.

Save this post for bilingual assessment training.

Hashtags

Which of these productions is a disorder?

/ˈpweɾto/ → [ˈpwelto]
/ˈriko/ → [ˈʁiko]
/ˈpweɾta/ → [ˈpwejta]
/ˈbaɾbaɾa/ → [baˈβaɾ̞a]

Answer: none.

These productions can reflect dialect features of Spanish. But the clinical task is not memorizing “country = feature.” The task is determining whether a production fits the child’s linguistic community, language contact, and input history.

That is why this training matters.

Our recent study examined whether computer-based transcription training improves clinicians’ ability to identify Spanish dialect features. Clinicians improved in distinguishing dialect variation from disorder after training. post is educational, not a diagnosis.
Ask your SLP or school team for individualized guidance.

CTA
Save this post for bilingual assessment training.

DialectVsDisorder

Silence in bilingual children is often explained as a “silent period,” but there is no clear agreement that this is a universal stage of second-language learning. This matters because waiting can reduce support. Our research found that bilingual children who appeared more shy often benefited from additional intervention to strengthen language skills.
This is educational, not a diagnosis. Ask your SLP or school team for individualized guidance.

Rivera-Pérez, J. F. (2022). The Relationship Between Perceived Assertiveness/Shyness and Emergent Bilinguals’ Vocabulary Intervention Outcomes: A Preliminary Investigation. It was published in Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools. DOI: 10.1177/15257401211067198

Language doesn’t live only in classrooms or tests. It lives in families, neighborhoods, music, movement, and shared moments. For many children, Spanish is the language of connection and community. Supporting Spanish helps children communicate, belong, and learn, with and without disabilities. This is educational, not a diagnosis. Ask your SLP or school team for individualized guidance.

Bilingualism is not the problem.
Access is.

If a bilingual child struggles with vocabulary or learning at school, the question is not “Which language is the issue?”

The question is whether instruction, assessment, and support reflect how bilingual language actually develops.

What to remember:
• Two languages do not confuse children
• Language differences are not disorders
• Support works best when it builds on both languages

Save this for later.
Share with a teacher or SLP who works with bilingual children.

EarlyChildhoodEducation

A collaborative work by the Bilingual Education and Research Lab and the Child, Hearing, Language, Literacy, and Deafness Lab.

Jean F. Rivera Pérez • Emily Lund • Mariam Abdelaziz • Alice Regalado-Lee

Read the full study (LSHSS):

https://doi.org/10.1044/2025_LSHSS-25-00066

Monolingual SLPs can support bilingual children in both Spanish and English—with the right structure and the right tools. 🗣️📱

Our new paper tested Computer-Assisted Bilingual Vocabulary Instruction (CABVI) in a randomized clinical trial with 21 Spanish-speaking preschoolers across 3 conditions:
1. Bilingual CABVI (Spanish–English)
2. English-only CABVI
3. Business-as-usual
4 weeks of instruction + a 6-week follow-up.

Key findings clinicians can use now:
✅ Bilingual instruction drove stronger Spanish gains (receptive, naming, and definitions).
✅ English improved similarly in both intervention groups.
✅ Gains held at follow-up.

This carousel also shares an easy routine and a practical “dosage” rule (repetition matters).