Implementing evidence based practice with limited evidence: The case of language intervention with bilingual children

Publication date: Available online 6 October 2017
Source:Revista de Logopedia, Foniatría y Audiología
Author(s): Elin Thordardottir
Evidence based practice calls for clinical decisions to be based on a combination of research evidence, clinical expertise and client perspectives. A relatively small proportion of the research evidence on language intervention efficacy has focused specifically on bilingual children. This article reviews early research as well as recent findings on language intervention with bilingual children. Main questions targeted by this research include the choice of language of intervention, whether intervention effects transfer from one langage to the other, and whether language skills can be improved indirectly by enhancing underlying language processing and memory skills. Given the relative lack of intervention research on bilingual children, it is appropriate to consider the extent to which findings from the larger available evidence base on monolingual children can be applied. This may vary depending on the clinical question being asked and on the types of monolingual and bilingual environments involved. Given that monolingual and bilingual children are similar in a number of key characteristics that impact their ability to benefit from language treatment, it is proposed that clinicians use their experience and expertise to carefully consider the applicability to bilingual populations of research conducted with monolingual children. New directions in bilingual intervention that research is starting to address are reviewed, which will in time, lead to more sophisticated intervention choices tailored to the individual needs of children, both monolingual and bilingual.



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