Model Eval- Tagalog.English.8-0.pdf
TL is an 8 year old sequential Tagalog/English bilingual with typically developing language skills. TL began learning English once she entered school, which is taught in English.
Background Information:
TL is an 8 year, 1 month old female who was referred for this evaluation due to parental concerns with her speech-language development. She has never received any speech language services. Her mother, Mrs. L, provided much of the background information for this evaluation and was judged to be a reliable informant.
TL was the product of a full-term, unremarkable pregnancy, and birth history was unremarkable. Per parent report, TL was reportedly pronounced “healthy” at birth. Medical history is remarkable for hospitalization for 2 days at 3 years of age due to severe stomach pain caused by bacteria, and stitches (1.5 inches) on the side of the arm at 4;6 years due to fall while running. No other significant medical history was reported.
All developmental milestones were reportedly achieved on time. According to her mother, TL held her head up by 4 months, sat at 6 months, walked at 12 months, ate solid foods at 12 months, and fed herself by 16 months. She imitated sounds before 11 months, and spoke her first intentional word by 15 months, and currently uses simple and complex sentences to communicate.
TL lives with her parents, her younger brother (3 years; 11 months), and her maternal grandmother in Batangas City, Philippines.
Mrs. L completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from the University of the Philippines-Diliman and is currently a high school science teacher and administrator in a prestigious private Catholic school, and her father Mr. L received his medical degree in 1997 from University of Santo Tomas and currently works as a doctor and university professor. TL’s grandmother completed her high school degree and has been living with them for the last 6.5 years. TL attends the third grade in the private Catholic school where her mother teaches, while her younger brother is attending a local private nursery school. All children were born and raised in Batangas City. No recent significant changes in the family dynamic were reported.
Mrs. L reported that TL’s younger brother had no birth or medical complications and he reached all developmental milestones normally. No significant history of speech, language, and/or academic problems in either the mother’s or the father’s side were reported.
TL’s speech and language were reported to be the same as and reflective of her cousins’, classmates’ and peers’ speech and language. Mrs. L reported that TL is able to communicate what she wants effectively using words and sentences. Mr. L reported that TL is very studious, has good memory and problem solving skills, and has “perfected the use of sarcasm and word manipulation too early for her own good.”
Language Background and Use:
Both English and Tagalog are spoken at home by the parents; however, Tagalog is the most dominant language used by the children. Both parents are proficient in both languages, although their English is Tagalog-accented; the grandmother speaks only Tagalog with some common English words that have been assimilated into the language, such as “bag,” and “plastik”. Mrs. L reported that she and Mr. L usually speak to the children in Tagalog, with some English infusions, when telling stories or giving directions, which they appear to understand, as evidenced by responding appropriately. TL is also exposed to the Visayan dialect in school, as some of her teachers and classmates are from the Visayan region, south of Luzon. Classes in the school, with the exception of History and Filipino, are supposedly taught in all-English. TL’s peers in the community speak Tagalog, although a few have different dialects depending on the region where they or their parents come from.
TL was initially raised with solely Tagalog used at home, with the common English words infused in the language. Mrs. L reported that when TL was younger, she would only speak Tagalog, but as soon as she started school at age 4, her English use has significantly increased, and use of “Taglish” (Tagalog-English) has become very “hip” now in the schools.
TL is currently observed to be proficient in both languages for language comprehension and language expression, as Mr. & Mrs. L reported that she responds appropriately to questions and commands in either languages, and does equally well in both academically.
Evaluation
Behavior:
TL was cooperative, inquisitive, and mostly focused throughout the evaluation. She benefitted from intermittent verbal cues to stay in front of the camera (thru Skype ®) during the latter part of the assessment when her friend came over to play and do homework.
Play Skills:
Mrs. L reported that TL’s play skills appeared to be age-appropriate since her younger years. She reportedly engaged in multiple play schemas (e.g., playing with dolls, pretend cooking, pretend teacher) when she was younger, and currently plays with her younger brother appropriately. When her friend came over, she was observed to turn-take in speaking and playing “teacher,” and engaged appropriately in working through math homework.
Teacher Interview/Academic Skills:
The clinician was unable to speak with TL’s teacher; however, Mrs. L reported that TL has always received satisfactory remarks from teachers and a grade of 92 (A) or over in all her classes.
Hearing:
TL’s hearing was recently tested and reported to be within normal limits. No concerns in hearing function were reported at this time.
Oral Peripheral Examination:
TL’s face was symmetrical at rest. She displayed adequate jaw strength, excursion, and range of motion. Labial-facial and lingual control appeared adequate and tongue movements were smooth and coordinated. Her mother reported that TL did not have any difficulties with eating or drinking but was a picky eater from 3-5 years of age.
Voice and Fluency:
Vocal quality, pitch, and fluency appeared to be within normal limits for TL’s age, gender, and stature.
Articulation and Phonology:
TL’s speech production was judged to be within normal limits. Assessment of TL’s overall articulation pattern revealed production of all phonemes, including Tagalog-specific phonemes /ŋ, ɱ, and ɲ/. No phonological processes were observed. She produced CV, VC, VCV, CVC, CVCC, CCVC, CCVCC combinations and multi-syllabic words in both English and Tagalog. Her phonemic inventory is age-appropriate. She demonstrated Tagalog transfer of phonemes fàp and vàb in English (e.g.,“pried” [fried] and “leabing” [leaving]) when speaking fast; however, these phonemes were observed to be present in TL’s phonemic inventory. Intelligibility for speech was also reported as age-appropriate. She demonstrated Tagalog-accented English productions, reflective of her family’s/community’s productions, but her words and sentences were easily understandable. Overall, her speech development presents as normal.
Language:
Assessment Materials:
- Parent interview
- Narrative assessment (favorite TV show, favorite story)
- Dynamic Assessment (fast mapping)
- Informed clinical opinion
NOTE: Testing materials are not available in standardized form for TL’s bilingual and bicultural background. Use of standard scores would be inaccurate and misleading; therefore, results are presented in descriptive form.
Receptive Language (Language Comprehension):
TL demonstrated age-appropriate/advanced receptive language skills in both English and Tagalog. She followed multi-step location and temporal directions (e.g., “Please turn off the TV behind you after you put away your food in the kitchen, then sit directly in front of the camera”).
She identified the main idea in her favorite story, Goldilocks and the Three Bears (e.g., “Goldilocks trespasses and bad yon* [that’s bad]”), recalled salient/supporting details (e.g., “The Papa Bear’s porridge was too hot, Mama Bear’s was too cold, but Baby Bear’s soup was just right”), and comprehended inferential and predictive questions about the story through answering logically and appropriately (e.g., “Why were the three bears really upset?” “Because someone just got inside their house and ate and used their stuff without permission. I mean, magugustuhan mo ba yon [would you like that]?” “What do you think happened at the end?” “Uhm… Ano*… She never returned because she was so embarrassed and I think she learned her lesson. The three bears should have also learned their lesson and locked the doors so no one can trespass”).
She also answered wh- details and inference questions about her favorite TV show, “Batang Batibot” [bata = kid/child; batibot = small but strong and robust]. She demonstrated the ability to compare and contrast as evidenced by answering, “I like Kapitan Basa more than Koko because he reads a lot like me and he’s really good* but Koko is just funny.” When probed further, she explained that Kapitan Basa (Captain Read) was “good” at solving language problems.
According to Kapantzoglou, Restrepo, & Thompson (2012), use of dynamic assessment can assess how children can learn, instead of measuring what they already know. Fast-mapping and word-learning tasks (i.e., novel word learning through conversation/play about hypothetical situation, and non-word repetition) revealed intact cognitive abilities to process information and respond appropriately to task demands. TL recalled the novel words and associated them with their distinct unfamiliar referent, and she demonstrated the ability to attend to the non-words, process them to be stored in memory, and recall up to four syllables.
TL understood all age-appropriate questions, directions, and statements in both English and Tagalog. She sustained attention during all tasks, and attended to statements and questions directed at her and her parents. Her mother confirmed that she felt TL’s comprehension skills were appropriate for a child her age in their community. Based upon the assessment materials and clinical judgment, receptive skills were within normal limits.
Expressive Language (Language Expression):
TL demonstrated age-appropriate/advanced expressive language skills in both English and Tagalog. She primarily communicated through four- or more utterances in syntactically and semantically appropriate simple and complex sentences in both languages. Her communications are further enhanced by appropriate intonation, prosody, facial expressions, and gestures.
TL’s verbal expression indicated ability to organize, interpret, and integrate information and express it through language in English and Tagalog. When asked about her favorite TV show, TL’s narrative demonstrated story grammar parts, such as characters:
“I love Batang Batibot because it’s funny and really educational. There’s Kuya (big brother) Bodjie, who tells the story, and other real people characters like Ate (big sister) Sienna, the college student, and Kuya Ching, the driver…”
And setting, and resolution, marked with appropriate clausal and prepositional uses:
“They live in Batibot where the characters work together to solve math, science, or English problems caused by Patlang Palit (“phrase switch”) while having fun adventures. First, things are going okay* and then Patlang Palit… ano*, he develops a plan to confuse everyone. So, Kapitan Basa will lead the characters to clues, and all of them have to work together to solve their away [arguments/fights] or else Patlang Palit wins. When they finally work together, they solve the puzzle, and everything turns back to normal.”
*Use of “yon” (that), “ano” (what/well/thing), and vague terms (e.g., “good,” “okay”) is a common language feature of Tagalog. Also, vocabulary choices reflect Tagalog influences, such as use of “got” for “went,” as they are interchangeable in Tagalog-influenced English when referring to “having gone inside a structure/place.”
Her narratives revealed appropriate use of temporal, causal, and reference markers, which improved story cohesion:
Temporal marker: “First she tried Papa Bear’s big bowl of porridge… so then she tried the medium bowl”
Causal marker: “…but she burned her tongue because duh… it was too hot…”
Reference marker: “Goldilocks tried baby bear’s chair, which she liked. She kept rocking it until his chair broke.”
Dynamic assessment (see receptive section) revealed the ability to process novel information and perform appropriately to tasks. TL produced the appropriate novel word (e.g., crink, vose) to refer to its associated referent when speaking, and produced up to four syllables during the nonword task (e.g., ta-bah-chee-naig) [vàb = Tagalog transfer].
Based upon the assessment materials used and informed clinical opinion, TL’s expressive skills appear to be within normal limits.
Summary and Recommendations:
TL is a sequential bilingual English/Tagalog learner, with language dominance in both English and Tagalog. She has equal exposure to English and Tagalog in school and more Tagalog exposure at home from parents and her grandmother. The mother concurred with the results of this evaluation and indicated that TL’s performance was representative of her attitude, behavior, and social and language skills in other settings.
TL’s play skills were functional and reported age-appropriate. She presented as an inquisitive child with a keen interest in making connections.
TL produced all phonemes, including Tagalog-specific phonemes /ŋ, ɱ, and ɲ/. She demonstrated some substitutions of fàp and vàb during fast rate of speech, which are markedly influenced by Tagalog transfer. No concerns for phonological processes or intelligibility are noted.
TL demonstrated age-appropriate comprehension and expression of English and Tagalog. She uses full simple and complex sentences with embedded clauses, and uses appropriate intonation, prosody, facial expressions, and gestures to better communicate her thoughts.
Based upon TL’s current language profile, it is very likely that TL’s receptive and expressive language will continue to develop normally in both languages.
No speech or language therapy is recommended at this time. Parents are encouraged to continue providing a rich language environment.
Annual audiological evaluations are recommended.
References:
Bernthal, J.E., Bankson, N.W., & Flipsen, P. (2009). Articulation and Phonological Disorders. Boston, MA: Pearson, Inc.
Dollaghan, C., & Campbell, T. F. (1998). Nonword Repetition and Child Language Impairment. Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 41(5), 1136.
Hughes, D., McGillivray, L. & Schmidek, M. (1997).Guide to Narrative Language: Procedures for Assessment. Eau Claire, WI: Thinking Publications.
Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 [IDEA] (2004). Retrieved from: http://www.asha.org/Advocacy/federal/idea/IDEA-Part-C-Evaluation-and-Ass…
Kapantzoglou, M., Restrepo, M. A., & Thompson, M. S. (2012). Dynamic assessment of word learning skills: Identifying language impairment in bilingual children. Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools, 43, 81-96.
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Windsor, J., Kohnert, K., Lobitz, K. F., Pham, G.T. (2010). Cross-language nonword repetition by bilingual and monolingual children. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 19, 298-310.
