Spring 2023 Upcoming Conferences
The DLL Lab will be at two national conferences this Spring 2023. We are excited to present at the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Biennial Meeting in Salt Lake City, UT (March 23-25) and the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL (April 13-16). Please find the details of our presentations below. We look forward to seeing everyone this Spring!
Saturday, March 25 12:30pm to 1:15pm, Salt Palace Convention Center, Hall A-B, Board #85
Sawyer, B., Gross, Y., Hammer, C.S., Smith, J.C., & Santoro, J. (2023, March 23-25). Parents Plus: Effects of a parent-implemented intervention on children’s language and parent responsivity [Poster session]. Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT.
Nearly 1 million preschoolers in the U.S. have a disability, and the largest percentage (40%) are diagnosed with developmental language disorders (DLD; Hussar et al., 2020). Because early language skills are related to school readiness and later academic success (e.g., Justice et al., 2015), it is imperative that these children receive early intervention. However, logistical barriers often prevent speech-language pathologists from meaningfully involving parents in their preschool children’s services. As such, language learning opportunities are lost. When parents receive training on how to support their preschool children’s language development, children’s language outcomes improve (e.g., Girolametto et al., 2007; Roberts et al., 2019). Additionally, training parents has led to increases in their levels of responsivity with their children (Yoder & Warren, 2002). To provide accessible parent training, we developed Parents Plus, an online intervention which consists of (a) training modules (via an app) that teach parents to use focused stimulation (FS), an evidence-based language stimulation strategy (e.g., Smith-Lock et al., 2013), (b) parent implementation of FS during typical activities; and (c) remote practice-based coaching.
This session addresses two research questions:
- Do children whose parents use Parents Plus develop more advanced morphosyntactic and vocabulary skills compared to children in the control condition?
- Are parents who use Parents Plus more responsive to their children compared to parents in the control condition?
We conducted a randomized-controlled trial where 31 parent-child dyads were randomly assigned to control (n = 15) or intervention (n = 16) conditions. All children had DLD, with a mean age of 48 months (SD: 7.8 months). At pre-, post-test, and follow-up (3 months after post), children’s language skills were assessed using the Core Language Index of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-P2 (CELF-P2), the Test of Early Grammatical Impairment (TEGI), and play-based conversational language samples. Based on TEGI and language sample data, we created a morphosyntactic composite variable that indicates a child’s percent accuracy of targeted forms (e.g., pronouns, past tense, auxiliary/copula be). Language samples were also coded to calculate the number of different words spoken (NDW), a measure of vocabulary diversity. Additionally, parents and children were recorded playing at these time points. Videos were coded for parents’ responsivity, namely positive regard and sensitivity (1=very low to 7 =very high). No significant differences existed between condition for any variables at pre-test.
ANCOVA analyses revealed no significant treatment effect for children’s language skills at post-test or follow-up when controlling for pre-test scores, which was not unexpected given the small sample’s lack of power. Yet, effect size estimates uniformly favored Parents Plus over control (with small to large effects). For parent responsivity, we found a significant treatment effect for sensitivity at follow-up when controlling for pre-test scores (F (1, 26) =4.49, p= .046); no significant effects were found for positive regard. In sum, results indicate that Parents Plus is demonstrating promise for improving language outcomes for children with DLD and parent responsivity.
Saturday, March 25 2:30pm to 3:15pm, Salt Palace Convention Center, Hall A-B, Board #21
Smith, J.C. & Hammer, C.S. (2023, March 23-25). Exploring subgroups of preschool academic ability: A strengths-based perspective of bilingual development [Poster session]. Society for Research in Child Development Biennial Meeting, Salt Lake City, UT.
Preschool is a critical period for establishing early academic skills that support children’s literacy and math development (Weiland & Yoshikawa, 2013). Almost a third of U.S. preschoolers are dual language learners (DLL), with the majority (60%) being Spanish-English learners (Park et al., 2018). Research has established that Spanish-English DLLs are a highly heterogeneous population (Park et al., 2018); during preschool their academic development is highly variable and often uneven across skills and languages (Hammer et al., 2014; Oller & Eilers, 2002). Studies that group DLLs into a monolithic population or analyze their abilities in terms of the difference from monolingual norms can perpetuate deficit perspectives of bilingualism and obscure variation that may be consequential for their academic success (Soto-Boykin et al., 2021; Halpin et al., 2021; Escobar & Tamis-Lemonda, 2017). More systematic investigation of variability in academic development within Spanish-English DLLs is needed to shift research towards a strength-based perspective of DLLs and inform linguistically responsive and inclusive educational practices (Marian & Hayakawa, 2020; Espinosa, 2015).
Latent profile analysis (LPA) is useful for examining variability in academic ability within populations (Ferguson et al., 2020). LPA measures both inter- and intra-individual variation across multiple indicators, which can reveal subgroups based on patterns of characteristics (Vermut & Magidson, 2002; Collins & Lanza, 2010). Previous studies have classified preschool DLLs into several academic profiles with distinct patterns of variability across languages and skills (Halpin et al., 2021; López & Foster, 2021). However, DLLs’ academic profiles have not been studied longitudinally, so it remains unclear whether a child’s profile is indicative of their development over time.
The current study investigated academic profiles of preschool Spanish-English DLLs and their stability from fall to spring in the year before kindergarten entry. Participants included 354 Latino DLLs with a mean age of 54 months (SD=4.9 months). All children were typically developing with no parent or teacher concerns, received English-only instruction in preschool, and came from low-income homes in which Spanish was a primary language. Two LPAs were conducted to create Fall and Spring profiles using children’s Spanish and English vocabulary, grammar, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and early numeracy scores. A multiple-group LPA and latent transition analysis (LTA) are underway and will examine changes in profile size, measurement, and children’s profile membership from Fall to Spring.
Results from the cross-sectional LPAs indicated that the number and characteristics of DLL profiles were similar in the Fall and Spring. At each time point, children fell into four profiles with unique patterns of abilities within and across languages. Preliminary comparisons between Fall and Spring profiles suggested that differences between profiles were generally stable. Within profiles, variability across languages and skills decreased, reflecting an overall decline in Spanish language skills. Results from the multiple-group LPA and LTA will further assess changes in profile structure and composition over time. Implications for early childhood educators and researchers who work with diverse populations will be discussed, with a focus on understanding variability within groups and individuals.
Fri, April 14, 11:40am to 1:10pm CDT (12:40 to 2:10pm EDT), Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park, Floor: B2 Level, Imperial Ballroom
Sawyer, B., Hindman, A.H., Hammer, C.S., Santoro, J., & Smith, J.C. (2023, April 13-16). Teaching parents to promote young children's language skills with Parents Plus. In K. Villanueva (Chair), Making meaning from assessment data and teachers' beliefs [Symposium]. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
Close to one million preschoolers in the U.S. have a developmental language disorder. Early intervention is critical because early language skills are related to school readiness and later academic success. Parents are commonly an invaluable, untapped resource who want to promote their children’s language development. This session presents an overview of Parents Plus, an iteratively developed online training program for parents to assist children with their language skills. We will present findings from a pilot RCT where we assessed children’s language outcomes at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and follow-up. Additionally, we will present findings on the usability and feasibility of Parents Plus.
Fri, May 5, 4:15 to 5:45pm CDT (5:15 to 6:45pm EDT), SIG Virtual Rooms, Bilingual Education Research SIG Virtual Session Room
Smith, J.C. & Hammer, C.S. (2023, May 5-6). Exploring within-group variation in dual language learners' preschool development and their families' language and literacy practices. In R. Luo (Chair), Dual language learners' language and literacy experiences in culturally and linguistically diverse global contexts [Virtual symposium]. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL.
Preschool is a critical period for developing the oral language and early literacy skills underlying children’s school readiness (Weiland & Yoshikawa, 2013). Approximately 32% of preschool-aged children in the United States are dual language learners (DLL), and the majority (60%) of preschool DLLs come from Spanish-speaking homes (Park et al., 2018). Research has established that DLLs’ development in Spanish and English varies significantly depending on their language exposure, language use, and home literacy environment (Hammer et al., 2014). Understanding within-group variation in children’s language and literacy experiences at home is critical for supporting academic development in heterogenous populations of DLLs.
A growing number of studies have used latent profile analyses (LPA) to distinguish subgroups of preschool DLLs based on variation in patterns of oral language and early literacy abilities within and across individual children (e.g., López & Foster, 2021; Lonigan et al., 2017). Family language and literacy practices in Spanish and English may differentiate profiles of oral language and early literacy in preschool DLLs (e.g., Hoff et al., 2021; Halpin et al., 2021; Gonzalez et al., 2016). However, there also appears to be substantial variation in the language and literacy practices within families (e.g., López et al., 2020; Lewis et al., 2016). The impact of language exposure, child language use, and mother-child literacy activities on preschool development appears to vary across family members and types of literacy activities, respectively (e.g., Bitetti & Hammer, 2016; Branum-Martin et al., 2014).
The current study uses LPA to investigate whether within-family variation in preschool DLLs’ Spanish and English experiences in the home is related to their profiles of bilingual development during preschool. Specifically, this study describes subgroups of preschool DLLs based on variation in patterns of Spanish and English oral language and early literacy abilities within and across individual children. Additionally, this study explores subgroups of DLLs’ families based on variation in patterns of Spanish and English language exposure, child language use, and mother-child literacy activities within and across individual families. Finally, this study investigates the relationship between family and child profiles to generate a comprehensive description of the relationship between preschool DLLs’ Spanish and English development and their families’ language and literacy practices.
A sample of 354 preschoolers and their caregivers were included. Children’s syntax, vocabulary, phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and verbal reasoning abilities were assessed in Spanish and English the Spring before kindergarten entry. Caregivers reported demographics and the amount of Spanish and English language exposure and child language use across different family members and different literacy activities. Four profiles of preschoolers’ bilingual development emerged, characterized by balance of abilities across languages and relative ability across skills. Three family profiles emerged, characterized by patterns in language exposure and child language use across family members and across different mother-child literacy activities. Family profiles differentiated preschoolers’ profiles of bilingual development. Findings will be discussed with a focus on the importance of understanding within-group variation in diverse populations.