Solutions for the Assessment of Bilinguals

by Gathercole, Virginia C. Mueller

• ISBN13: 9781783090136
• ISBN10: 1783090138
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2013-10-07
• Publisher: Multilingual Matters

Summary

Solutions for the Assessment of Bilinguals presents innovative solutions for the evaluation of language abilities and proficiency in multilingual speakers – and by extension, the evaluation of their cognitive and academic abilities. This volume brings together researchers working in a variety of bilingual settings to discuss critical matters central to the assessment of bilingual children and adults. The studies include typically developing bilingual children, bilingual children who may be at risk for language impairments, bilingual and multilingual children and adults found in classrooms, and second-language learners in childhood and adulthood. The contributions propose a variety of ways of assessing performance and abilities in the face of the multiple issues that complicate the best interpretation of test performance.

Author Biography

Virginia C. Mueller Gathercole is Professor of Linguistics at Florida International University, Professor of Psychology at Bangor University, and until recently acted as Co-Director of the Centre for Research on Bilingualism in Theory and Practice at Bangor University. Her research focuses on monolingual and bilingual language acquisition, especially in relation to semantics, morpho-syntax and assessment, and the acquisition of English, Spanish, and Welsh in Spanish-English, Welsh-English, and Spanish-Welsh bilinguals. Professor Gathercole is an Associate Editor of First Language and has been working in the field for over 30 years.

Table of Contents

1. Virginia C. Mueller Gathercole: Assessment of Bilinguals: Innovative Solutions

2. Fred Genesee, Robert Savage, Caroline Erdos and Corinne Haigh: Identification of Reading Difficulties in Students Schooled in a Second Language

3. Carolyn Ann Letts: What are the Building Blocks for Language Acquisition? Underlying Principles of Assessment for Language Impairment in the Bilingual Context

4. María-José Ezeizabarrena, Julia Barnes, Iñaki García, Andoni Barreña and Margareta Almgren: Using Parental Report Assessment for Bilingual Preschoolers: The Basque Experience

5. Ciara O'Toole: Using Parent Report to Assess Bilingual Vocabulary Acquisition: A Model from Irish

6. Elizabeth D. Peña, Lisa M. Bedore and Christine Fiestas: Development of Bilingual Semantic Norms: Can Two be One?

7. Hans Stadthagen-González, Virginia C. Mueller Gathercole, Rocío Pérez Tattam, Feryal Yavas: Vocabulary Assessment of Bilingual Adults: To Cognate or Not to Cognate

8. Maria Kambanaros, Kleanthes K. Grohmann: Profiling (Specific) Language Impairment in Bilingual Children: Preliminary Evidence from Cyprus

9. Enlli Môn Thomas, Virginia C. Mueller Gathercole and Emma K. Hughes: Sociolinguistic Influences on the Linguistic Achievement of Bilinguals: Issues for the Assessment of Minority Language Competence

10. Eva Rodríguez-González: The Effects of Peer Feedback Practices in Spanish Second Language Writing

11. Erika Hoff: Commentary on Issues in the Assessment of Bilinguals and Solutions for the Assessment of Bilinguals