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Bilingual Skill Acquisition Approaches within Applied Behavior
Analysis: Review of Research and Future Directions
Jacqueline Ramirez and Jonathan Tarbox
Master of Science in Applied Behavior Analysis Program
http://dornsife.usc.edu/aba
Department of Psychology
Introduction
•Recent census: among the 291.5 million people
aged 5 or older in the United States, 21% speak
a language other than English at home
•There is a lack of culturally/linguistically
sensitive research in the field of ABA.
•Discouraging bilingualism may lead to:
- a loss of cultural identity
- emotional distance (Parent/Family)
Purpose
•Review existing studies and recommendations
for future research
•Review proposed practice recommendations
Mainstream Research on Bilingualism
•Little to no evidence suggesting bilingual
exposure causes further language delays
•Learning language in a second language is
facilitated by intervention in the child’s first
language or in a bilingual setting for typically
developing children
•children with language impairments can use
skills developed in one language to facilitate the
learning of skills in another language
Future Research
•Replications are needed across age groups, diagnosis
and ethnicities
•Advance understanding of dual language
development/culture variables that may influence
verbal behavior (Broadhead 2014)
•Extend research cross-culturally and cross
Linguistically in order to enhance generality
(Broadhead 2014)
•More studies are needed to compare English only to
Bilingual interventions
-Language Development
-Challenging behaviors
-Social Validity
Practice Recommendations
(Broadhead 2014)
•Consider the clients natural environment to
increase the likelihood of contacting reinforcement
Fong et al. (2016)
•Consider the Language of Assessment in all
phases of assessment and treatment
Fong & Tanaka (2013)
•Behavior Analyst shall seek to provide or
advocate for the provision of information, referrals
and services in the language appropriate to the client
which may include interpreters.
Author
Year
Title
Results
Rosales,
Rehfeldt
&
Lovett
2011
Effects of MET on
the Emergence of
Derived Relations
in Preschool
Children learning
a Second
Language
Participants
engaged in novel
untrained
responses of tact
relations.
Lang, Et al.
2011
Effects of
Language of
Instruction on
Response
Accuracy and
Challenging
Behavior in a
Child with Autism
Spanish condition
produced more
accuracy and less
stereotypy.
Rispoli
,
O’Reilly, Lang,
& Singer
2011
Effects of
Language of
Implementation
on Functional
Analysis
Outcomes
Results suggest
language of
implementation
may influence
overall levels of
challenging
behavior.
Aguilar, Chan,
White &
Fragale
2017
Assessment of
Language
Preferences of 5
Children with
ASD from Spanish
Speaking Homes
All Participants
showed
preference of
native language
under the
difficult task
condition.
Lim & Charlop
2018
Effects of English
versus Heritage
Language on Play
in Bilingually
Exposed Children
With Autism
Spectrum
Disorder
All participants
showed increase
in play behaviors
in heritage
language that
generalized to
English condition.
USCDornsife
College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences