Keywords
Mazes, dual language learners, spanish-english, bilingual, narratives
Abstract
ABSTRACTThe number of Spanish-English dual language learners (DLLs) in the United States continues toincrease every year. In the absence of developmental language norms for DLLs it is importantto learn more about typical language production characteristics to distinguish typical fromatypical language characteristics. An area of language production with conflicting results inthe literature is the production of mazes. Mazes are interruptions in the forward flow oflanguage in the form of interjections, repairs or revisions of words and phrases. At elevatedrates, mazes may interrupt the communication process. A common practice in classroomsettings is to provide support for DLLs through small group activities such as languageenrichment. It is unknown if maze patterns may change as a result of structured languageinput meant to increase linguistic skills. This preliminary case study explored maze patternsin four Spanish-English DLLs between the ages of 5;4 and 6;1 before and after twostructured language enrichment sessions in English. Pretest and posttest narratives inEnglish and Spanish were analyzed for maze patterns and measures of languageproductivity using conventional language sample analysis metrics. Maze patterns yieldedmixed results. Certain maze types increased from pre to posttest while some decreased.Participants exhibited increases in measures of language productivity in English andSpanish. Language productivity and maze patterns demonstrated changes after twostructured language enrichment sessions. Implications for further study of maze patterns inSpanish-English DLLs are discussed.
Original Publication Citation
Taliancich-Klinger, C.L., Summers, C., & Greene K.J. (2022). Mazes in Spanish English dual language learners after language enrichment: A case study. Speech, Language and Hearing. 25(3), 269-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/2050571X.2021.1877049
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Summers, Connie; Taliancich-Klinger, Casey L.; and Greene, Kai J., "Mazes in Spanish-English dual language learners after language enrichment: a case study" (2022). Faculty Publications. 7305.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/facpub/7305
Document Type
Peer-Reviewed Article
Publication Date
2022
Publisher
Taylor and Francis Group
Language
English
College
David O. McKay School of Education
Department
Communication Disorders
Copyright Status
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