A person’s language background plays an essential role in forming his/her cognitive abilities. Thus, there is credible evidence stating that children from bilingual backgrounds might be overidentified with language impairment because of the application of the wrong developmental expectations (Bedore & Pena, 2008). Moreover, the problem might come from the fact that working with bilingual children, educators start assessing them only when the second language skills are learned (Bedore & Pena, 2008). It results in issues with language acquisition and might promote the emergence of primary or specific language impairment. For this reason, there is a need for particular intervention that might help to meet these individuals’ needs and avoid the further deterioration of the situation.
Thus, nonlinguistic cognitive processing might be associated with the discussed problem. Recent research shows the presence of a subtle weakness in nonlinguistic cognitive processing skills in children characterized by primary or specific language impairment (Ebert et al., 2014). It cultivates the emergence of additional difficulties in learning and acquiring the necessary skills. Under these conditions, treatment for this cohort should imply much attention devoted to nonlinguistic cognitive processing (Ebert et al., 2014). It will result in the emergence and cultivation of the skills necessary for working with different languages because of their universal nature. At the same time, it is vital to incorporate cognitive to linguistic transfer goals in the treatment plans. It will guarantee that children will be more focused on applying their basic skills to new learning situations and demonstrate better results. Moreover, it will help to combine various tools and effects to attain the desired goal. In such a way, nonlinguistic cognitive processing plays an important role in treating bilingual children as it helps to avoid addressing a certain language and focus on fundamental aspects.
References
Bedore, L., & Pena, E. (2008). Assessment of bilingual children for identification of language impairment: Current findings and implications for practice.International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11(1), 1-29.
Ebert, K. D., Kohnert, K., Pham, G., Disher, J. R., & Payesteh, B. (2014). Three treatments for bilingual children with primary language impairment: examining cross-linguistic and cross-domain effects. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing research, 57(1), 172–186.