Articulation Assessment in Bilingual Children Raised in Polish-American Environment

Abstract

The following article presents a diagnostic procedure and describes articulation errors typical for bilingual children growing up in Polish-American families. It discusses the assessment process of bilingual children raised in multilingual and multicultural environment, for whom Polish is not a dominant language of daily use. The article aims at suggesting the diagnostic procedure based on multiple case study and describing each step of the assessment process (including presentation of the diagnostic tools available in Poland and the U.S.), as well as the diagnosis and therapy plan. In order to broaden the understanding of phonetic and phonological interference in bilingual students’ speech, the article describes and compares briefly the phonetic and phonological systems of Polish and American English. Through a detailed analysis of two case studies, it describes the possible diagnostic and therapeutic paths in the speech therapy of bilingual children raised in Polish-American environment.