Processamento fonológico e leitura em crianças com dificuldade de aprendizagem de escolas bilíngues português-inglês: relatos de casos

Abstract

Although the concept of bilingualism is still much discussed in the literature, it is considered a bilingual subject one who speaks two distinct languages fluently. It is believed that the acquisition of a new language may have positive influences on the language skills of the mother tongue. However, when we consider this context in children with learning disabilities, deficits in the first language may be transferred to second language learning. However, there is a need for further studies addressing bilingualism and its influence on language skills in bilingual children under these circumstances. The present study aimed to characterize the performance in phonological processing and reading in three children with learning disabilities from bilingual Portuguese-English schools. Clinical history and phonological awareness skills, rapid automatic naming, phonological working memory and reading of 8 to 9 year old students attending the 2nd and 3rd year of elementary school were presented; all with at least two years of exposure to bilingual school, especially in literacy. In the evaluation, the protocols CONFIAS, Phonological Working Memory, TENA, RAN and Reading Comprehension Protocol of Expository Texts were applied. The subjects presented underperforming performance in phonological processing skills, difficulties in fluency of oral reading, as well as reading comprehension. These results may contribute to a differential diagnosis of possible school disorder or difficulty, as well as clinical and educational implications for these children.