Cross-language generalization of a trilingual child following phonological therapy

The purpose of this study was to determine whether generalization occurred in a second (L2) and third language (L3) if phonological treatment focused on only the primary language (L1). It was designed to test the hypothesis that the skills attained in phonological therapy given in one language would generalize to the additional two languages of a trilingual child.; A pre-test, post-test single-subject design was utilized. Pre-test data were gathered, phonological intervention was then provided, and the collection of post-testing data followed. Quantitative results pre- and post-test were analyzed utilizing statistical procedures. Data from the study indicated that cross-language generalization failed to occur for L2 and L3 with this subject when phonological therapy was carried out in L1. A quantitative comparison of the differences found between the pre- and post-test scores in each language showed that only L1 changed significantly. The possible factors that contributed to the results were discussed.