Lexicalization-patterns, the way words are mapped onto concepts, differ from one language      to another. This study investigated the influence of first language (L1) lexicalization patterns on the processing of second language (L2) words in sentential contexts by both less proficient and more proficient Persian learners of English. The focus was on cases where two different senses of a polys...

Dual language children enter school with varying levels of proficiencies in their first and second language. This study of Latino children of immigrants (N = 163) analyzes their dual language profiles at kindergarten and second grade, derived from the direct assessment of Spanish and English proficiencies (Woodcock Language Proficiency Batteries-Revised). Children were grouped based on the simi...

This is an acoustic study of the production of English /l/ by Standard German speakers. Previous research categorized these speakers as either non-proficient or proficient with regard to their phonetic abilities. Coarticulation differences might be one of several reasons for less proficient speakers not to be able to overcome their foreign accent. The pattern of consonantal velarization influen...

BACKGROUND While anticoagulation clinics have been shown to deliver tailored, high-quality care to patients receiving warfarin therapy, communication barriers with limited English proficient (LEP) patients may lead to disparities in anticoagulation outcomes. METHODS AND RESULTS We analyzed data on 3770 patients receiving care from the Massachusetts General Hospital Anticoagulation Management ...

The benefit of publishing research in English is obvious, but so is the problem: authors with a limited knowledge of English find it difficult to compete with their proficient colleagues. In this note, we offer suggestions for improving the English of papers in the biological sciences. The suggestions aim to help authors enhance writing skills, are based on our experiences as language corrector...

HMO enrollees with limited English proficiency, and particularly those in poorer health, face communication barriers despite language assistance regulations. More than 1.3 million California HMO enrollees ages 18 to 64 do not speak English well enough to communicate with medical providers and may experience reduced access to high-quality health care if they do not receive appropriate language a...

BACKGROUND Medical patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) frequently receive health care services of suboptimal quality. METHODS We explored whether clients served with staff interpreters (language-discordant, LDI) receive reproductive health care of lower quality than clients seen by a bilingual clinician (language concordant, LC). We conducted a medical record review of 1,589 repro...