ISSUES IN 2ND-LANGUAGE PHONOLOGICAL ACQUISITION AMONG CHILDREN AND ADULTS

Communities in the United States have experienced sudden and sometimes sharp demographic shifts created by the growing numbers of culturally and linguistically diverse individuals. Speech clinicians are charact erized as ''gatekeepers'' for language-minority populations with and w ithout disordered speech. This article briefly examines the age-relate d variables (e.g., neurological, cognitive, affective) that affect the acquisition of a second-language phonology. Six critical issues are d iscussed that are related to the unique responsibility for evaluation and intervention suggested hy this role. A variety of instructional st rategies, practical activities, and cross-cultural challenges is provi ded as a resource for teachers and clinicians.