Háblame Bebé: A phone application intervention to support Hispanic children’s early language environments and bilingualism

Abstract

The early language environments of low-income Hispanic children can be negatively affected when their Spanish-speaking caregivers face racism, assimilation pressure, and/or misinformed advice based on English-only ideologies. This article reports on the design and efficacy of Háblame Bebé, a language-promoting phone application that encourages low-income Hispanic mothers to talk more to their children in their native Spanish with the goals of (1) improving their children’s early language environment, (2) promoting bilingualism, and (3) monitoring developmental milestones. The app was designed and tested across three phases as mandated by the US HRSA Bridging the Word Gap Challenge. In Phase I, we developed a curriculum that promotes high-quality language interactions in Spanish and designed the app components. In Phase II, we tested the app with 20 Hispanic mothers (half high school-educated, half college-educated) in a pretest–posttest design in which we examined their language interactions before and after two months of using the app. Preliminary results indicated that mother–child verbal interactions increased, but not always in their native Spanish, and the difference was not statistically significant. Focus group data revealed that many of the mothers had experienced linguistic racism and that tropes surrounding Spanish-speaking identity in the USA needed to be explicitly addressed within the intervention. In Phase III, a sociolinguistic pride component was added and the app was again tested with 12 additional Hispanic mothers (all high school-educated only). This time, a statistically significant increase in mother–child verbal interactions was found. Mothers also reported feeling prouder to use Spanish with their children. These results suggest that Háblame Bebé may be a viable means to reach low-income Hispanic caregivers who face obstacles in accessing health information and/or home-visiting programs for their children.

Captivate! Contextual Language Guidance for Parent-Child Interaction

“…As a result, there are emerging efforts to design parent-directed language intervention and guidance programs tailored to linguistically diverse families [2]. However, technological aids are yet scarce [1]. We see a need for further research on both understanding the use of technology in immigrant families, as well as designing supportive artifacts, and aim to explore both directions in our work.…”

“…Our work also builds upon a broader body of system designs for parenting. While not providing real-time feedback, Háblame Bebé [1] is a recent mobile app that shows promise in teaching parents about the importance of language nutrition and bilingual home environments. MAMAS [35] aids mealtime situations with specialized hardware that tracks the child's eating habits, along with an app for parent reflection.…”

“…Lastly, we also propose a need for exploring multilingual guidance interfaces. Although concerns about subtractive bilingualism pressure many parents to speak to their child only in a lesscomfortable language, this practice is being increasingly discouraged by language development experts [1], including the SLPs we interviewed. We fully support the movement towards multicultural and multilingual homes that can bring unique growing experiences to children.…”

Progress Toward a Multisectoral Community Intervention Approach to Prevention of the Word Gap

“…TWMB consists of (a) educating parents/caregivers about the importance of the early language environment for a child’s developing brain and future education/health outcomes, (b) modeling high-quality language interaction strategies, and (c) coaching parents/caregivers to engage in language-rich interactions with their child. Háblame Bebé (HB): HB ( https://apps.apple.com/us/app/h%C3%A1blame-beb%C3%A9/id1349793334 ) is a language-promoting smartphone application that encourages low-income Hispanic mothers to talk more to their children in their native Spanish with the goals of (a) improving their children’s early language environment, (b) promoting bilingualism, and (c) monitoring developmental milestones (Baralt et al, 2020 ; Baralt & Darcy Mahoney, 2020 ; Larson et al, 2020 ). The Family Read, Play, and Learn Spaces (FRPLS–Laundromat) Intervention: The FRPLS–Laundromat Intervention is an intervention delivered in laundromats ( https://laundrycares.org/family-read-play-learn-space-kits/ ) that uses families’ visits to the laundromat as an opportunity to engage in language-rich activity (Neuman et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Háblame Bebé (HB): HB ( https://apps.apple.com/us/app/h%C3%A1blame-beb%C3%A9/id1349793334 ) is a language-promoting smartphone application that encourages low-income Hispanic mothers to talk more to their children in their native Spanish with the goals of (a) improving their children’s early language environment, (b) promoting bilingualism, and (c) monitoring developmental milestones (Baralt et al, 2020 ; Baralt & Darcy Mahoney, 2020 ; Larson et al, 2020 ).…”