In 2010–2011 in the United
States, 4.7 million school-age children (10% of school-age
population) were ELLs (National Center for Education
Statistics, 2013). Further, in Canada (the country of origin
for the participants in this study), there are over 320,000
children ages 5 to 9 who speak a language other than English
or French (over 17% of this age group; Statistics Canada,
2007). The purpose of this study was to examine English
phonological abilities over time in ELLs from a variety
of first-language backgrounds. In contrast to the number
of studies focused on the phonological development of
monolingual children, there have been relatively few studies
examining the phonological skills of ELLs. Thus,
speech-language pathologists (SLPs) do not always have
the information needed to properly identify speech sound
disorders in ELLs. Without reliable developmental information,
ELLs are at a disadvantage when it comes
to assessment and intervention.