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Libersky E, Slawny C, Kaushanskaya M. Effects of dual- and single-language exposure on children's word learning: Experimentally testing the role of competition. J Exp Child Psychol 2024; 244:105953. [PMID: 38714153 PMCID: PMC11227099 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2024.105953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 05/09/2024]
Abstract
This study investigated the role of dual- and single-language input in bilingual children's word learning. In Experiment 1, 26 Spanish-English bilingual children aged 4 and 5 years (9 girls; 73% Latino; 65% White) learned novel words in single- and dual-language conditions. In the single-language condition, children learned English-like labels for novel objects. In the dual-language condition, the same children learned Spanish- and English-like labels for a different set of objects; all labels were produced by the same bilingual speaker, creating competition between the two languages. A second group of bilingual children (N = 25; 14 girls; 72% Latino; 40% White) participated in Experiment 2, which tested whether tagging language by speaker in the dual-language condition (mimicking the one person-one language input strategy) would influence performance. In both experiments, participants learned novel English words above chance (ps < .05) in both conditions, with better performance in the single-language condition. These results indicate an advantage for single-language learning contexts, but the theoretical roots and the practical value of this advantage are unclear.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Libersky
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA.
| | - Caitlyn Slawny
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
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Pérez-Navarro J, Klimovich-Gray A, Lizarazu M, Piazza G, Molinaro N, Lallier M. Early language experience modulates the tradeoff between acoustic-temporal and lexico-semantic cortical tracking of speech. iScience 2024; 27:110247. [PMID: 39006483 PMCID: PMC11246002 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110247] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2023] [Revised: 03/14/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Cortical tracking of speech is relevant for the development of speech perception skills. However, no study to date has explored whether and how cortical tracking of speech is shaped by accumulated language experience, the central question of this study. In 35 bilingual children (6-year-old) with considerably bigger experience in one language, we collected electroencephalography data while they listened to continuous speech in their two languages. Cortical tracking of speech was assessed at acoustic-temporal and lexico-semantic levels. Children showed more robust acoustic-temporal tracking in the least experienced language, and more sensitive cortical tracking of semantic information in the most experienced language. Additionally, and only for the most experienced language, acoustic-temporal tracking was specifically linked to phonological abilities, and lexico-semantic tracking to vocabulary knowledge. Our results indicate that accumulated linguistic experience is a relevant maturational factor for the cortical tracking of speech at different levels during early language acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose Pérez-Navarro
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
| | | | - Mikel Lizarazu
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Giorgio Piazza
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Nicola Molinaro
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
- Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science, 48009 Bilbao, Spain
| | - Marie Lallier
- Basque Center on Cognition, Brain and Language (BCBL), 20009 Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
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Huang W, Weinert S, Volodina A. Relations between early majority language and socioemotional development in children with different language backgrounds. Child Dev 2024; 95:895-912. [PMID: 38041231 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.14040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 10/04/2023] [Accepted: 10/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/03/2023]
Abstract
This study explored whether the directionality of the relation between majority language and various facets of socioemotional development (three to 5 years old) differs between children with different language backgrounds. 12,951 children (49% girls; 85% White, 6% Pakistani and Bangladeshi, 3% Black, 3% Mix, 2% Indian) from the British Millennium Cohort Study (2001-2006) were included in two-time-point cross-lagged analyses. Models controlling for important covariates found a bidirectional association for monolinguals (βs = .05, -.07, -.04), a unidirectional effect of majority language on socioemotional difficulties for dual language learners (DLLs) speaking English and minority language(s) at home (β = .14), and a unidirectional effect of socioemotional strength on majority language for DLLs speaking only minority language(s) at home (β = -.17).
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Huang
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
- Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories, Bamberg, Germany
| | - Sabine Weinert
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
| | - Anna Volodina
- Institute for Educational Quality Improvement, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Fridman C, Livni A, Bar On S, Meir N. Modeling lexical abilities of heritage language and L2 speakers of Hebrew and English in Israel and the United States: a network approach. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1331801. [PMID: 38778883 PMCID: PMC11110673 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1331801] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction This paper examines the productive vocabulary skills of five groups of English-Hebrew bilinguals in Israel and the United States. The juxtaposition of these five groups allows us to simultaneously compare performance across dominance profiles, acquisition contexts (L2 learned in school, HL maintained at home, immigration and immersion), and countries (Israel and the USA). Methods A total of 185 participants took part in study: Hebrew-dominant heritage English speakers, Hebrew-dominant L2-English speakers, English-dominant heritage Hebrew speakers, and English-dominant L2-Hebrew speakers in the US and in Israel. They were all administered the MINT assessment in both languages, as well as background questionnaires. We then employ network modeling based on a secondary data analysis of background questionnaires to consider how each group's lexical proficiency ties in to reported input factors. Results and discussion The MINT results indicate clear language dominance in all the groups except Hebrew-dominant heritage English speakers, who show balanced proficiency in both their languages. The network models indicate key distinctions between the groups as a function of linguistic context, and we assess our findings in the context of recent work on quantifying the bilingual experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara Fridman
- Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Adina Livni
- Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Sagit Bar On
- Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Natalia Meir
- Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
- Leslie and Susan Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
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Durant K, Jarmulowicz L, Harrell-Williams L. Spanish Phonological Awareness in Kindergarten Uniquely Supports Second-Grade English Morphological Awareness in Spanish-English Dual Language Learners. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 2024; 55:85-104. [PMID: 38010339 PMCID: PMC11001188 DOI: 10.1044/2023_lshss-23-00027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE This study investigated the longitudinal, cross-linguistic developmental relationships of phonological awareness (PA), letter identification (letter ID), and morphological awareness (MA) in 71 heritage Spanish-English dual language learners (DLLs) in kindergarten and second grade. METHOD Multiple linear regression was used to test if kindergarten Spanish and English PA (sound elision and sound matching) and letter ID significantly predicted later English MA (oral derived word stress judgment, oral derivational morpheme blending, written derived word decomposition, and morphologically complex word spelling) performance in second grade. RESULTS Cross-linguistically, the PA skill of sound matching in kindergarten was the most reliable predictor of MA in second grade for Spanish-English DLLs. Spanish PA explained the majority of variation in oral MA skills in English. English PA was only uniquely predictive of written MA skills in English. CONCLUSIONS Both the cognitive operation of sound sequence manipulation in PA (elision or matching) and the modality of morpheme representation in MA (oral or written) appear to mediate the transfer of metalinguistic knowledge in Spanish-English DLL development in early elementary school. Results are discussed within the context of classroom practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen Durant
- Speech Pathology and Audiology Program, Kent State University, OH
| | - Linda Jarmulowicz
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Memphis, TN
| | - Leigh Harrell-Williams
- Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology and Research, The University of Memphis, TN
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Bergelson E, Soderstrom M, Schwarz IC, Rowland CF, Ramírez-Esparza N, R. Hamrick L, Marklund E, Kalashnikova M, Guez A, Casillas M, Benetti L, van Alphen P, Cristia A. Everyday language input and production in 1,001 children from six continents. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2300671120. [PMID: 38085754 PMCID: PMC10756310 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2300671120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Language is a universal human ability, acquired readily by young children, who otherwise struggle with many basics of survival. And yet, language ability is variable across individuals. Naturalistic and experimental observations suggest that children's linguistic skills vary with factors like socioeconomic status and children's gender. But which factors really influence children's day-to-day language use? Here, we leverage speech technology in a big-data approach to report on a unique cross-cultural and diverse data set: >2,500 d-long, child-centered audio-recordings of 1,001 2- to 48-mo-olds from 12 countries spanning six continents across urban, farmer-forager, and subsistence-farming contexts. As expected, age and language-relevant clinical risks and diagnoses predicted how much speech (and speech-like vocalization) children produced. Critically, so too did adult talk in children's environments: Children who heard more talk from adults produced more speech. In contrast to previous conclusions based on more limited sampling methods and a different set of language proxies, socioeconomic status (operationalized as maternal education) was not significantly associated with children's productions over the first 4 y of life, and neither were gender or multilingualism. These findings from large-scale naturalistic data advance our understanding of which factors are robust predictors of variability in the speech behaviors of young learners in a wide range of everyday contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elika Bergelson
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA02138, United Kingdom
| | | | - Iris-Corinna Schwarz
- Department of Linguistics, Stockholm University, StockholmSE-106 91, Sweden
- Department of Special Education, Stockholm University, StockholmSE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Caroline F. Rowland
- Language Development Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen6525 XD, Netherlands
- Donders Centre for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen6525 XZ, Netherlands
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian National University, ACT2601, Australia
| | | | - Lisa R. Hamrick
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN47907
| | - Ellen Marklund
- Department of Linguistics, Stockholm University, StockholmSE-106 91, Sweden
| | - Marina Kalashnikova
- Basque Center on Cognition Brain and Language, Donostia-San Sebastian20009, Spain
- Ikerbasque - Basque Foundation of Science, Bilbao48009, Spain
| | - Ava Guez
- Départment d’études Cognitives, École normale supérieure, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSL University, Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Paris75005, France
| | - Marisa Casillas
- Language Development Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, Nijmegen6525 XD, Netherlands
- Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language, Australian National University, ACT2601, Australia
- Comparative Human Development Department, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL60637
| | - Lucia Benetti
- School of Music, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH43210
| | | | - Alejandrina Cristia
- Départment d’études Cognitives, École normale supérieure, École des hautes études en sciences sociales, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSL University, Laboratoire de Sciences Cognitives et Psycholinguistique, Paris75005, France
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Peña ED, Bedore LM, Vargas AG. Exploring Assumptions of the Bilingual Delay in Children With and Without Developmental Language Disorder. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2023; 66:4739-4755. [PMID: 37656012 DOI: 10.1044/2023_jslhr-23-00117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Bilingual children are both over- and under-identified with developmental language disorder (DLD). We propose that this may be a function of monolingual approaches that fail to consider the dynamic nature of bilingualism as well as assumptions of bilingual delay. We explored the extent to which bilingual children with and without DLD demonstrated mixed dominance as a function of exposure to English. We document patterns of performance in bilingual children with and without DLD on the Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment or Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment-Middle Extension in Spanish, English, and their best language scores. METHOD A total of 595 (100 with DLD) Spanish-English bilingual children between the ages of 5 and 12 years were included in the analyses. We employed logistic regression to evaluate the probability of demonstrating mixed dominance across semantics and morphosyntax in Spanish and English by ability status. We then evaluated the association between English exposure and performance in Spanish, English, and the best language on semantics and morphosyntax measures. RESULTS There were similar typically developing and DLD probabilities of Spanish or English dominance associated with high degrees of Spanish and English exposure. Mixed dominance was associated with both ability and exposure. Children with DLD demonstrated more mixed dominance from 0% to 60% English exposure. The patterns of mixed dominance were similar by ability when they had more than 60% exposure to English. There were significant associations between single language testing in Spanish and English with percentage of exposure for children with and without DLD. When the best score (comparing English and Spanish) was used, there were no significant associations with exposure for semantics or morphosyntax. CONCLUSIONS These results inform researchers and clinicians about the nature of bilingual proficiency in children with and without DLD. Mixed dominance was observed in both groups but with different patterns at lower levels of English exposure in children with and without DLD. We also see that when children's best score is considered, all differences in performance along the bilingual continuum are related to ability not language exposure. This has implications for how to consider children's language test scores in making clinical decisions about bilingual children. PRESENTATION VIDEO https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.23929470.
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Kaushanskaya M. Combining Languages in Bilingual Input: Using Experimental Evidence to Formulate Bilingual Exposure Strategies. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2023; 66:4771-4784. [PMID: 37732839 DOI: 10.1044/2023_jslhr-23-00181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/22/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Traditional approaches to studying bilingual language development through bilingual-monolingual comparisons are deeply flawed. They are also insufficient as the evidence base for informing advice to bilingual parents regarding the optimal bilingual exposure strategy and for supporting the formulation of bilingual intervention approaches. The purpose of this review article is to provide an overview of empirical studies that have queried the question of how different types of dual-language input shape learning and language outcomes in bilingual children. METHOD We rely on tightly controlled experimental studies of word learning in Spanish-English bilingual children, where we contrast children's learning in dual-language conditions (defined as distributed exposure and code-switched input) to a single-language condition in a within-subjects design. RESULTS Word-learning studies querying the role of distributed exposure indicated that distribution of exposures across Spanish and English reduced children's performance in comparison to English-only exposure. However, this effect was rooted in the abrupt switch from Spanish to English rather than distributed exposure itself. In contrast, an experiment designed to test the role of code-switched context on children's word learning revealed that code-switched context where switches resembled naturalistic code-switching behaviors enhanced learning in Spanish-English bilingual children. Notably, across different studies, children with weaker language skills (developmental language disorder) were no more affected by dual-language input than children with typical language skills. CONCLUSIONS Together, experimental studies of word learning indicate that bilingual children can effectively learn from dual-language input but that different ways of combining languages in the input to bilingual children can have distinct consequences for learning. Ultimately, word-learning experiments, beyond answering critical questions regarding bilingual learning, can serve as an effective bridge between laboratory-based work and intervention studies whose goal it is to discover the optimal way of combining languages in the input to bilingual children with communication impairments. PRESENTATION VIDEO https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.23929515.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margarita Kaushanskaya
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison
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9
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Balilah AMA, Archibald LMD, Said FFS. Heritage language learners of English: Linguistic gaps and cognitive strengths. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2023; 25:873-884. [PMID: 36436028 DOI: 10.1080/17549507.2022.2141322] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study examined whether Heritage Language Learners (HLLs) of English display profile effects in their performance on knowledge- and processing-dependent measures relative to the standardised mean scores of monolingual speakers. The study also investigated the influence of several experiential factors on HLL performance. METHOD Participants were 59 Arabic-speaking HLLs from six to nine years old. The children completed a battery of linguistic tests in their L1 and L2, as well as cognitive measures of short-term and working memory and non-verbal intelligence. RESULT Significantly lower standardised scores were observed for HLLs as compared to the standardised mean scores on all Arabic/English language tasks except L2 word reading. HLLs scored at or above age-level expectations on cognitive measures except the Arabic nonword repetition task. Stepwise regression analyses examining variance in HLLs' performance, age and richness of environment consistently explained HLLs' performance in L1 Arabic, but different factors accounted for HLLs' performance in English depending on the task. Age was the only variable that consistently explained variance in performance on the cognitive measures. CONCLUSION The results suggest that processing-dependent measures may be less sensitive to difference in language experience than traditional knowledge-based measures such as standardised measures of language and vocabulary.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lisa M D Archibald
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
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Hjetland HN, Hofslundsengen H, Klem M, Karlsen J, Hagen ÅM, Engevik LI, Geva E, Norbury C, Monsrud MB, Næss KAB. Vocabulary interventions for second language (L2) learners up to six years of age. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2023; 8:CD014890. [PMID: 37531583 PMCID: PMC10396328 DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd014890.pub2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Second language (L2) learners are a heterogeneous group. Their L2 skills are highly varied due to internal factors (e.g. cognitive development) and external factors (e.g. cultural and linguistic contexts). As a group, their L2 vocabulary skills appear to be lower than their monolingual peers. This pattern tends to persist over time and may have negative consequences for social interaction and inclusion, learning, and academic achievement. OBJECTIVES To examine the immediate and long-term effects of second language (L2) vocabulary interventions targeting L2 learners up to six years of age on vocabulary and social-emotional well-being. To examine the associations between L2 vocabulary interventions and the general characteristics of L2 learners (e.g. age, L2 exposure, and L1 skills). SEARCH METHODS We used standard, extensive Cochrane search methods. The latest search date was December 2022. SELECTION CRITERIA We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effects of vocabulary interventions for L2 learners up to six years of age with standard care. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Our primary outcomes were 1. receptive and 2. expressive L2 vocabulary (both proximal and distal), and 3. mean length of utterance (MLU; which is a measure of potential adverse effects). Our secondary outcomes were 4. L2 narrative skills, 5. L1 receptive vocabulary (both proximal and distal), 6. L1 expressive vocabulary (both proximal and distal), 7. L1 listening comprehension, 8. L2 grammatical knowledge, 9. L2 reading comprehension (long-term), and 10. socio-emotional well-being (measured with Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire). MAIN RESULTS We found 12 studies involving 1943 participants. Two studies were conducted in Norway, seven in the USA, and single studies conducted in Canada, China, and the Netherlands. Ten studies were conducted in preschool settings, with a preschool teacher being the most common delivery agent for the intervention. The interventions were mainly organised as small-group sessions, with three or four children per group. The mean dosage per week was 80 minutes and ranged from 24 to 120 minutes. The studies commonly applied shared book reading (reading aloud with the children), with target words embedded in the books. Standard care differed based on the setting and local conditions in each country or (pre)school. In some studies, the comparison groups received vocabulary instruction in preschool groups. Compared to standard care, the effect of L2 vocabulary interventions varied across outcome measures. For vocabulary measures including words that were taught in the intervention (proximal outcome measures), the intervention effects were large for both receptive L2 vocabulary (i.e. understanding of words; standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.64 to 1.30; 4 studies, 1973 participants; very low-certainty evidence) and expressive L2 vocabulary (i.e. expressing or producing words; SMD 0.86, 95% CI 0.56 to 1.17; 6 studies, 1121 participants; very low-certainty evidence). However, due to some concerns in the overall risk of bias assessment, substantial heterogeneity, and wide CIs, we have limited confidence in these results. For language measures that did not include taught vocabulary (distal outcome measures), the intervention effects were small for receptive vocabulary (SMD 0.29, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.55; 6 studies, 1074 participants; low-certainty evidence) and probably made little to no difference to expressive vocabulary (SMD 0.10, 95% CI -0.02 to 0.23; 7 studies, 960 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). There was little to no intervention effect on L2 listening comprehension (SMD 0.19, 95% CI -0.31 to 0.68; 2 studies, 294 participants; very low-certainty evidence), but the evidence was uncertain, and the interventions probably increased L2 narrative skills slightly (SMD 0.37, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.59; 2 studies, 487 participants; moderate-certainty evidence). Only one study reported data on MLU, and we were unable to examine the effect of intervention on this outcome. The level of certainty of the evidence was downgraded mainly due to inconsistency and imprecision. We were unable to draw conclusions about socio-emotional well-being, or conduct the planned subgroup analyses to examine the second objective, due to lack of data. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS Findings from this review suggest that, compared to standard care, vocabulary interventions may benefit children's L2 vocabulary learning but have little to no effect on their listening comprehension, though the evidence is uncertain. Vocabulary interventions probably improve the children's storytelling skills slightly. Due to the limited number of studies that met our inclusion criteria and the very low- to moderate-certainty evidence as a result of inconsistency and imprecision, implications for practice should be considered with caution. This review highlights the need for more high-quality trials (e.g. RCTs) of vocabulary interventions for L2 learners, particularly studies of learners outside the USA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanne Næss Hjetland
- Department of Special Needs Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Early Childhood Education, Oslo Metropolitan University, Oslo, Norway
| | - Hilde Hofslundsengen
- Department of Language, Literature, Mathematics and Interpreting, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Sogndal, Norway
| | - Marianne Klem
- Department of Speech and Language Disorders, Statped, Oslo, Norway
| | - Jannicke Karlsen
- Department of Speech and Language Disorders, Statped, Oslo, Norway
| | - Åste M Hagen
- Department of Special Needs Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Liv Inger Engevik
- Department of Pedagogy, Religion and Social Studies, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Bergen, Norway
| | - Esther Geva
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Courtenay Norbury
- Department of Special Needs Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Division of Psychology & Language Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Kari-Anne B Næss
- Department of Special Needs Education, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
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Clayden JD, Hope S, Argyri F, Goksan S, Stefani A, Wei L, Liegeois FJ. The impact of multiple language exposure on cognition during childhood: evidence from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1158333. [PMID: 37275707 PMCID: PMC10233113 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1158333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Many studies argue that exposure to, and use of, multiple languages in childhood has beneficial effects beyond the linguistic domain, including on executive functions (EFs), although recent evidence remains controversial. EFs encompass abilities necessary for regulating goal-directed behaviours in everyday life and, in children, EFs strongly predict later academic achievement and wellbeing. One theoretical framework distinguishes "hot" EFs, which have a reward or affective component, from "cool" EFs that do not. How exposure to more than one language in early childhood modulates hot and cool EFs in later childhood, alongside other environmental and cognitive factors, remains poorly understood. Methods We analysed data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, a large-scale, nationally representative longitudinal cohort study, which provides information on perinatal and environmental factors (e.g., languages spoken in the home, maternal education) alongside cognitive measures assessed in English. At 3 years, we examined the effect of multiple language exposure on the Bracken school readiness assessment (knowledge of shapes, letters, etc.), and on naming vocabulary. At age 11, we examined the predictors of cool EF, measured with a spatial working memory task; hot EF, measured using a gambling task; and vocabulary, measured using a verbal reasoning task. Results Data from 16,134 children were analysed. At age 3, a negative effect of multiple language exposure on school readiness and vocabulary was observed, but the difference was smaller with higher maternal education. At age 11, there was also a negative effect on vocabulary, but smaller than that observed at age 3. There were no direct effects of language exposure on either spatial working memory or gambling scores. For hot EF, the multiple language exposure effects were indirect, mediated by early cognition, and the most significant predictor of gambling strategy was sex. For cool EF, school readiness and vocabulary at age 3 were the strongest predictors. Discussion Our findings, based on a UK population sample, highlight the importance of considering socioeconomic status and early-life abilities when interpreting the effects of language environments on hot and cool EFs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan D. Clayden
- Developmental Neurosciences Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Steven Hope
- Population Policy and Practice Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Froso Argyri
- Centre for Applied Linguistics, UCL Institute of Education, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sezgi Goksan
- Developmental Neurosciences Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
- Centre for Applied Linguistics, UCL Institute of Education, London, United Kingdom
| | - Artemis Stefani
- Developmental Neurosciences Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
| | - Li Wei
- Centre for Applied Linguistics, UCL Institute of Education, London, United Kingdom
| | - Frederique Jeanne Liegeois
- Developmental Neurosciences Research and Teaching Department, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, United Kingdom
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Clark-Whitney E, Melzi G. Executive Function and Narrative Language Abilities in Emergent Bilingual Preschoolers: An Exploratory Study. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 2023; 54:584-599. [PMID: 36930879 DOI: 10.1044/2022_lshss-21-00190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2023] Open
Abstract
PURPOSE In light of the importance of preschool oral narrative skills as precursors to literacy, this exploratory study examined expressive language skills among emergent bilingual Latine preschoolers using a naturalistic personal narrative task. To understand the factors that support language use in the personal narrative context for this population, we examined the contribution of children's executive function (EF) skills to their narrative language abilities. METHOD Children completed two subtests from the Preschool Self-Regulation Assessment to measure EF and produced two personal narratives in response to conversational prompts. A series of linear regressions were used to evaluate the relation between children's EF skills and their narrative production ability, narrative organization, and expressive language skills derived from automated analyses of narrative samples. RESULTS EF was found to predict children's ability to produce a personal narrative but not the language skills children demonstrated in these narratives. CONCLUSIONS The current findings suggest that EF is implicated in emergent bilingual Latine children's narrative abilities. At the preschool age, the contribution of EF to narrative language production is apparent in the global task of producing a narrative, rather than in the organizational or linguistic features of the narrative. As such, supporting both EF and narrative skills might be an important means of facilitating preliteracy among bilingual children.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gigliana Melzi
- Department of Applied Psychology, New York University, NY
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13
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Oshchepkova ES, Kartushina NA, Razmakhnina KO. Bilingualism and Development of Literacy in Children: A Systematic Review. PSYCHOLOGY IN RUSSIA: STATE OF ART 2023; 16:3-25. [PMID: 37795215 PMCID: PMC10547117 DOI: 10.11621/pir.2023.0101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Background The importance of biliteracy in bilingual children's development has been widely investigated and discussed for the last several decades, suggesting beneficial effects of writing and reading in two languages for bilingual children as well as for adult second language learners. Objective To analyze research on the link between bilingualism and literacy development in two or more languages and the factors that may influence a successful or problematic biliteracy acquisition. RQ (1): What is the relationship between bilingualism and literacy of bilingual children? RQ (2): What strategies are used to develop biliteracy? Design The review analyzes 50 studies of literacy development in bilingual children. The selected articles have been separated based on their methodology: 25 articles gave a critical analysis of more than 1,100 studies on the topic, strengthening the theoretical basis of existing research, and 25 other articles were empirical research articles demonstrating practical evidence for the former. Results Our analysis revealed that literacy in bilinguals, or biliteracy, can be seen as a necessary condition for fluent development of bilingualism, though it is not a necessary condition (which is explained by the difference between structures of specific languages and writing systems, instruction in literacy, and cognitive baggage invoked by the task used to measure the skill) (Bialystok, 2002). Research suggests that bilingualism impacts children's ultimate acquisition of literacy via the beneficial effects of bilingualism overall: advanced biliteracy boosts the development of phonological and phonemic awareness and metacognitive abilities. Thus, biliteracy can be considered as an advantage in terms of maintaining bilingual acquisition in general and developing writing skills in particular. Conclusion There is a lack of studies on the development of writing skills in different educational contexts, across countries and cultures, which must be addressed and complemented by new empirical research. Research will enable policymakers to improve educational programs in accordance with the needs of bilingual children, who are the majority in the current global population.
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McMillen S, Albudoor N, Peña ED, Bedore LM. Semantic Difficulty for Bilingual Children: Effects of Age, Language Exposure, and Language Ability. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2023; 32:645-657. [PMID: 36827519 PMCID: PMC10171855 DOI: 10.1044/2022_ajslp-22-00018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Revised: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Semantic tasks evaluate dimensions of children's lexical-semantic knowledge. However, the relative ease of semantic task completion depends on individual differences in developmental and language experience factors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how language experience and language ability impact semantic task difficulty in English for school-age Spanish-English bilingual children with and without developmental language disorder (DLD). METHOD Participants included 232 Spanish-English bilingual children in second through fifth grade with (n = 35) and without (n = 197) DLD. Data included children's performance on the English Semantics subtest of the Bilingual English-Spanish Assessment-Middle Extension Field Test Version (BESA-ME), age of English acquisition, and percent English language exposure. Task difficulty, a measurement of the relative ease of task completion, was calculated for six semantic task types included on the BESA-ME. Multilevel regression modeling was conducted to estimate longitudinal growth trajectories for each semantic task type. RESULTS Results showed that language ability and grade level drive semantic task difficulty for all task types, and children with DLD experienced greater difficulty on all task types compared to their typically developing peers. Longitudinally, semantic task difficulty decreased for all children, regardless of language ability, indicating that semantic task types became easier over time. While children made gains on all semantic tasks, the growth rate of task difficulty was not equal across task types, where some task types showed slower growth compared with others. English language exposure emerged as a significant predictor of semantic task difficulty while age of acquisition was not a significant factor. CONCLUSIONS This study clarifies developmental profiles of lexical-semantic performance in bilingual children with and without DLD and supports clinical decision-making regarding children's English language learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie McMillen
- Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, Syracuse University, NY
| | - Nahar Albudoor
- Department of Human Services and Sciences, Gallaudet University, Washington, DC
| | | | - Lisa M. Bedore
- Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
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15
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Matrat M, Delage H, Kehoe M. A new dynamic word learning task to diagnose language disorder in French-speaking monolingual and bilingual children. FRONTIERS IN REHABILITATION SCIENCES 2023; 3:1095023. [PMID: 36794270 PMCID: PMC9922851 DOI: 10.3389/fresc.2022.1095023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Tools to effectively assess the language performance of bilingual children are lacking. Static tests assessing vocabulary knowledge (e.g., naming task) are not appropriate for testing bilingual children due to different types of bias. Alternative methods have been developed to diagnose bilingual children, including measuring language learning (e.g., word learning) through dynamic assessment. Research conducted with English-speaking children indicates that DA of word learning is effective in diagnosing language disorders in bilingual children. In this study, we examine whether a dynamic word learning task, using shared-storybook reading, can differentiate French-speaking (monolingual and bilingual) children with developmental language disorder (DLD) from those with typical development (TD). Sixty children (4-8 years), 43 with TD and 17 with DLD, participated: 30 were monolinguals and 25 were bilinguals. The dynamic word-learning task used a shared-storybook reading context. The children had to learn four non-words, paired with novel objects, as well as their semantic characteristics (a category and a definition) during the reading of a story. Post-tests assessed the recall of the phonological form and the semantic features of the objects. Phonological and semantic prompts were given if the child was unable to name or describe the objects. Results indicated that children with DLD performed less well than those with TD on phonological recall, leading to fair sensitivity and good specificity at delayed post-test for young children (4-6 years). Semantic production did not differentiate the two groups: all children performed well at this task. In sum, children with DLD have more difficulties encoding the phonological form of the word. Our findings suggest that a dynamic word learning task using shared-storybook reading is a promising approach for diagnosing lexical difficulties in young French-speaking, monolingual and bilingual, children.
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16
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Korpinen E, Slama S, Rosenqvist J, Haavisto A. WPPSI-IV and NEPSY-II performance in mono- and bilingual 5-6-year-old children: Findings from The FinSwed Study. Scand J Psychol 2023. [PMID: 36656036 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Children's language background relates to their neurocognitive development. Knowledge of this relationship is important as bilingualism is common. However, research regarding language background in relation to performance on cognitive tests such as the WPPSI-IV and NEPSY-II is scarce. The present study compared WPPSI-IV and NEPSY-II performances between 5- and 6-year-old Swedish-speaking monolingual (n = 45) and Swedish-Finnish-speaking simultaneous bilingual (n = 34) children in Finland. The participants were gathered by stratified sampling and were assessed with the Swedish versions of the tests. In profile analyses, a significant monolingual advantage was found in some WPPSI-IV subtests and indexes requiring expressive vocabulary (Vocabulary, Similarities, Picture Naming, and Vocabulary Acquisition Index) and visuospatial skills (Object Assembly and Visual Spatial Index). No group differences were found between mono- and bilingual children in receptive language, visual memory, or fluid intelligence. Additionally, no differences were found on the Full Scale IQ. The performance on the WPPSI-IV Similarities subtest improved in a subgroup of bilinguals when answers in both Swedish and Finnish were accounted for, instead of accepting only answers in Swedish. No significant differences were found between mono- and bilinguals on the language and memory tasks of NEPSY-II. These findings highlight the importance of considering the child's language background when assessing expressive language in young children, as well as the benefits of assessing bilinguals in both of their languages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Korpinen
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland.,Expert Services, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland
| | - Susanna Slama
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Niilo Mäki Instituutti, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Johanna Rosenqvist
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Division of Neuropsychology, HUS Neurocenter, Helsinki University Hospital and University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Mehiläinen Therapy Clinic, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Anu Haavisto
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.,Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
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17
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Johann VE, Enke S, Gunzenhauser C, Könen T, Saalbach H, Karbach J. Executive functions in mono- and bilingual children: Factor structure and relations with fluid intelligence. J Exp Child Psychol 2022; 224:105515. [PMID: 35933882 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2022.105515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2021] [Revised: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The effects of bilingualism on executive functions (EFs) and intelligence are still controversially discussed. Most studies have focused on performance differences without considering the underlying structure of cognitive abilities. Thus, we examined whether the structure of EFs and the relations of EFs with intelligence differ between mono- and bilingual children. A total of 240 elementary school children (mean age = 8 years 6 months; 133 monolinguals and 95 bilinguals) performed two tasks measuring working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and fluid intelligence, respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses showed that one common EF factor provided the best fit to the data in both language groups, indicating that bilingualism is not associated with differences in the EF structure at this age. Moreover, there were no latent performance differences in either EFs or intelligence between mono- and bilingual children. However, we found a stronger relation between a common EF factor and fluid intelligence in bilingual children as compared with monolingual children, implying a closer coupling of EFs and intelligence abilities in bilingual children. This contributes to explaining the previous heterogeneous findings on the task level because more closely coupled cognitive functioning can be slightly beneficial for some tasks and irrelevant or even slightly obstructive for others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena E Johann
- Department of Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, 76829 Landau in der Pfalz, Germany; Center for Research on Individual Development and Adaptive of Children at Risk (IDeA), 60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Susanne Enke
- Department of Educational Psychology, Leipzig University, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; Leipzig Research Center for Early Child Development, Leipzig University, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Catherine Gunzenhauser
- Leipzig Research Center for Early Child Development, Leipzig University, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; Department of Educational Sciences, University of Freiburg, 79085 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
| | - Tanja Könen
- Department of Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, 76829 Landau in der Pfalz, Germany; Center for Research on Individual Development and Adaptive of Children at Risk (IDeA), 60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Department of Psychology, RWTH Aachen University, 52062 Aachen, Germany
| | - Henrik Saalbach
- Department of Educational Psychology, Leipzig University, 04109 Leipzig, Germany; Leipzig Research Center for Early Child Development, Leipzig University, 04109 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Julia Karbach
- Department of Psychology, University of Koblenz-Landau, 76829 Landau in der Pfalz, Germany; Center for Research on Individual Development and Adaptive of Children at Risk (IDeA), 60323 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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18
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Kutlu E, Chiu S, McMurray B. Moving away from deficiency models: Gradiency in bilingual speech categorization. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1033825. [PMID: 36507048 PMCID: PMC9730410 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1033825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
For much of its history, categorical perception was treated as a foundational theory of speech perception, which suggested that quasi-discrete categorization was a goal of speech perception. This had a profound impact on bilingualism research which adopted similar tasks to use as measures of nativeness or native-like processing, implicitly assuming that any deviation from discreteness was a deficit. This is particularly problematic for listeners like heritage speakers whose language proficiency, both in their heritage language and their majority language, is questioned. However, we now know that in the monolingual listener, speech perception is gradient and listeners use this gradiency to adjust subphonetic details, recover from ambiguity, and aid learning and adaptation. This calls for new theoretical and methodological approaches to bilingualism. We present the Visual Analogue Scaling task which avoids the discrete and binary assumptions of categorical perception and can capture gradiency more precisely than other measures. Our goal is to provide bilingualism researchers new conceptual and empirical tools that can help examine speech categorization in different bilingual communities without the necessity of forcing their speech categorization into discrete units and without assuming a deficit model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ethan Kutlu
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States,Department of Linguistics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States,*Correspondence: Ethan Kutlu,
| | - Samantha Chiu
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Bob McMurray
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States,Department of Linguistics, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
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19
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Friesen DC, Ward O, Archibald LMD. Sentence Repetition Performance Differences in Bilingual and Monolingual Children. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2022; 65:2948-2961. [PMID: 35858267 DOI: 10.1044/2022_jslhr-21-00596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study examined language group differences in English syntactic knowledge based on performance on a sentence repetition task. METHOD Fourth and sixth grade students who were monolinguals (n = 30), early bilinguals (i.e., simultaneous; n = 27), or late bilinguals (i.e., sequential; n = 29) completed an English sentence repetition task. Their responses were analyzed as a function of sentence length (short vs. long), sentence type (active vs. passive), phrase type (noun, verb, and prepositional), and word type (content vs. function). RESULTS Overall, early bilinguals' performance did not differ significantly from that of the monolinguals. However, these bilinguals recalled significantly more content words than function words on the long sentences. At each level of analysis, the late bilinguals' performance was less accurate than the other groups. The magnitude of these group differences was larger for passive sentences and prepositional phrases. CONCLUSION Findings highlight areas of syntactic development that differ among groups and should be targeted for additional instruction with English language learners in elementary school.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deanna C Friesen
- Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Olivia Ward
- Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
| | - Lisa M D Archibald
- School of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada
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20
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Giguere D, Hoff E. Bilingual Development in the Receptive and Expressive Domains: They Differ. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION AND BILINGUALISM 2022; 25:3849-3858. [PMID: 36340953 PMCID: PMC9635451 DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2022.2087039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
In bilingual children, more so than in monolingual children, comprehension abilities exceed production abilities. While this receptive-expressive gap in bilinguals has been well documented, little is known about its development. The present study tracked growth in the Spanish and English receptive and expressive vocabularies of 52 bilingual children from 4.5 to 10 years. The children's English vocabularies grew faster than their Spanish vocabularies, more so in the expressive domain than the receptive domain. The proportion of children who were English-dominant also increased more in the expressive than the receptive domain. By age 10, the children's expressive skills were almost always English dominant while their receptive skills were most frequently balanced. Among children who hear a heritage language at home and a societal language at school, trajectories of dual language development differs in the expressive and receptive domains. These longitudinal data suggest continuity between the receptive-expressive gap observed in bilingual children and the receptive bilingualism often observed in adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Giguere
- California State University, Sacramento, Department of Psychology, 6000 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819-6007, USA
| | - Erika Hoff
- Florida Atlantic University, Department of Psychology, 3200 College Ave., Davie, FL 33314, USA
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21
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DE Cat C, Melia T. What does the Sentence Structure component of the CELF-IV index, in monolinguals and bilinguals? JOURNAL OF CHILD LANGUAGE 2022; 49:423-450. [PMID: 34229773 DOI: 10.1017/s0305000920000823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The Sentence Structure sub-test (SST) of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF) aims to "measure the acquisition of grammatical (structural) rules at the sentence level". Although originally designed for clinical practice with monolingual children, components of the CELF, such as the SST, are often used to inform psycholinguistic research. Raw scores are also commonly used to estimate the English proficiency of bilingual children. This study queries the reliability of the SST as an index of children's ability to deal with structural complexity in sentence comprehension, and demonstrates that cognitive complexity induces a considerable confound in the task, affecting 5- to 7-year-old monolinguals (n = 87) and bilinguals (n = 87) alike.
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22
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Filippi R, Ceccolini A, Booth E, Shen C, Thomas MS, Toledano MB, Dumontheil I. Modulatory effects of SES and multilinguistic experience on cognitive development: a longitudinal data analysis of multilingual and monolingual adolescents from the SCAMP cohort. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION AND BILINGUALISM 2022; 25:3489-3506. [PMID: 36204685 PMCID: PMC9529200 DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2022.2064191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Previous research has shown that cognitive development is sensitive to socio-economic status (SES) and multilinguistic experiences. However, these effects are difficult to disentangle and SES may modulate the effects of multilingualism. The present study used data from a large cohort of pupils who took part in the Study of Cognition, Adolescents and Mobile Phones (SCAMP) at ages 11-12 (T1) and 13-15 years old (T2). Cognitive measures were derived from tasks of cognitive flexibility, verbal, spatial and visuo-spatial working memory, speech processing and non-verbal reasoning. Using SES information collected through questionnaires (school type, level of deprivation, parental education and occupation), the sample was clustered into high/medium/low SES groups. Comparisons focused on 517 monolingual and 329 multilingual pupils in the high/low SES groups. Having controlled for multiple comparisons, the results indicated a significant beneficial effect of bilingualism in measures of working memory, visuo-spatial processing and non-verbal reasoning. These effects were present in both high and low SES individuals and sustained at both times of development, with a particularly significant improvement of working memory abilities in low SES bilinguals at T2 as compared to monolingual peers. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are considered and guidance for educators is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Filippi
- UCL – Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK
- Multilanguage and Cognition Lab, UCL – Institute of Education, London, UK
| | - Andrea Ceccolini
- Multilanguage and Cognition Lab, UCL – Institute of Education, London, UK
| | - Elizabeth Booth
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, London, UK
- MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College, London, UK
| | - Chen Shen
- MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College, London, UK
- National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Michael S.C. Thomas
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, London, UK
| | - Mireille B. Toledano
- MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Imperial College, London, UK
- National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Chemical and Radiation Threats and Hazards, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Mohn Centre for Children’s Health and Wellbeing, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Iroise Dumontheil
- Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, London, UK
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23
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How Many Palabras? Codeswitching and Lexical Diversity in Spanish-English Picture Books. LANGUAGES 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/languages7010069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Bilingual picture books have been growing in popularity, with caregivers, teachers, and researchers increasingly interested in understanding how picture books might be able to support the learning of words in two languages. In this study, we present the first evaluation of the quantity and quality of text contained within bilingual picture books in English and Spanish targeted to children ages 0–9 and available to parents in the United States. We focus specifically on a sample of codeswitching books (N = 45) which present text in one language embedded in another language. All books were transcribed and evaluated for (1) the number of words and utterances presented in each language; (2) the quality and complexity of text presented in each language; and (3) how switching occurred between the two languages. Results showed that although picture books in our sample presented predominantly English text and more complex English sentences, relatively more unique words were presented in Spanish. Furthermore, picture books in our sample presented frequent switching between languages, particularly within utterances. We suggest that bilingual picture books provide children with potentially enriching yet asymmetrical opportunities for learning in each language.
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Supporting the development of the bilingual lexicon through translanguaging: a realist review integrating psycholinguistics with educational sciences. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY OF EDUCATION 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s10212-021-00586-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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25
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Sun H, Yin B. Vocabulary Development in Early Language Education. HANDBOOK OF EARLY LANGUAGE EDUCATION 2022:57-82. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-91662-6_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
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Bar L, Shaul S. Early Numeracy and Literacy Skills Among Monolingual and Bilingual Kindergarten Children. Front Psychol 2021; 12:732569. [PMID: 34925141 PMCID: PMC8671812 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.732569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Early numeracy and literacy skills are all the knowledge that children acquire spontaneously and independently before entering school and beginning formal learning. This knowledge is essential and forms the basis for the acquisition of reading and arithmetic in school. A bilingual child is a child who is fluent in two languages, as opposed to a monolingual child who is exposed to only one language. Bilingualism has been found to affect verbal and mathematical abilities in children, but only a few studies have focused on the early numeracy and literacy skills of preschoolers. This study examined the connection between early numeracy and literacy skills and among monolingual children as compared to bilingual children in preschool. Three hundred and two children aged 5–6years old were recruited from 74 kindergartens. Participants were divided into two groups: 151 monolingual children who spoke and were exposed to only one language (Hebrew) and 151 bilingual children who spoke and were exposed to two languages (the bilingual children spoke different languages). Monolingual children performed better than the bilingual children in most of the literacy tasks, except for phonological awareness, in which no differences were found between the groups. In addition, in the early numeracy tasks, a difference was found only in the task, which included linguistic knowledge, number knowledge, and counting tasks, in which the monolingual children performed better. Furthermore, stronger correlations were found between the early numeracy and literacy skills among the monolingual group compared to the bilingual group. The study findings stress the importance of strengthening linguistic abilities, such as vocabulary expansion in kindergarten among populations in which more than one language is spoken. Supporting these abilities can reduce the gap between bilingual children and their monolingual classmates before entering school.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liat Bar
- Department of Learning Disabilities, Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Studies of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Shelley Shaul
- Department of Learning Disabilities, Edmond J. Safra Brain Research Center for the Studies of Learning Disabilities, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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Kehoe M, Poulin-Dubois D, Friend M. Within- and Cross-Language Relations Between Phonological Memory, Vocabulary, and Grammar in Bilingual Children. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2021; 64:4918-4948. [PMID: 34731575 PMCID: PMC9150685 DOI: 10.1044/2021_jslhr-21-00176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2021] [Revised: 06/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/09/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study investigated within-language and between-language associations between phonological memory, vocabulary, and grammar in French-English (n = 43) and Spanish-English (n = 25) bilingual children at 30, 36, and 48 months. It was predicted that phonological memory would display both within-language and between-language relations to language development and that these relations would be stronger at the youngest age. METHOD Bilingual children participated in free-play sessions in both of their languages at each age, from which vocabulary and grammatical information (number of different words and mean length of utterance) was extracted. Vocabulary information was also obtained from parent inventories completed when the children were 30 months and a standardized receptive vocabulary test administered at 36 and 48 months. The children were also administered nonword repetition tests in both of their languages at each age. RESULTS Mixed logistic regression indicated that phonological memory was associated with vocabulary and grammar within the same language and phonological memory in the other language. In two of the four statistical models, phonological memory exhibited positive between-language relations, and in one model, it exhibited negative between-language relations to language development. Results also indicated that within-language and between-languages effects remained constant, or between-language associations decreased during the age range studied. CONCLUSION Overall, the findings provide some support for cross-language associations between phonological memory and lexical and grammatical skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margaret Kehoe
- Department of Speech Therapy and Psycholinguistics, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Diane Poulin-Dubois
- Developmental Cybernetics, Department of Psychology, Concordia University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Margaret Friend
- Center for Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, CA
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Kehoe M, Friend M, Poulin-Dubois D. Relations between phonological production, grammar and the lexicon in bilingual French-English children. THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BILINGUALISM : CROSS-DISCIPLINARY, CROSS-LINGUISTIC STUDIES OF LANGUAGE BEHAVIOR 2021; 25:1576-1596. [PMID: 34867071 PMCID: PMC8637377 DOI: 10.1177/13670069211031987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES This study examines multiple associations between language domains in bilingual children with a focus on phonology. Previous studies indicate within- but not cross-language associations between vocabulary and grammar in bilingual children. We investigate whether the relation between phonology and other language domains differs from the one reported between vocabulary and grammar. METHODOLOGY Canadian French-English bilingual children (n = 31), aged 31 months, participated in 2 free-play sessions, from which lexical, grammatical and phonological information was extracted. The children's parents completed the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Developmental Inventories and its Canadian French adaptation providing additional information on vocabulary and grammar in each of the children's languages. They also completed a questionnaire on their children's exposure to French and English. DATA ANALYSIS Within and cross-language relations between phonology, vocabulary and grammar were investigated using correlational analyses and mixed logistic regression. FINDINGS Correlational analyses did not reveal significant cross-language relations between phonology, vocabulary and grammar. However, mixed logistic regression, which controlled for language exposure effects, indicated that phonology was influenced by vocabulary and grammar both within and across languages. ORIGINALITY This study is one of the first to study cross-domain relations involving phonology in young bilingual children. IMPLICATIONS Overall, the findings suggest that phonology displays a pattern of relations that is different from other language domains engendering between-language effects due to a language-general component.
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Hjetland HN, Hofslundsengen H, Klem M, Karlsen J, Hagen ÅM, Engevik LI, Geva E, Norbury C, Monsrud MB, Bottegaard Naess KA. Vocabulary interventions for second language (L2) learners up to six years. Hippokratia 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.cd014890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Hilde Hofslundsengen
- Department of Language, Literature, Mathematics and Interpreting; Western Norway University of Applied Sciences; Sogndal Norway
| | - Marianne Klem
- Department of Speech and Language Disorders; Statped sørøst; Oslo Norway
| | - Jannicke Karlsen
- Department of Speech and Language Disorders; Statped sørøst; Oslo Norway
| | - Åste M Hagen
- Department of Special Needs Education; University of Oslo; Oslo Norway
| | - Liv Inger Engevik
- Department of Pedagogy, Religion and Social Studies; Western Norway University of Applied Sciences; Bergen Norway
| | - Esther Geva
- Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development; University of Toronto; Toronto Canada
| | - Courtenay Norbury
- Department of Special Needs Education; University of Oslo; Oslo Norway
- Division of Psychology & Language Sciences; University College London; London UK
| | - May-Britt Monsrud
- Department of Speech and Language Disorders; Statped sørøst; Oslo Norway
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Nicoladis E, Dueck BS, Zarezadehkheibari S. Hand preference in referential gestures: Relationships to accessing words for speaking in monolingual and bilingual children. Brain Behav 2021; 11:e02121. [PMID: 34142467 PMCID: PMC8413777 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.2121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2020] [Revised: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Infants' right-hand preference for pointing is associated with higher vocabulary. It is not clear whether the link between right-hand preference for gesturing and language persists into the preschool years. The primary purpose of the present study was to test whether preschool children's hand preference for referential gestures was associated with their language abilities. Secondarily, we predicted that the children's right-hand preference would be negatively associated with their visuospatial abilities. We also predicted that monolingual children would show a strong right-hand preference while bilinguals might show a reduced right-hand preference. METHODS Monolingual and bilingual children between the ages of four and six years did a storytelling task. Their referential gestures were coded for hand use (right, left, both). We measured language skills (receptive vocabulary, semantic fluency). RESULTS We found no difference between bilinguals and monolinguals on hand preference. Semantic fluency was a positive predictor and vocabulary a negative predictor of right-hand preference. Children's visuospatial abilities were not a predictor of right-hand preference. CONCLUSION These results suggest that right-hand preference may help children select semantically appropriate words out of their existing vocabulary. In other words, this preference may be related to children's construction of the message that they would like to produce. The association between hand preference and language skills persists into the preschool years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Nicoladis
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Bryce S Dueck
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
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Filippi R, Ceccolini A, Bright P. Trajectories of verbal fluency and executive functions in multilingual and monolingual children and adults: A cross-sectional study. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2021; 75:130-147. [PMID: 34092150 PMCID: PMC8600596 DOI: 10.1177/17470218211026792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The development of verbal fluency is associated with the maturation of executive
function skills, such as the ability to inhibit irrelevant information, shift
between tasks, and hold information in working memory. Some evidence suggests
that multilinguistic upbringing may underpin disadvantages in verbal fluency and
lexical retrieval, but can also afford executive function advantages beyond the
language system including possible beneficial effects in older age. This study
examined the relationship between verbal fluency and executive function in 324
individuals across the lifespan by assessing the developmental trajectories of
English monolingual and multilingual children aged 7–15 years
(N = 154) and adults from 18 to 80 years old
(N = 170). The childhood data indicated patterns of
improvement in verbal fluency and executive function skills as a function of
age. Multilingual and monolingual children had comparable developmental
trajectories in all linguistic and non-linguistic measures used in the study
with the exception of planning, for which monolingual children showed a steeper
improvement over the studied age range relative to multilingual children. For
adults, monolinguals and multilingual participants had comparable performance on
all measures with the exception of nonverbal inhibitory control and response
times on the Tower of London task: monolinguals showed a steeper decline
associated with age. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that verbal fluency
was associated with working memory and fluid intelligence in monolingual
participants but not in multilinguals. These findings raise the possibility that
early acquisition of an additional language may impact on the development of the
functional architecture serving high-level human cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roberto Filippi
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK.,Multilanguage and Cognition Lab, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK
| | - Andrea Ceccolini
- Multilanguage and Cognition Lab, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK
| | - Peter Bright
- Multilanguage and Cognition Lab, UCL Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK.,Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK
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Sun H, Bornstein MH, Esposito G. The Specificity Principle in Young Dual Language Learners' English Development. Child Dev 2021; 92:1752-1768. [PMID: 33739442 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
This study employs the Specificity Principle to examine the relative impacts of external (input quantity at home and at school, number of books and reading frequency at home, teachers' degree and experience, language usage, socioeconomic status) and internal factors (children's working memory, nonverbal intelligence, learning-related social-skills, chronological age, gender) on children's English-language development in phonological awareness (PA), receptive vocabulary (RV), and word reading (WR). Altogether, 736 four- to five-year-old Singaporean Mandarin-English speaking kindergarteners were assessed twice longitudinally. Their English-language PA, RV, and WR development was predicted using the eight external factors and five internal factors with Bayesian least absolute shrinkage and selection operators. Internal factors explained more variance than external factors in all three language domains. External factors had their largest impact on RV.
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Affiliation(s)
- He Sun
- Nanyang Technological University
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Kutsuki A. Do Bilinguals Acquire Similar Words to Monolinguals? An Examination of Word Acquisition and the Similarity Effect in Japanese-English Bilinguals' Vocabularies. Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ 2021; 11:168-182. [PMID: 34542457 PMCID: PMC8314333 DOI: 10.3390/ejihpe11010014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 02/10/2021] [Accepted: 02/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research has paid much attention to the overall acquisition of vocabularies among bilingual children in comparison to their monolingual counterparts. Much less attention has been paid to the type of words acquired and the possible transfer or cross-linguistic effects of the other language on vocabulary development. Thus, this study aims to explore similarities and dissimilarities in the vocabularies of simultaneous bilinguals and Japanese monolinguals and considers the possible cross-linguistic similarity effect on word acquisition. Six simultaneous Japanese-English bilingual children (mean age = 34.75 months (2.56)) were language-age-matched with six Japanese monolinguals; their productive vocabularies were compared regarding size and categories. Additionally, characteristic acquired words were compared using correspondence analyses. Results showed that, although delayed due to the reduced inputs, young bilinguals have a similar set of vocabularies in terms of word category as monolinguals. However, bilingual children's vocabularies reflect their unevenly distributed experience with the language. Fewer interactive experiences with language speakers may result in a lower acquisition of interactive words. Furthermore, there is a cross-linguistic effect on acquisition, likely caused by form similarity between Japanese katakana words and English words. Even between languages with great dissimilarities, resources and cues are sought and used to facilitate bilingual vocabulary acquisition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aya Kutsuki
- Department of Psychology, Kobe Shoin Women's University, Kobe 657-0015, Japan
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A Four-Year Longitudinal Comparative Study on the Lexicon Development of Russian and Turkish Heritage Speakers in Germany. LANGUAGES 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/languages6010027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Russian and Turkish are the most frequently spoken and intensively investigated heritage languages in Germany, but contrastive research on their development in early childhood is still missing. This longitudinal study compares the trajectories of expressive lexicon development in Russian (n = 70) and Turkish (n = 79) heritage speakers and identifies predictors for their lexicon size at preschool age. Heritage lexicon size was tested with two comparable tests assessing the expressive lexicon at four test points between the mean ages of 3.3 (range: 25–49 months) and 5.6 (range: 54–78 months) years. The influence of language-related factors, such as input quantity, parents’ heritage language proficiency and age of onset (AoO) of German, and other potential predictors, i.e., intelligence and socio-economic status, is evaluated. Results show that the Turkish group’s abilities grow slower but are similar at the last test point. Common predictors for lexicon size are input quantity from siblings and AoO. Group-specific influences are parental input quantity in the Russian group and siblings’ proficiency in the Turkish group. Our findings emphasize the interplay of input quantity and society language AoO for heritage lexicon development. The relevance of our results for the usage-based theory of language acquisition is discussed.
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Predictors of Successful Reading Comprehension in Bilingual Adults: The Role of Reading Strategies and Language Proficiency. LANGUAGES 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/languages6010018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The current study investigated the type of strategies that English–French bilingual adults utilize when reading in their dominant and non-dominant languages and which of these strategies are associated with reading comprehension success. Thirty-nine participants read short texts while reporting aloud what they were thinking as they read. Following each passage, readers answered three comprehension questions. Questions either required information found directly in the text (literal question) or required a necessary inference or an elaborative inference. Readers reported more necessary and elaborative inferences and referred to more background knowledge in their dominant language than in their non-dominant language. Engaging in both text analysis strategies and meaning extraction strategies predicted reading comprehension success in both languages, with differences observed depending on the type of question posed. Results are discussed with respect to how strategy use supports the development of text representations.
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Riva A, Musetti A, Bomba M, Milani L, Montrasi V, Nacinovich R. Language-Related Skills in Bilingual Children With Specific Learning Disorders. Front Psychol 2021; 11:564047. [PMID: 33551894 PMCID: PMC7859646 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.564047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 12/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to better understand the characteristics of the language-related skills of bilingual children with specific learning disorders (SLD). The aim is achieved by analyzing language-related skills in a sample of bilingual (Italian plus another language) and Italian monolingual children, with and without SLD. Patients and methods: A total of 72 minors aged between 9 and 11 were recruited and divided into four groups: 18 Italian monolingual children with SLD, 18 bilingual children with SLD, 18 Italian monolingual children without SLD, and 18 bilingual children without SLD. Each child underwent tests to evaluate different aspects of language skills: lexical and grammar, metalanguage and executive functions. Results: With regard to lexical and grammatical skills, the conditions of SLD and bilingualism both impact naming in terms of total number of errors for words with low frequency of use, while the condition of SLD has an effect on semantic errors for words with low frequency of use. The condition of bilingualism impacts on the total errors for words with high frequency of use and on circumlocution-type errors for words with low frequency of use. There were significant effects of bilingualism and SLD on the metalinguistic test for understanding implicit meaning, and an impact of SLD on phonological awareness was also found. Conclusion: The results suggest that both SLD and bilingualism have an effect on some lexical skills, in particular for words with low frequency of use. Both conditions, bilingualism and SLD, seem to impact on metalinguistic abilities that depend on lexical knowledge. These findings reinforce the importance of improving understanding of the neuropsychological profile of bilingual children with SLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Riva
- Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale (ASST) di Monza, Monza, Italy.,Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano Bicocca, Monza, Italy
| | - Alessandro Musetti
- Department of Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Industries, University of Parma, Parma, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
| | - Monica Bomba
- Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale (ASST) di Monza, Monza, Italy.,Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano Bicocca, Monza, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Milani
- Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale (ASST) di Monza, Monza, Italy.,Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano Bicocca, Monza, Italy
| | | | - Renata Nacinovich
- Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale (ASST) di Monza, Monza, Italy.,Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milano Bicocca, Monza, Italy
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Oh MH, Mancilla-Martinez J. Comparing Vocabulary Knowledge Conceptualizations Among Spanish-English Dual Language Learners in a New Destination State. Lang Speech Hear Serv Sch 2021; 52:369-382. [PMID: 33237842 DOI: 10.1044/2020_lshss-20-00031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose Despite the unprecedented growth of Spanish-English dual language learners (DLLs) in new destination states-where DLLs have not been historically served-empirical understanding of their language and literacy skills is scant. Drawing on scientific understandings of bilingual language acquisition, we compare monolingually scored and bilingually scored vocabulary knowledge of Spanish-English DLLs in a new destination state. Method Participants included second- and fourth-grade Spanish-English DLLs (N = 60) in a large urban school district in a new destination state. Students were considered DLLs if their parents indicated that Spanish was spoken at home to some extent. We utilized monolingually scored (Spanish-only and English-only) and bilingually scored (conceptual and total) conceptualizations of vocabulary knowledge. Descriptive analysis and Bonferroni-adjusted multiple comparisons were used to compare vocabulary knowledge by assessment approach (i.e., monolingual or bilingual), grade (i.e., second and fourth), and English proficiency status (i.e., limited English proficient and English proficient). Results Findings revealed that (a) DLLs, across grade levels and English proficiency status, demonstrated higher bilingual vocabulary scores compared to monolingual scores and stronger receptive vocabulary performance than expressive vocabulary performance and (b) DLLs' response patterns varied depending on the bilingual assessment approach used, with DLLs in limited English-proficient and English-proficient groups evidencing similar response patterns. Conclusions Bilingual scoring of vocabulary knowledge provides a more holistic understanding of elementary-aged DLLs' language skills. Results represent an important step toward shifting school-based assessment practices to incorporate comprehensive and equitable ways to conceptualize and measure elementary-aged Spanish-English DLLs' vocabulary knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Hyun Oh
- Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
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Friesen DC, Edwards K, Lamoureux C. Predictors of verbal fluency performance in monolingual and bilingual children: The interactive role of English receptive vocabulary and fluid intelligence. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2021; 89:106074. [PMID: 33450631 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2020.106074] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Revised: 12/21/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Previous research has found that when bilingual and monolingual children are equated on English receptive vocabulary, bilingual children outperform monolingual children on verbal fluency tasks (e.g., Pino Escobar et al., 2018; Zeng et al., 2019). However, the locus of these differences in performance is poorly understood. The current study investigated the linguistic and cognitive components that underlie verbal fluency performance in bilingual and English-speaking monolingual children. METHODS Students in fourth and sixth grade (63 bilinguals and 31 monolinguals) performed both category and letter fluency tasks in English where they named members of provided categories in one-minute trials (e.g., animals, words that start with "F", respectively). Participants also completed a battery of English language measures (e.g., English receptive vocabulary, English word reading fluency) and cognitive measures (e.g., fluid intelligence, working memory). RESULTS Although monolinguals outperformed bilinguals on English receptive vocabulary, no group differences emerged on verbal fluency measures. When English receptive vocabulary served as a covariate, bilinguals generated significantly more items than monolinguals in the verbal fluency tasks. For monolinguals, only English receptive vocabulary accounted for unique variance in verbal fluency performance. However, for bilinguals, receptive vocabulary and fluid intelligence were significant predictors in both fluency tasks. Additionally, for bilinguals, fluid intelligence impacted the strength of the relationship between English receptive vocabulary and letter fluency performance; they were not significantly correlated for individuals with low cognitive ability and were strongly correlated for individuals with high cognitive ability. CONCLUSIONS Results suggest that unlike monolingual children, bilingual children recruit additional cognitive resources to meet the demands imposed by the verbal fluency task.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deanna C Friesen
- Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6G 1G7 Canada.
| | - Kayla Edwards
- Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6G 1G7 Canada
| | - Chastine Lamoureux
- Faculty of Education, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, N6G 1G7 Canada
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Thordardottir E. Adolescent language outcomes in a complex trilingual context: When typical does not mean unproblematic. JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION DISORDERS 2021; 89:106060. [PMID: 33291036 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcomdis.2020.106060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Revised: 09/20/2020] [Accepted: 10/31/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
UNLABELLED This study examined the long-term language outcomes of adolescents in the complex multilingual context of Iceland, where children learn Icelandic as a first (L1) or second language (L2), in a background of incidental English from internet and media sources. METHOD 50 adolescents enrolled in grades 8, 9 and 10 in Reykjavik (Iceland) public schools (27 L1 speakers and 23 L2 speakers) participated. Standardized language tests and language samples were collected in Icelandic and English. Self-ratings and parent ratings of language proficiency were obtained in Icelandic, English and, for L2 speakers, in the home language as well. RESULTS As in previous studies, L2 speakers scored far below L1 speakers on formal tests of Icelandic, and also in conversation. The groups were similar in their English skills, with both groups scoring far below L1 English norms. Self-rated performance agreed well with measured performance. For the L2 speakers, self-rated performance in the home language was similar to performance in Icelandic and English. L1 speakers demonstrated much higher performance in Icelandic than English; L2 speakers' performance was more evenly distributed over their three languages. DISCUSSION The considerable English exposure available in Iceland leads to similar English skills for both L1 and L2 groups, but affects their overall language development in different ways. L1 adolescents maintain a clear dominance in Icelandic, whereas the proficiency of the L2 group is more equally distributed across their three languages, leading to unpredictable patterns of language dominance and at the group level, low performance compared to native speaker expectations in all three languages. These language outcomes in adolescence are of great concern as they do not equip the L2 speakers with the functional communication skills they require for further schooling and jobs. The study calls for a reconsideration of typical multilingual outcomes as necessarily implying unproblematic language skills and suggest that language policy changes are required in Iceland to ensure that children graduate compulsory education with solid language skills that allow them to pursue their goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elin Thordardottir
- McGill University, Montreal, Canada; Reykjavíkur Akademían, Reykjavik, Iceland.
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Nicoladis E, Sajeev S. Developing Abstract Representations of Passives: Evidence From Bilingual Children's Interpretation of Passive Constructions. Front Psychol 2020; 11:545360. [PMID: 33362619 PMCID: PMC7759474 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.545360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
According to usage-based theories, children initially acquire surface-level constructions and then abstract representations. If so, bilingual children might show lags relative to monolingual children early in acquisition, but not later on, once they rely on abstract representations. We tested this prediction with comprehension of passives in 3- to 6-year-old children: French–English bilinguals and English monolinguals. As predicted, younger bilingual children tended to be less accurate than monolingual children. In contrast, the older bilingual children scored equivalently to monolinguals, despite less exposure to English. When the children made errors, the bilingual children were more likely to interpret the subject as the agent of the action than the monolingual children. These results are consistent with the argument that children develop increasingly abstract representations of linguistic constructions with usage. They further suggest that bilingual children might catch up with monolingual through use of selective attention and/or a semantic bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Nicoladis
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Sera Sajeev
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
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Mancilla-Martinez J, Hwang JK, Oh MH, Pokowitz EL. Patterns of Development in Spanish-English Conceptually Scored Vocabulary Among Elementary-Age Dual Language Learners. JOURNAL OF SPEECH, LANGUAGE, AND HEARING RESEARCH : JSLHR 2020; 63:3084-3099. [PMID: 32755495 PMCID: PMC7890230 DOI: 10.1044/2020_jslhr-20-00056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2020] [Revised: 03/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Purpose Elementary-age dual language learners (DLLs) from Spanish-speaking homes in the United States are often characterized as at risk for low vocabulary in both Spanish and English. This longitudinal study examined conceptually scored receptive and expressive vocabulary development among DLLs from Spanish-speaking, low-income homes and investigated patterns of language responses on the conceptually scored measures. Method DLLs in kindergarten and second grade (N = 118) attending school in the Southeast region of the United States were followed for three consecutive academic years and assessed on measures of receptive and expressive conceptually scored vocabulary. Results Individual growth modeling, using raw scores, revealed positive vocabulary growth over time, with above average performance relative to national norms. However, initial conceptually scored receptive vocabulary scores were higher than conceptually scored expressive vocabulary scores. Furthermore, DLLs' conceptually scored receptive-but not expressive-vocabulary rate of growth was more rapid compared to national norms. Finally, DLLs' patterns of language responses revealed a shift toward more English over time, but Spanish continued to be used through fourth grade. Conclusion Results contradict deficit-driven views about DLLs' vocabulary skills and underscore the utility of conceptually scored vocabulary measures to assess vocabulary development among elementary-age DLLs to more comprehensively account for the linguistic assets they bring to learning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Min Hyun Oh
- Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
| | - Elena Lauren Pokowitz
- Peabody College of Education and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
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Sorenson Duncan T, Paradis J. Home language environment and children's second language acquisition: the special status of input from older siblings. JOURNAL OF CHILD LANGUAGE 2020; 47:982-1005. [PMID: 32223763 DOI: 10.1017/s0305000919000977] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Previous research suggests that increased second language (L2) input at home may not support L2 acquisition in children from migrant backgrounds. In drawing this conclusion, existing work has largely aggregated across family members. This study contrasts the effect of L2 input from older siblings with that from mothers. Participants were 113 child L2 learners of English (mean age = 5;10 [range 4;10-7;2]; mean exposure to L2 in school = 16.7 months [range 2-48 months]). All children had at least one older sibling. Using hierarchical linear regression modelling with controls for age, non-verbal reasoning and phonological short-term memory, we found that greater L2 input from siblings - but not mothers - was associated with stronger L2 abilities in narrative macrostructure, inflectional morphology, and vocabulary. Increased cumulative exposure to the L2 at school and greater maternal L2 fluency were also positively related to children's L2 inflectional morphology and vocabulary scores.
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Pace A, Luo R, Levine D, Iglesias A, de Villiers J, Golinkoff RM, Wilson MS, Hirsh-Pasek K. Within and Across Language Predictors of Word Learning Processes in Dual Language Learners. Child Dev 2020; 92:35-53. [PMID: 32776574 DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated the relation between Dual Language Learners' (N = 90) vocabulary and grammar comprehension and word learning processes in preschool (aged 3-through-5 years). Of interest was whether: (a) performance in Spanish correlated with performance in English within each domain; and (b) comprehension predicted novel word learning within and across languages. Dual-language experience was evaluated as a potential moderator. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed stronger predictive associations within each language than across languages. Across languages, results varied by experience and domain. Structural sensitivity theory suggests exposure to two languages heightens awareness of parameters along which languages vary and provides a framework for interpreting complex associations within and across languages. Knowledge from one language may influence learning in both.
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Kan PF, Huang S, Winicour E, Yang J. Vocabulary Growth: Dual Language Learners at Risk for Language Impairment. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SPEECH-LANGUAGE PATHOLOGY 2020; 29:1178-1195. [PMID: 32750277 PMCID: PMC7893526 DOI: 10.1044/2020_ajslp-19-00160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 10/20/2019] [Accepted: 03/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Purpose This research project examined the vocabulary growth patterns of typically developing (TD) Cantonese-English dual language learners (DLLs) and their peers who are at risk for language impairment. Method Two studies were done. Study 1 examined the concurrent validity of a pilot vocabulary screening measure, the Kai Ming Vocabulary Test, that was designed for Cantonese-English preschool DLLs. Participants were 53 preschool children who learned Cantonese as their first language (L1) and English as a second language (L2). Their scores on the Kai Ming Vocabulary Test were examined in relation to their language sample measures, including number of different words and mean length of utterance, in L1 and in L2. Study 2 examined the vocabulary growth patterns of 24 TD Cantonese-English DLL preschoolers and 24 DLLs who are at risk for language impairment (At-Risk group). Each child was tested 3 times during an academic year. Results Results of Study 1 showed that children's vocabulary scores (n = 53) were significantly correlated with their language sample measures in each language. In Study 2, hierarchical linear models were used to compare the TD and At-Risk groups. Results showed that children in the At-Risk group had lower L1 receptive vocabulary scores and children in the TD group had relatively higher L2 expressive vocabulary gains. Conclusions Children who are at risk are likely to continue to have lower vocabulary knowledge compared to their TD peers. The growth trajectories of DLLs provide valuable information for early identification and intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pui Fong Kan
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
| | - Shirley Huang
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
| | - Ellie Winicour
- Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder
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Shiro M, Hoff E, Ribot KM. Cultural differences in the content of child talk: evaluative lexis of English monolingual and Spanish-English bilingual 30-month-olds. JOURNAL OF CHILD LANGUAGE 2020; 47:844-869. [PMID: 32200778 PMCID: PMC7329581 DOI: 10.1017/s0305000919000990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
We examined the size, content, and use of evaluative lexis by 26 English monolingual and 20 Spanish-English bilingual 30-month-old children in interaction with their mothers. We extracted the evaluative words, defined as words referring to cognition, volition, or emotion. Controlling for overall vocabulary skills as measured by the MacArthur-Bates inventories, monolinguals had a larger evaluative lexicon than the bilinguals' Spanish evaluative lexicon, but no difference was found between monolinguals' and bilinguals' English evaluative lexicons. There were differences between the monolinguals and bilinguals in the distribution of evaluative words across semantic categories: English monolingual children used more words pertaining to volition and cognition and talked more about volition than the Spanish-English bilingual children. These results suggest that the development of evaluative lexicons is influenced by cultural differences, and consequently, bilingual children, who are also bicultural, follow a different developmental path in both languages from the path followed by their monolingual peers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martha Shiro
- Universidad Central de Venezuela, Florida Atlantic University, USA
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Gross MC, Kaushanskaya M. Cognitive and Linguistic Predictors of Language Control in Bilingual Children. Front Psychol 2020; 11:968. [PMID: 32508722 PMCID: PMC7248219 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In order to communicate effectively with a variety of conversation partners and in a variety of settings, bilingual children must develop language control, the ability to control which language is used for production. Past work has focused on linguistic skills as the limiting factor in children's ability to control their language choice, while cognitive control has been the focus of adult models of language control. The current study examined the effects of both language ability and cognitive control on language control in 4-6 year old Spanish/English bilingual children with a broad range of language skills, including those with low skills in both languages. To measure language control, children participated in an interactive scripted confederate dialogue paradigm in which they took turns describing picture scenes with video partners who presented themselves as monolingual speakers of English or monolingual speakers of Spanish. The paradigm had two conditions: a single-language context, in which children interacted with only one partner, and a dual-language context, in which children needed to switch between languages to address different partners. The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) indexed cognitive control. The findings revealed an overall effect of language ability, such that children with lower language skills were more likely to produce words in the language not understood by their conversation partner. There was also an effect of cognitive control on children's ability to adjust to the dual-language context. Based on these findings, we suggest that a model of language control in children should consider both linguistic and cognitive factors. However, language ability appears to be the main limiting factor, with cognitive control playing a more restricted role in adapting to a dual-language context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan C. Gross
- Department of Communication Disorders, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst, MA, United States
| | - Margarita Kaushanskaya
- Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
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Gibson TA, Peña ED, Bedore LM, McCarter KS. A Longitudinal Investigation of the Semantic Receptive-Expressive Gap in Spanish-English Bilingual Children. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BILINGUAL EDUCATION AND BILINGUALISM 2020; 25:819-833. [PMID: 35321440 PMCID: PMC8937012 DOI: 10.1080/13670050.2020.1721427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2019] [Accepted: 01/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE Although a semantic receptive-expressive gap appears to be a universal feature of early bilingualism, little is known about its development. We sought to determine if the magnitude of the discrepancy between receptive and expressive standard scores changed over time in bilingual children's two languages. METHOD In this longitudinal study, standardized receptive and expressive semantics tests of 106 Spanish-English bilingual children with TD were taken at kindergarten and first grade in both English and Spanish. We used a multivariate analysis approach to identify interactions and main effects. RESULTS Although both receptive and expressive standard scores improved across the year in both languages, the magnitude of the gap was similar for both languages at both time points. However, there was greater improvement in English than in Spanish. Expressive scores at the end of the year were similar to receptive scores a year earlier. CONCLUSIONS The magnitude of this gap remains relatively constant at kindergarten and first grade in both English and Spanish, despite overall improvements in semantic performance in both languages. There is on average roughly a one year lag between receptive and expressive semantics skills. Clinicians should take caution in interpreting receptive-expressive semantic gaps.
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Massa E, Köpke B, El Yagoubi R. Age-related effect on language control and executive control in bilingual and monolingual speakers: Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence. Neuropsychologia 2020; 138:107336. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2019] [Revised: 01/01/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2020] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
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Wermelinger S, Gampe A, Helbling N, Daum MM. Do you understand what I want to tell you? Early sensitivity in bilinguals' iconic gesture perception and production. Dev Sci 2020; 23:e12943. [PMID: 31991030 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 01/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has shown differences in monolingual and bilingual communication. We explored whether monolingual and bilingual pre-schoolers (N = 80) differ in their ability to understand others' iconic gestures (gesture perception) and produce intelligible iconic gestures themselves (gesture production) and how these two abilities are related to differences in parental iconic gesture frequency. In a gesture perception task, the experimenter replaced the last word of every sentence with an iconic gesture. The child was then asked to choose one of four pictures that matched the gesture as well as the sentence. In a gesture production task, children were asked to indicate 'with their hands' to a deaf puppet which objects to select. Finally, parental gesture frequency was measured while parents answered three different questions. In the iconic gesture perception task, monolingual and bilingual children did not differ. In contrast, bilinguals produced more intelligible gestures than their monolingual peers. Finally, bilingual children's parents gestured more while they spoke than monolingual children's parents. We suggest that bilinguals' heightened sensitivity to their interaction partner supports their ability to produce intelligible gestures and results in a bilingual advantage in iconic gesture production.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anja Gampe
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Moritz M Daum
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.,Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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