Factors Influencing Cognate Performance for Young Multilingual Children's Vocabulary: A Research Synthesis

The Effect of Phonological Overlap on English and Spanish Expressive Vocabulary

PURPOSE

This study examined the effect of phonological overlap on English and Spanish expressive vocabulary accuracy as measured by the bilingual Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition (EOWPVT-IV). We hypothesized that if languages interact during an expressive vocabulary task, then higher phonological overlap will predict higher expressive vocabulary accuracy, especially in the nondominant language.

METHOD

Twenty English-dominant bilingual children (English-Spanish) completed the bilingual EOWPVT-IV. We calculated phonological overlap between 117 English and Spanish words included in the bilingual EOWPVT using the Crosslinguistic Overlap Scale for Phonology.

RESULTS

Generalized logistic mixed-effect models revealed that phonological overlap and word frequency predicted vocabulary accuracy in Spanish, in addition to item difficulty. Age and item difficulty were the only predictors of English accuracy.

CONCLUSIONS

Phonological overlap was a significant predictor of Spanish vocabulary accuracy (the least dominant language of the children in our sample), suggesting a transfer between vocabulary in the dominant language into vocabulary in the least dominant language. Future studies should investigate how languages interact in bilingual children to provide us with information about how to create and administer vocabulary tests that represent vocabulary in each language and use vocabulary teaching strategies that promote dual language development.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.21554838.

Is There a Cognate Effect in Bilingual Children With Developmental Language Disorder?

PURPOSE

Cognates, words in two languages that share form and meaning, can be used to support vocabulary development in bilingual children. Typically developing bilinguals have shown better performance on cognates versus noncognates. Of key interest is whether bilinguals with developmental language disorder (DLD) also show a cognate effect and, if so, which factors are related to their cognate performance.

METHOD

Thirty-five Spanish-English bilingual children (5-11 years old) with DLD completed the Expressive and Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Tests, third edition, in English (EOW, ROW) to measure cognate performance. Test items were divided by difficulty level (easy, medium, and hard) and classified as cognates or noncognates using the Cross-Linguistic Overlap Scale for Phonology.

RESULTS

On average, children showed clear and robust cognate effects on EOW across difficulty levels with medium-to-large effect sizes. Results on the ROW showed minimal effects that varied by difficulty. Individually, 80% of participants (28 of 35) demonstrated a cognate effect in EOW, whereas only 31% (11 of 35) showed an effect in ROW. A cognate effect in ROW was positively correlated with age and English proficiency, whereas no factors correlated with the EOW cognate effect.

CONCLUSIONS

Bilingual children with DLD show higher performance on cognates than noncognates, at least in expressive vocabulary. Participants who did show a receptive cognate effect tended to be older and have higher English proficiency. Further investigation is needed to identify factors underlying cognate performance in order to tailor intervention strategies that promote bilingual vocabulary development.

The Development of Cognate Awareness in Child Second/Third Language Learners of French in French Immersion: The Effects of Orthographic Overlap and Cognate Status

Purpose Our 1-year longitudinal study tracked the development of cognate awareness among second (L2) and third language (L3) learners of French in French immersion in Grades 1 and 2 to explore the impact of orthographic overlap and cognate status (true vs. false) on children's ability to recognize cognate relationships. We also assessed the impact of French L2/L3 status on performance. Method We compared performance on three conditions (true cognates with same and similar spellings, false cognates with same spellings) within and across grades. We used a direct measure of cognate awareness that required children (n = 81) to distinguish true from false cognates presented orally and in print. Results Overall, Grade 1 children failed to recognize cognate relationships between true cognates with similar spellings, but successfully recognized true cognates with same spellings. Performance on all conditions increased significantly between Grades 1 and 2. The greatest improvement was seen on true cognates with similar spellings. Performance on false cognates was inferior to performance on true cognates with same spellings in Grade 1, and inferior to performance on both same and similar spelled true cognates in Grade 2. No differences were found due to L2/L3 status. Conclusions Among sequential learners of L2/L3 French in the early stages of additional language learning, cognate awareness is impacted by the degree of orthographic overlap, as well as by cognate status. Children's ability to recognize cross-language orthographic and semantic relationships improves substantially across the early elementary grades. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.16821106.