The role of home and school factors in predicting English vocabulary among bilingual kindergarten children in Singapore

2010 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. QUENTIN DIXON
Keyword(s):  
Family Income ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Kindergarten Children ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary ◽  
School Factors ◽  
Home And School

ABSTRACTResearch in monolingual populations indicate that vocabulary knowledge is essential to reading achievement, but how vocabulary develops in bilingual children has been understudied. The current study investigated the role of home and school factors in predicting English vocabulary among 284 bilingual kindergartners (168 Chinese, 65 Malay, 51 Indian) in the multilingual context of Singapore. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Third Edition was administered in English and in translations into Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil. Home factors including caretaker language, television language, and mother tongue vocabulary were found to be significant predictors of English vocabulary, controlling for mother's years of education and family income. The curriculum emphasis of the kindergarten center was also found to be a significant predictor of English vocabulary.

Bilingualism and the Measurement of Intelligence and Verbal Learning Ability

1972 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Hickey
Keyword(s):  
Mexican American ◽  
Verbal Learning ◽  
Learning Ability ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test ◽  
Verbal Noun ◽  
Methods Of Evaluation

This study analyzed some of the problems of measuring intelligence and verbal learning ability among Mexican-American preschoolers. These bilingual children encountered greater difficulty in correctly identifying verbal noun concepts on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Structural and idiomatic differences between the English and Spanish languages were thought to be the source of the difficulty. The study emphasized the dangers of reliance upon methods of evaluation and prediction which are not analogous to the context of the particular learning handicap.

The acquisition of Greek gender by bilingual children: The effects of lexical knowledge, oral input, literacy and bi/monolingual schooling

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 901-920 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Prentza ◽  
Maria Kaltsa ◽  
Ianthi Maria Tsimpli ◽  
Despina Papadopoulou
Keyword(s):  
Parental Education ◽  
Strong Relationship ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Lexical Knowledge ◽  
Gender Assignment ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Grammatical Development ◽  
Distinct Process

Aim: The objectives of this study are to examine (a) the development of gender assignment and agreement in real and pseudo nouns by bilingual Greek-Albanian children and (b) how different input-related factors impact on these different processes. Methodology: Real and pseudo nouns were investigated to assess the effect of lexical knowledge (real nouns) and of morphological cues (pseudo nouns). Four tasks eliciting gender production in determiner phrases (assignment) and adjective predicates (agreement) for real and pseudo items were administered. Data: 150 bilingual children and 57 Greek monolingual children, aged 8–12 years old, were tested. Bilingual performance is investigated in relation to the role of the bilinguals’ Greek vocabulary knowledge, as well as in relation to early/current language exposure, oral input, literacy, monolingual/bilingual schooling and parental education as a proxy for socioeconomic status. Findings: The results show a strong relationship between the bilinguals’ performance and their Greek vocabulary development, the amount of oral Greek input and the type of school they are attending. For real nouns, oral Greek input is a positive predictor for accuracy, while literacy in Albanian is associated with lower scores. In pseudo nouns, bilinguals attending bilingual schools are shown to perform significantly better than those attending monolingual schools. Originality: The contribution of this study is related to (a) the examination of pseudo nouns along with real ones showing that gender marking in the former involves a distinct process, (b) the finding regarding the pervasive role of vocabulary knowledge and (c) the consideration of schooling type in relation to the development of a specific grammatical feature. Implications: Bilingual education was shown to positively affect the development of gender, which suggests that schooling type has a significant impact not only on literacy development but also on grammatical development.

On the nature of morphological awareness in Japanese–English bilingual children: A cross-linguistic perspective

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
YUKO HAYASHI ◽  
VICTORIA A. MURPHY
Keyword(s):  
English Learners ◽  
Morphological Awareness ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Morphological Development ◽  
Morphological Knowledge ◽  
Japanese Learners ◽  
Reciprocal Transfer ◽  
Japanese English

While morphological awareness has received much attention to date, little is understood about how morphological awareness develops within bilingual children learning typologically different languages. Therefore, we investigated children's knowledge of inflections and derivations in Japanese and English, and also asked whether morphological awareness in one language predicted morphological awareness in the other. To that end, 24 Japanese learners of L2 English (ESL) and 21 English learners of Japanese as a heritage language (JHL) were recruited and participated in a range of tasks assessing both vocabulary and morphological knowledge. Cross-linguistic contributions of morphological awareness were identified in both directions (Japanese ↔ English), after controlling for age, IQ, and vocabulary knowledge. This bidirectional transfer was, however, identified only in the ESL group. The group-specific and reciprocal transfer observed is discussed in terms of morphological complexities and relative competence in each language. The potential role of different types of L2 instruction in morphological development is also discussed.

The Cognitive Flexibility Claim in the Bilingual and Music Education Research Traditions

1978 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 76-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Bain
Keyword(s):  
Music Education ◽  
Kindergarten Children ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Research Traditions ◽  
Music Program ◽  
Inner Self ◽  
Rod And Frame

This report briefly surveys two research traditions, bilingual child development and music education, largely unknown to each other but arriving at similar conclusions concerning the cognitive consequences of their respective programs. A study of performance on the rod-and-frame, Uznadze illusion, Piagetian conservation, and Peabody picture-vocabulary tests by kindergarten children in a bilingual immersion program, a music program, and a control group (neither bilingual nor music) was conducted. The bilingual children performed significantly better on the tests that demanded verbal facility. The music children performed significantly better on the tests that demanded awareness of inner self. Results suggest that the two types of experiences result in a more flexible means of cognition within different cognitive domains.

FORMAL VERSUS INFORMAL L2 LEARNING

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Vanessa De Wilde ◽  
Marc Brysbaert ◽  
June Eyckmans
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Word Frequency ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
And Gender ◽  
French Words ◽  
Out Of School

Abstract A second language can be learned inside and outside the classroom. In this study we investigated the English and French vocabulary knowledge of 110 Dutch-speaking children (age 10–12), who received 100 hours of instruction in French, whereas their contact with English came from out-of-school exposure only. We examined the role of individual differences (out-of-school exposure and gender) and word-related variables (cognateness, frequency, and language). The children completed a receptive vocabulary test in English and French and filled in a questionnaire. The results showed that the children had a larger vocabulary knowledge in English than in French, illustrating the power of contextual language learning. Word learning was influenced by the amount of exposure, word frequency, and cognateness. Additionally, English words were easier to learn than French words for the participants we tested. Our results point to the need for out-of-school exposure to supplement language learning in the classroom.

scholarly journals Performances of Low-Income, African American Preschool and Kindergarten Children on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised

1992 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 329-333 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie A. Washington ◽  
Holly K. Craig
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Standard Deviation ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Kindergarten Children ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test ◽  
The Mean

This study examined test performances of 105 low-income, urban, African American preschool and kindergarten boys and girls on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R). Most children performed more than one standard deviation below the mean, and a scoring adjustment to the test failed to change this distribution substantially. The findings indicate that the PPVT-R is not appropriate for use with this population.

The role of language of instruction and vocabulary in the English phonological awareness of Spanish–English bilingual children

2006 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANDREA ROLLA SAN FRANCISCO ◽  
MARÍA CARLO ◽  
DIANE AUGUST ◽  
CATHERINE E. SNOW
Keyword(s):  
Phonological Awareness ◽  
First Graders ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Language Of Instruction ◽  
Phonological Knowledge ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Spanish Phonology ◽  
Spanish Literacy

This study explores influences on bilingual children's phonological awareness (PA) performance in English, examining the role of language of instruction and vocabulary. English monolingual and Spanish–English bilingual kindergartners and first graders receiving either English or Spanish literacy instruction were assessed in English PA and in English and Spanish vocabulary, as appropriate. Spanish-instructed bilinguals were more likely than English-instructed bilinguals or English monolinguals to treat diphthongs as two units, reflecting their analysis in Spanish phonology and orthography. Surprisingly, unbalanced bilinguals dominant in either English or Spanish scored better on English PA than children with approximately equal scores on the English and the Spanish vocabulary test. This finding suggests that familiarity with many lexical items within a language constitutes a source of analyzable phonological knowledge.

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