scholarly journals Difficulties using standardized tests to identify the receptive expressive gap in bilingual children's vocabularies

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 328-339 ◽  
Author(s):  
TODD A. GIBSON ◽  
LINDA JARMULOWICZ ◽  
D. KIMBROUGH OLLER
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Tests ◽  
Picture Naming ◽  
English Language ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Language Tests ◽  
The Us ◽  
English Speaking

Receptive standardized vocabulary scores have been found to be much higher than expressive standardized vocabulary scores in children with Spanish as L1, learning L2 (English) in school (Gibson et al., 2012). Here we present evidence suggesting the receptive-expressive gap may be harder to evaluate than previously thought. We compared the performance of 116 six-year-old Spanish–English bilingual children in the US to 30 monolingual Spanish-speaking peers in Mexico across two Spanish-language standardized picture naming tests and one standardized picture pointing test. The performance of 134 monolingual English-speaking peers was compared using similar English-language tests. Results revealed the presence and magnitude of a receptive-expressive gap was largely dependent on the tests used. These discrepant results likely exist because widely-used standardized tests do not offer comparable normed scores. We review possible test norming practices that may have contributed to these results and suggest guidelines to determine a meaningful receptive-expressive gap for bilingual children.

Effect of speaker certainty on novel word learning in monolingual and bilingual children

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (04) ◽  
pp. 883-895 ◽  
Author(s):  
MILIJANA BUAC ◽  
AURÉLIE TAUZIN-LARCHÉ ◽  
EMILY WEISBERG ◽  
MARGARITA KAUSHANSKAYA
Keyword(s):  
Word Learning ◽  
Learning Performance ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Group Differences ◽  
Language Experience ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Novel Word Learning ◽  
Linguistic Backgrounds ◽  
Novel Words

In the present study, we examined the effect of speaker certainty on word-learning performance in English-speaking monolingual (MAge = 6.40) and Spanish–English bilingual (MAge = 6.58) children. No group differences were observed when children learned novel words from a certain speaker. However, bilingual children were more willing to learn novel words from an uncertain speaker than their monolingual peers. These findings indicate that language experience influences how children weigh cues to speaker credibility during learning and suggest that children with more diverse linguistic backgrounds (i.e., bilinguals) are less prone to prioritizing information based on speaker certainty.

scholarly journals Do Bilingual Children Have an Executive Function Advantage? Results From Inhibition, Shifting, and Updating Tasks

2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 356-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genesis D. Arizmendi ◽  
Mary Alt ◽  
Shelley Gray ◽  
Tiffany P. Hogan ◽  
Samuel Green ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Bayes Factor ◽  
Second Graders ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Bilingual Advantage ◽  
School Aged Children ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Potential Factors

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine differences in performance between monolingual and Spanish–English bilingual second graders (aged 7–9 years old) on executive function tasks assessing inhibition, shifting, and updating to contribute more evidence to the ongoing debate about a potential bilingual executive function advantage. Method One hundred sixty-seven monolingual English-speaking children and 80 Spanish–English bilingual children were administered 7 tasks on a touchscreen computer in the context of a pirate game. Bayesian statistics were used to determine if there were differences between the monolingual and bilingual groups. Additional analyses involving covariates of maternal level of education and nonverbal intelligence, and matching on these same variables, were also completed. Results Scaled-information Bayes factor scores more strongly favored the null hypothesis that there were no differences between the bilingual and monolingual groups on any of the executive function tasks. For 2 of the tasks, we found an advantage in favor of the monolingual group. Conclusions If there is a bilingual advantage in school-aged children, it is not robust across circumstances. We discuss potential factors that might counteract an actual advantage, including task reliability and environmental influences.

Polish–English bilingual children overuse referential markers: MLU inflation in Polish-language narratives

2020 ◽  
pp. 014272372093376
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Otwinowska ◽  
Marcin Opacki ◽  
Karolina Mieszkowska ◽  
Marta Białecka-Pikul ◽  
Zofia Wodniecka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
English Language ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Overt Pronouns ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Cohesive Devices ◽  
Dp Structure ◽  
Polish Language ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Mean Length Of Utterance ◽  
Cross Language

Polish and English differ in the surface realization of the underlying Determiner Phrase (DP): Polish lacks an article system, whereas English makes use of articles for both grammatical and pragmatic reasons. This difference has an impact on how referentiality is rendered in both languages. In this article, the authors investigate the use of referential markers by Polish–English bilingual children and Polish monolingual children. Using the LITMUS-MAIN picture stories, the authors collected speech samples of Polish–English bilinguals raised in the UK ( n = 92, mean age 5;7) and compared them with matched Polish monolinguals ( n = 92, mean age 5;7). The analyses revealed that the bilinguals’ mean length of utterance (MLU) in Polish was significantly higher than that of the monolinguals because the bilinguals produced significantly more referential markers (especially pronouns) which inflated their MLU. The authors posit that the non-standard referentiality used by the bilinguals in Polish is caused by cross-language transfer at the syntax–pragmatics interface. When producing narratives in Polish, Polish–English bilinguals overuse referential markers as cohesive devices in their stories, which is not ungrammatical, but pragmatically odd in Polish. Bilinguals tend to do this because they are immersed in English-language input, rich in overt pronouns. Thus, in the process of realizing the surface features of the Polish DP they partly rely on an underlying English DP structure.

scholarly journals Assessing the productive vocabulary of Spanish–English bilingual toddlers from low-income families

2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
JEANNETTE MANCILLA-MARTINEZ ◽  
BARBARA ALEXANDER PAN ◽  
SHAHER BANU VAGH
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Conceptual Knowledge ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Old Spanish ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
Communicative Development ◽  
Low Income Families

ABSTRACTThis study investigates the utility and validity of the MacArthur–Bates Communicative Development Inventory (CDI) for use with low-income parents and their 24- to 36-month-old Spanish–English bilingual children (n = 79). Issues in the interpretation of the integrated CDI/Inventarios del Desarrollo de Habilidades Comunicativas (IDHC) score to index bilingual children's overall conceptual knowledge are also considered. Results indicate that the CDI/IDHC can be used with this population through at least age 36 months and parents are accurate reporters of their children's Spanish and English vocabulary. The value of the integrated score was confirmed. However, given the lack of norms associated with the integrated score, the complexity of determining how best to interpret this score was underscored.

The acquisition of rhotics by child L2 and L3 learners

2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
Alexandra Morales Reyes ◽  
Begona Arechabaleta ◽  
Silvina A. Montrul
Keyword(s):  
Picture Naming ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Naming Task ◽  
Linguistic Knowledge ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Linguistic Experience ◽  
L3 Acquisition ◽  
L2 Learners ◽  
English Speaking

This study investigated how previous linguistic experience and universal strategies guide the acquisition of phonology in the classroom. More specifically, it focused on the possible advantages that bilingual children have over monolingual children. Thirty-four children completed a picture-naming task: 9 Spanish native speakers, 19 English native speakers acquiring Spanish as L2 and 6 Korean-English bilinguals acquiring Spanish as L3. Results indicated that in general the children rapidly acquired native-like pronunciation of the Spanish rhotics, but the Korean-English bilinguals outperformed the English-speaking children. We propose that although previous linguistic knowledge plays a role in L2 and L3 acquisition, children are able to overcome transfer errors because they are guided by universal developmental strategies from the initial stages of acquisition. We suggest that if L3 learners have an advantage over L2 learners, this may be due to their complex linguistic knowledge and higher metalinguistic competence.

The Effects of Dual-Language Support on the Language Skills of Bilingual Children With Hearing Loss Who Use Listening Devices Relative to Their Monolingual Peers

2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferenc Bunta ◽  
Michael Douglas
Keyword(s):  
Hearing Loss ◽  
Hearing Aids ◽  
English Language ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Auditory Comprehension ◽  
Preschool Language ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Children With Hearing Loss ◽  
English Language Skills

PurposeThe present study investigated the effects of supporting both English and Spanish on language outcomes in bilingual children with hearing loss (HL) who used listening devices (cochlear implants and hearing aids). The English language skills of bilingual children with HL were compared to those of their monolingual English-speaking peers' with HL. The Spanish and English language skills of the bilingual participants were also compared.MethodThe language skills of 40 children with HL (20 bilingual Spanish–English-speaking and 20 monolingual English-speaking) were examined using the Auditory Comprehension, Expressive Communication, and total language scores from the Preschool Language Scale, Fourth Edition (Zimmerman, Steiner, & Pond, 2002a, 2002b).ResultsThe English language skills of the bilingual participants were commensurate with those of their monolingual English-speaking peers on all 3 measures. The Spanish and English total language scores of the bilingual group were also comparable and highly correlated.ConclusionBoth languages of bilingual children with HL can be supported without having adverse effects on the children's language development. Moreover, supporting both languages in bilingual children with HL may have multifarious positive ramifications.

Comparison of Spanish, English, and Bilingual Children’s Performance Across Semantic Tasks

2003 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Peña ◽  
Lisa M. Bedore ◽  
Christina Rappazzo
Keyword(s):  
Group Performance ◽  
Semantic Knowledge ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Clinical Implications ◽  
Assessment Battery ◽  
Spanish Speaking ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Similarities And Differences ◽  
Insight Into

Purpose: This study investigated predominantly Spanish-speaking, predominantly English-speaking, and Spanish-English bilingual children’s performance on a battery of semantic tasks. Method: Six semantic tasks (associations, characteristic properties, categorization, functions, linguistic concepts, and similarities and differences) were developed in Spanish and English. The tasks contained comparable items but were not direct translations of each other. Each task consisted of expressive and receptive items. Predominantly Spanish-speaking children completed the tasks in Spanish, predominantly English-speaking children completed the tasks in English, and bilingual children completed the tasks in Spanish and English. Results: Children in all three groups achieved similar average levels of performance on the assessment battery. However, there were differences in the patterns of performance for English and Spanish, as well as group performance differences when compared in the same language. Clinical Implications: These findings highlight the importance of testing bilingual children in both of their languages and across a variety of semantic tasks in order to gain insight into bilingual children’s semantic knowledge.

A longitudinal study of the phonological development of two Cantonese–English bilingual children

1999 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
ALISON HOLM ◽  
BARBARA DODD
Keyword(s):  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Phonological Development ◽  
Phonological Acquisition ◽  
Process Data ◽  
Phonological Process ◽  
Error Patterns ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Longitudinal Case Studies

Longitudinal case studies of the successive phonological acquisition of two Cantonese–English bilingual children, aged 2;3 to 3;1 years and 2;9 to 3;5 years, are presented. The children were assessed at 4-week intervals. The first assessment of their phonology occurred when they had been exposed to English for three months. Phoneme acquisition and phonological process data revealed that both children had separate phonological systems for the two languages. The two phonological systems for each child developed in similar ways to monolingual children acquiring Cantonese and English. However, a number of error patterns, indicative of disorder in monolingual children, were evident in the children's phonological systems in English and in Cantonese. These patterns have been documented as normal error patterns for successive bilingual Cantonese–English speaking children. The difference between normal successive bilingual phonological development and normal monolingual development is addressed.

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