“My French is rusty”: Proficiency and bilingual gesture use in a majority English community

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (04) ◽  
pp. 826-835
Author(s):  
JASMINE R. AZIZ ◽  
ELENA NICOLADIS
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Lexical Access ◽  
First Language ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Oral Fluency ◽  
Language Access ◽  
Spatial Tasks ◽  
And Task ◽  
Bilingual Proficiency

Gestures serve many functions, including aiding language access and message construction, particularly in spatial tasks. Some researchers have argued that gesture frequency is linked to proficiency in bilinguals, although results have been inconsistent. We tested Nicoladis’ (2007) proposal that bilinguals’ proficiency interacts with task: namely, more spatial tasks elicit greater proficiency effects. French–English bilinguals completed a cartoon-retell task (high spatial) and an interview task (low spatial) in both languages. We measured bilingual proficiency categorically by first language (L1) and continuously by assessing receptive vocabulary, oral fluency, and word types. Participants gestured more in the cartoon-retell task, but there were minimal proficiency effects and no interactions between proficiency and task. Interestingly, only participants with English as their L1 gestured more in their second language (L2), potentially due to ‘rustiness’, or lexical access difficulties in French from low usage in the majority English community.

Lexical acquisition over time in minority first language children learning English as a second language

2008 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
HEATHER GOLBERG ◽  
JOHANNE PARADIS ◽  
MARTHA CRAGO
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
First Language ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Lexical Resources ◽  
Lexical Development ◽  
Second Language Development ◽  
Mental Age ◽  
Language Sampling

ABSTRACTThe English second language development of 19 children (mean age at outset = 5 years, 4 months) from various first language backgrounds was examined every 6 months for 2 years, using spontaneous language sampling, parental questionnaires, and a standardized receptive vocabulary test. Results showed that the children's mean mental age equivalency and standard scores on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test—Third Edition nearly met native-speaker expectations after an average of 34 months of exposure to English, a faster rate of development than has been reported in some other research. Children displayed the phenomenon of general all-purpose verbs through overextension of the semantically flexible verb do, an indicator of having to stretch their lexical resources for the communicative context. Regarding sources of individual differences, older age of second language onset and higher levels of mother's education were associated with faster growth in children's English lexical development, and nonverbal intelligence showed some limited influence on vocabulary outcomes; however, English use in the home had no consistent effects on vocabulary development.

Understanding L1 and L2 interaction in collaborative writing: A lexico-grammatical analysis

2019 ◽  
pp. 136216881985991 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meixiu Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Collaborative Writing ◽  
First Language ◽  
Task Management ◽  
Grammatical Analysis ◽  
L1 Use ◽  
L1 And L2 ◽  
And Task

Despite previous research suggesting that first language (L1) use fulfills important functions in collaborative writing (CW) tasks, research has yet to examine whether L1 or second language (L2) use may lead to variation in the lexico-grammatical aspects of learners’ collaborative texts and the pair talk. Using a corpus-based approach, this study examined how interacting in the L1 or the L2 during CW tasks influenced the use of lexico-grammatical features in learners’ co-constructed texts and the focus areas of their pair talk. The results suggest that L1 interaction significantly facilitates the production of lexico-grammatical features typical of academic writing in learners’ co-constructed texts. Additionally, compared with L2 interaction, L1 interaction allows learners to focus more on language and task management in pair talk. Methodological and pedagogical implications are discussed.

Estimating second language productive vocabulary size

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joy Williams ◽  
Norman Segalowitz ◽  
Tatsiana Leclair
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Lexical Access ◽  
Convergent Validity ◽  
Word Association ◽  
First Language ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Vocabulary Size ◽  
Direct Indication ◽  
Capture Recapture ◽  
Written Word

This study provides validity evidence for the Capture-Recapture (CR) method, borrowed from ecology, as a measure of second language (L2) productive vocabulary size (PVS). Two separate “captures” of productive vocabulary were taken using written word association tasks (WAT). At Time 1, 47 bilinguals provided at least 4 associates to each of 30 high-frequency stimulus words in English, their first language (L1), and in French, their L2. A few days later (Time 2), this procedure was repeated with a different set of stimulus words in each language. Since the WAT was used, both Lex30 and CR PVS scores were calculated in each language. Participants also completed an animacy judgment task assessing the speed and efficiency of lexical access. Results indicated that, in both languages, CR and Lex30 scores were significantly positively correlated (evidence of convergent validity). CR scores were also significantly larger in the L1, and correlated significantly with the speed of lexical access in the L2 (evidence of construct validity). These results point to the validity of the technique for estimating relative L2 PVS. However, CR scores are not a direct indication of absolute vocabulary size. A discussion of the method’s underlying assumptions and their implications for interpretation are provided.

scholarly journals The Lexical Development of Canadian-Born Romanian L1 Bilingual Kindergarteners

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Claudia Petrescu ◽  
Rena Helms-Park
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
First Language ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test ◽  
Lexical Development ◽  
Definitive Evidence ◽  
Academic Register

This study charts the lexical development of three sequential bilingual kindergarteners whose first language, Romanian, was acquired naturalistically at home, and whose second language, English, was acquired in kindergarten. The children’s lexical development in English and Romanian was assessed at five different points over a two-year period via the PPVT-4 (peabody picture vocabulary test 4) and a specially adapted PPVT-4 for Romanian. The children’s lexical repertoires were further analyzed to uncover home versus school and cognate versus non-cognate acquisitional differences. In addition, because there is no database of lexical items acquired by monolingual Romanian children, the PPVT-4 adapted for Romanian was administered to 22 monolingual six-year-old Romanian children in Sibiu, Romania. The findings indicate the following: (i) the three bilinguals’ receptive vocabulary in English was below average when they joined kindergarten, and at or above average two years later; (ii) their lexical growth in Romanian was steady; (iii) the bilinguals’ scores for words belonging to a home register reflected ceiling effects in English and Romanian (i.e., were very well known); (iv) academic words were known to an equal extent in English and Romanian, but scores were lower than for the home register; and (v) there was no definitive evidence of cognate facilitation. A comparison of the monolingual and bilingual Romanian repertoires reflects the following: (i) equally high scores for home items; (ii) differences in scores in the academic register in favour of the Romanian monolinguals; and (iii) important lifestyle and cultural differences between the groups. The Romanian children, for example, were more familiar than their Canadian counterparts with items related to home maintenance, such as șmirghăluiește (‘sanding’) and mistrie (‘trowel’), or items probably learned in school, such as foca (‘walrus’) and broască țestoasă (‘tortoise’).

The development of vocabulary in English as a second language children and its role in predicting word recognition ability

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
MAUREEN JEAN ◽  
ESTHER GEVA
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
First Language ◽  
Vocabulary Knowledge ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Rapid Automatized Naming ◽  
Word Meanings ◽  
Grade 5 ◽  
Elementary Aged Children ◽  
Recognition Ability

ABSTRACTDo older English as a second language (ESL) children have the same knowledge of word meanings as English as a first language (EL1) children? How important is vocabulary's role in predicting word recognition in these groups? This study sought to answer these questions by examining the profiles of ESL and EL1 upper elementary aged children, for a 2-year period starting in Grade 5. Multivariate analyses revealed that (a) EL1 and ESL groups did not differ on underlying processing components (e.g., phonological awareness [PA], rapid automatized naming [RAN], and working memory [WM]) or on word recognition, but ESL children continued to lag behind their EL1 peers on knowledge of word meanings that correspond approximately to their grade level; and (b) vocabulary knowledge (root words and receptive vocabulary), explained a small proportion of additional variance on word recognition concurrently and longitudinally after accounting for the contributions of PA, RAN, and WM.

scholarly journals La competencia comunicativa en escolares de Educación Primaria

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (19) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Isabel Gómez Veiga ◽  
Pilar Vieiro
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Lexical Access ◽  
School Children ◽  
Oral Language ◽  
Communicative Competence ◽  
First Language ◽  
Educación Primaria ◽  
Grammatical Structures

RESUMENEl trabajo que presentamos en este artículo pretende contribuir al conocimiento de la competencia comunicativa desarrollada en la lengua oral por los escolares de ocho años. Analizamos los discursos producidos en la primera y en la segunda lengua, a través de medidas relacionadas con el acceso al léxico, la precisión sintáctica y la complejidad de las construcciones gramaticales construidas por los hablantes. Los resultados apuntan a que las diferencias en la competencia comunicativa en ambos códigos  se  relacionan,  fundamentalmente,  con  los  procesos  básicos  de  codificación  léxica  y morfo-sintáctica.ABSTRACTThe work reported in this paper purports to investigate communicative competence in oral language developed by school children (average age 8:2). Discourses produced in both first language and second language were analysed through measures related to lexical access, syntactic accuracy and complexity of grammatical structures constructed by speakers. Results indicate that differences in communicative competence between codes are associated with basic processes of lexical and morphosyntactic encoding.

scholarly journals The Lexical Development of Canadian-Born Romanian L1 Bilingual Kindergarteners

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Claudia Petrescu ◽  
Rena Helms-Park
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
First Language ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test ◽  
Lexical Development ◽  
Definitive Evidence ◽  
Academic Register

This study charts the lexical development of three sequential bilingual kindergarteners whose first language, Romanian, was acquired naturalistically at home, and whose second language, English, was acquired in kindergarten. The children’s lexical development in English and Romanian was assessed at five different points over a two-year period via the PPVT-4 (peabody picture vocabulary test 4) and a specially adapted PPVT-4 for Romanian. The children’s lexical repertoires were further analyzed to uncover home versus school and cognate versus non-cognate acquisitional differences. In addition, because there is no database of lexical items acquired by monolingual Romanian children, the PPVT-4 adapted for Romanian was administered to 22 monolingual six-year-old Romanian children in Sibiu, Romania. The findings indicate the following: (i) the three bilinguals’ receptive vocabulary in English was below average when they joined kindergarten, and at or above average two years later; (ii) their lexical growth in Romanian was steady; (iii) the bilinguals’ scores for words belonging to a home register reflected ceiling effects in English and Romanian (i.e., were very well known); (iv) academic words were known to an equal extent in English and Romanian, but scores were lower than for the home register; and (v) there was no definitive evidence of cognate facilitation. A comparison of the monolingual and bilingual Romanian repertoires reflects the following: (i) equally high scores for home items; (ii) differences in scores in the academic register in favour of the Romanian monolinguals; and (iii) important lifestyle and cultural differences between the groups. The Romanian children, for example, were more familiar than their Canadian counterparts with items related to home maintenance, such as șmirghăluiește (‘sanding’) and mistrie (‘trowel’), or items probably learned in school, such as foca (‘walrus’) and broască țestoasă (‘tortoise’).

scholarly journals The Lexical Development of Canadian-Born Romanian L1 Bilingual Kindergarteners

Languages ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 33
Author(s):  
Maria Claudia Petrescu ◽  
Rena Helms-Park
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
First Language ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Vocabulary Test ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary ◽  
Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test ◽  
Lexical Development ◽  
Definitive Evidence ◽  
Academic Register

This study charts the lexical development of three sequential bilingual kindergarteners whose first language, Romanian, was acquired naturalistically at home, and whose second language, English, was acquired in kindergarten. The children’s lexical development in English and Romanian was assessed at five different points over a two-year period via the PPVT-4 (peabody picture vocabulary test 4) and a specially adapted PPVT-4 for Romanian. The children’s lexical repertoires were further analyzed to uncover home versus school and cognate versus non-cognate acquisitional differences. In addition, because there is no database of lexical items acquired by monolingual Romanian children, the PPVT-4 adapted for Romanian was administered to 22 monolingual six-year-old Romanian children in Sibiu, Romania. The findings indicate the following: (i) the three bilinguals’ receptive vocabulary in English was below average when they joined kindergarten, and at or above average two years later; (ii) their lexical growth in Romanian was steady; (iii) the bilinguals’ scores for words belonging to a home register reflected ceiling effects in English and Romanian (i.e., were very well known); (iv) academic words were known to an equal extent in English and Romanian, but scores were lower than for the home register; and (v) there was no definitive evidence of cognate facilitation. A comparison of the monolingual and bilingual Romanian repertoires reflects the following: (i) equally high scores for home items; (ii) differences in scores in the academic register in favour of the Romanian monolinguals; and (iii) important lifestyle and cultural differences between the groups. The Romanian children, for example, were more familiar than their Canadian counterparts with items related to home maintenance, such as șmirghăluiește (‘sanding’) and mistrie (‘trowel’), or items probably learned in school, such as foca (‘walrus’) and broască țestoasă (‘tortoise’).

scholarly journals Language Selectivity in Lexical Access: an Experimental Study on Bilinguals

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Fatma Demiray ◽  
Dilek Peçenek
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Lexical Access ◽  
First Language ◽  
Unrelated Word ◽  
Second Language Proficiency ◽  
Language Selection ◽  
First Languages ◽  
Switching Task ◽  
Target Words

In this study, the locus of language selection in bilingual lexical access is investigated based on some basic factors such as first languages, second language proficiency, age of acquisition and multilingualism. In particular, this study explores competition between bilinguals’ languages and proposes two language selection models; Inhibitory Control Model (Green, 1998) and Concept Selection Model (La Heij, 2005). In experiment 1, the participants were asked to perform a word translation task from their second language (L2) to first language (L1). Each target was accompanied by a distracter item in the form of a picture or a word which was related/unrelated to the target word semantically. As a result, all participants translated target words faster when they are accompanied with semantically related/unrelated word distracters than picture distracters. On the other hand, they translated target words faster when they are accompanied with unrelated word distracters than related word distracters. Finally, they translated target words faster when they are accompanied with related picture distracters than unrelated picture distracters. In experiment 2, participants were asked to perform a switching task with the numbers in their first language and second language according to the background color of the digits. Finally, the language switching cost was larger when switching from L2 to L1 than vice versa. The results have shown that while the factors such as L1 andage of acquisition do not affect the locus of language selection during lexical access, proficiency in L2 and multilingualism factors affect the locus of language selection.

scholarly journals Vocabulary development of young Uyghur children: Exploring trajectories of receptive and expressive vocabulary

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 19-26
Author(s):  
Si Chen ◽  
Peizhi Wen ◽  
Chen Chen
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
First Language ◽  
Vocabulary Development ◽  
Receptive Vocabulary ◽  
Expressive Vocabulary ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Important Pathway ◽  
Standard Deviations

Recent researches of Xinjiang Uyghur young children’s bilingual development provide little empirical evidence of the relationship between Uyghur children’s first language (Uyghur) and second language (Mandarin Chinese). This study was designed to explore how children’s Uyghur vocabulary impacts Chinese vocabulary development. Using a randomized sample of 379 Uyghur children aged 4–6 from Urumqi and Turpan city of Xinjiang, we tested children’s Chinese receptive vocabulary, Chinese expressive vocabulary, Uyghur receptive vocabulary, and Uyghur expressive vocabulary. Results of multilevel regression models showed that after controlling for Uyghur children’s age and kindergarten level, their Chinese receptive vocabulary and Chinese expressive vocabulary can be significantly predicted by Uyghur receptive vocabulary. When Uyghur receptive vocabulary increases by 1 standard deviation, children’s Chinese receptive vocabulary will significantly increase by 0.31 standard deviations, while Chinese expressive vocabulary will significantly increase by 0.18 standard deviations after controlling for children’s age and kindergarten level. However, young children’s Uyghur expressive vocabulary cannot predict either Chinese receptive vocabulary or Chinese expressive vocabulary. Path analysis showed that there were significant direct effects from Uyghur receptive vocabulary to Chinese receptive vocabulary and Chinese receptive vocabulary to Chinese expressive vocabulary. Also, there was a significant indirect effect from Uyghur receptive vocabulary via Chinese receptive vocabulary that impacts Chinese expressive vocabulary. We found that Chinese receptive vocabulary was a full mediator and an important pathway from Uyghur children’s first language vocabulary to second language vocabulary. Findings of this study provide empirical evidence for psychological education researchers to create new curricula to improve young Uyghur children’s second language learning.

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