scholarly journals Code-switching in young bilingual toddlers: A longitudinal, cross-language investigation

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 500-518
Author(s):  
Erin Smolak ◽  
Stephanie de Anda ◽  
Bianka Enriquez ◽  
Diane Poulin-Dubois ◽  
Margaret Friend
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
San Diego ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Important Predictor ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Small Samples ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Function Words ◽  
Preschool Period ◽  
Cross Language

AbstractAlthough there is a body of work investigating code-switching (alternation between two languages in production) in the preschool period, it largely relies on case studies or very small samples. The current work seeks to extend extant research by exploring the development of code-switching longitudinally from 31 to 39 months of age in two distinct groups of bilingual children: Spanish–English children in San Diego and French–English children in Montréal. In two studies, consistent with previous research, children code-switched more often between than within utterances and code-switched more content than function words. Additionally, children code-switched more from Spanish or French to English than the reverse. Importantly, the factors driving the rate of code-switching differed across samples such that exposure was the most important predictor of code-switching in Spanish–English children whereas proficiency was the more important predictor in French–English children.

Crosslinguistic influence in bilingual acquisition: subject omission in learners of Inuktitut and English

2005 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 893-909 ◽  
Author(s):  
ELIZABETH E. ZWANZIGER ◽  
SHANLEY E. M. ALLEN ◽  
FRED GENESEE
Keyword(s):  
Language Development ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
The Other ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
English Only ◽  
Target Languages ◽  
Crosslinguistic Influence ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
Language Pair

This study investigates subject omission in six English-Inuktitut simultaneous bilingual children, aged 1;8–3;9, to examine whether there are cross-language influences in their language development. Previous research with other language pairs has shown that the morphosyntax of one language can influence the development of morphosyntax in the other language. Most of this research has focused on Romance-Germanic language combinations using case studies. In this study, we examined a language pair (English-Inuktitut) with radically different morphosyntactic structures. Analysis of the English-only and Inuktitut-only utterances of the children revealed monolingual-like acquisition patterns and subject omission rates. The data indicate that these bilingual children possessed knowledge of the target languages that was language-specific and that previously identified triggers for crosslinguistic influence do not operate universally.

Vowel development in young Mandarin-English bilingual children

Phonetica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Yang
Keyword(s):  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Vowel Duration ◽  
Formant Frequency ◽  
High Group ◽  
English Bilingual ◽  
English Vowels ◽  
Vowel Systems ◽  
Phonetic Features ◽  
Cross Language ◽  
L1 And L2

Abstract This study examined the development of vowel categories in young Mandarin -English bilingual children. The participants included 35 children aged between 3 and 4 years old (15 Mandarin-English bilinguals, six English monolinguals, and 14 Mandarin monolinguals). The bilingual children were divided into two groups: one group had a shorter duration (<1 year) of intensive immersion in English (Bi-low group) and one group had a longer duration (>1 year) of intensive immersion in English (Bi-high group). The participants were recorded producing one list of Mandarin words containing the vowels /a, i, u, y, ɤ/ and/or one list of English words containing the vowels /i, ɪ, e, ɛ, æ, u, ʊ, o, ɑ, ʌ/. Formant frequency values were extracted at five equidistant time locations (the 20–35–50–65–80% point) over the course of vowel duration. Cross-language and within-language comparisons were conducted on the midpoint formant values and formant trajectories. The results showed that children in the Bi-low group produced their English vowels into clusters and showed positional deviations from the monolingual targets. However, they maintained the phonetic features of their native vowel sounds well and mainly used an assimilatory process to organize the vowel systems. Children in the Bi-high group separated their English vowels well. They used both assimilatory and dissimilatory processes to construct and refine the two vowel systems. These bilingual children approximated monolingual English children to a better extent than the children in the Bi-low group. However, when compared to the monolingual peers, they demonstrated observable deviations in both L1 and L2.

Summary and conclusion

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Gafaranga
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Research Direction ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
New Approach ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Concurrent Use ◽  
Interactional Functions ◽  
New Research

Research in code-switching, undertaken against the backdrop of very negative attitudes towards the concurrent use of two or more languages within the same conversation, has traditionally been geared towards rehabilitating this form of language use. From being seen as a random phenomenon reflecting the user’s lack of competence, code-switching is currently seen as sign of an advanced level of competence in the languages involved and as serving different interactional functions. However, as a result of its success, the research tradition now faces an entirely new challenge: Where to from here? How can research in code-switching continue to be relevant and interesting now it has largely achieved its original purpose? This book has argued that, in order to overcome this challenge, the notion of bilingualism itself must be redefined. Bilingualism must be seen as consisting of diverse interactional practices and be investigated as such. This book has made the case for this new approach, outlined a methodology for investigating bilingualism as interactional practices and illustrated it by means of three case studies. This concluding chapter wraps up the argument and invites other researchers to contribute to this new research direction.

Educational Simulations

2010 ◽  
pp. 32-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
David A. Guralnick ◽  
Christine Levy
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Current Work ◽  
Design And Development ◽  
Educational Value ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
Educational Simulations ◽  
Success Stories ◽  
Simulation Based ◽  
Learn By Doing

Learn-by-doing simulations can provide tremendously effective learning. This chapter examines previous and current work in the area of educational simulations and looks ahead toward several potential futures in the field. The chapter includes a number of simulation-based success stories and case studies from past years, along with a discussion of why they worked as well as what could have been done better. It also describes approaches to ensure that a simulation is educationally effective while still being engaging and even entertaining. In addition, the chapter includes a design and development process that can be followed in order to maximize the educational value and usability of a simulation.

scholarly journals Does Exposure to Code‐Switching Influence Language Performance in Bilingual Children?

2019 ◽  
Vol 90 (3) ◽  
pp. 708-718 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Kaushanskaya ◽  
Kimberly Crespo
Keyword(s):  
Code Switching ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Language Performance

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.

Code-switching does not predict Executive Function performance in proficient bilingual children: Bilingualism does

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 366-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
CARISSA KANG ◽  
BARBARA LUST
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Task Switching ◽  
Stroop Task ◽  
Language Use ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Bilingual Children ◽  
Proficiency Tests ◽  
Semantic Fluency ◽  
The Relationship

Previous studies of bilingual adults have suggested that bilinguals’ experience with code-switching (CS) contributes to superior executive function (EF) abilities. We tested a highly bilingual developing population in Singapore, a multilingual country where CS occurs pervasively. We obtained CS and EF measures from 43 English–Chinese 8-year-old children (27 females, M = 100 months). We measured spontaneous CS with a novel task and EF in terms of task-switching (Semantic Fluency) and inhibitory control (Stroop task in both languages). Contrary to previous work, CS performance did not significantly predict EF performance in either case. Rather, bilingual language proficiency, i.e., degree of bilingualism (as measured by direct proficiency tests and parents’ estimates of daily language use and exposure of both languages) influenced EF performance. Accordingly, the relationship between CS and EF may be more indirect and non-necessary than previously assumed.

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