Work

Dual language exposure and early bilingual development

Year: 2011

Type: article

Abstract: The extant literature includes conflicting assertions regarding the influence of bilingualism on the rate of language development. The present study compared the language development of equivalently high-SES samples of bilingually and monolingually developing children from 1 ; 10 to 2 ; 6. The monolingually developing children were significantly more advanced than the bilingually developing children on measures of both vocabulary and grammar in single language comparisons, but they were comparable on a measure of total vocabulary. Within the bilingually developing sample, all measures of vocabulary and grammar were related to the relative amount of input in that language. Implications for theories of language acquisition and for understanding bilingual development are discussed.

Source: Journal of Child Language

DOI: 10.1017/s0305000910000759

Authors: ERIKA HOFF, CYNTHIA CORE, SILVIA PLACE, ROSARIO RUMICHE, MELISSA SEÑOR, MARISOL PARRA

Institution: Florida Atlantic University

Language: English

Topic: Language Development and Disorders

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

Awards: Early Dual Language Development in Children from Spanish-Speaking Families, G1942520763, G5233581023, Phonological memory and language in young monolingual and bilingual children