Abstract
Number-related language input has been shown to influence children’s number word acquisition and mathematical ability. Significant differences exist between how Mandarin Chinese speaking parents and monolingual English-speaking parents use numeric language in speech to children. In particular, Mandarin Chinese speaking parents use cardinal number much more frequently in speech to children than do English speaking parents. However, because previous studies have been conducted cross-nationally, research has been unable to disentangle the influences of language from parental influence. The current study examined numeric language input to preschool children with bilingual Mandarin-English American parents. Results show that when parents speak to their children in Mandarin Chinese, children hear more instances and examples of the cardinal number principle than when parents speak to their children in English. This suggests that differences between how the Mandarin Chinese and English languages are structured leads to disparities in how frequently children hear cardinal number in everyday speech.
Highlights
IntroductionMultiple studies indicate that mathematical and number-specific language input from both parents and teachers predicts young children’s number word acquisition (Huttenlocher et al, 1991; Goodman et al, 2008; Levine et al, 2010), preschool mathematical knowledge (Klibanoff et al, 2006; Susperreguy and Davis-Kean, 2016; Casey et al, 2018), as well as grade school arithmetic ability (Case and Griffin, 1990; Jordan et al, 2009; Niklas and Schneider, 2014; Casey et al, 2018)
After controlling for socioeconomic status, they found that parental number talk predicted children’s understanding of cardinal numbers at 46 months. These findings suggest that differences in numeric language input may result in different levels of numerical competence and may factor into the early differences between English-speaking and Mandarin-speaking children in tests of mathematical performance (e.g., Mullis et al, 2016)
The present study aimed to determine whether parental number speech to preschool aged children varies between Mandarin Chinese and English in bilingual speakers of both languages
Summary
Multiple studies indicate that mathematical and number-specific language input from both parents and teachers predicts young children’s number word acquisition (Huttenlocher et al, 1991; Goodman et al, 2008; Levine et al, 2010), preschool mathematical knowledge (Klibanoff et al, 2006; Susperreguy and Davis-Kean, 2016; Casey et al, 2018), as well as grade school arithmetic ability (Case and Griffin, 1990; Jordan et al, 2009; Niklas and Schneider, 2014; Casey et al, 2018). Susperreguy and Davis-Kean (2016) found that the frequency of math talk between mothers and preschoolers was positively related to children’s kindergarten mathematical ability 1 year later. As a whole, these results indicate that children acquire number words and concepts earlier and more readily the more frequently they hear them. Chang et al (2011) found that Mandarin speaking Chinese parents use significantly more number-specific language than their English-speaking counterparts when interacting with their preschool-aged children in naturalistic settings.
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