The Effects of Age, Dosage, and Poverty on Second Language Learning through SparkLingTM in Infant Education Centers in Madrid, Spain.

Naja Ferjan Ramírez,Kaveri K Sheth,Patricia K Kuhl

doi:10.3390/ijerph182312758

Naja Ferjan Ramírez, Kaveri K Sheth + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312758

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Abstract

The first 1000 days represent a unique window of opportunity for second language learning. In two recent studies we demonstrated that Spanish infants’ use of second-language (L2) English productive vocabulary and early utterances rapidly increased through the play-based, interactive and highly social SparkLingTM Intervention, which consists of an evidence-based method and curriculum stemming from decades of research on infant language development. Analyzing an expanded and more diverse sample of Spanish infants (n = 414; age 9–33 months) who received the SparkLingTM Intervention, this study examines the variability in L2 production, which was assessed via first-person LENA audio recordings. Infants’ age significantly and positively correlated with L2 production, demonstrating an advantage for older infants in the sample. While overall socioeconomic status (SES) was not related to L2 production, very young infants (under two years) who lived in high poverty homes showed faster increases in English production compared to peers who lived in moderate poverty homes. Infants’ attendance in the program (“dosage”) was also predictive of their L2 production outcomes. Infants across SES have the capacity to begin acquiring two languages in early education classrooms with SparkLingTM through one-hour/day sessions in social environments that engages them through frequent high-quality language input.

Highlights

IntroductionBilingualism brings about many advantages, such as communicating with a greater number of people, expanding one’s social circles, increasing travel and work opportunities, appreciating of other cultures, experiencing greater access to services, and increasing earnings [1,2,3,4]
It is important to note that, in both studies, children’s L1 (Spanish) comprehension grew in the Intervention and in the CPC groups, showing that Spanish language learning was not affected by participation in the SparkLingTM Intervention
The present study extends these findings to L2, suggesting that children raised in high-poverty homes have the capacity to successfully acquire two languages, provided that socially engaging high-quality language input can be provided in both languages in school

Summary

Introduction

Bilingualism brings about many advantages, such as communicating with a greater number of people, expanding one’s social circles, increasing travel and work opportunities, appreciating of other cultures, experiencing greater access to services, and increasing earnings [1,2,3,4]. Studies have identified specific cognitive advantages [5], this work has been challenged [6] and more follow-up research is needed (see [7]). There is abundant evidence that bilingualism brings about a number of positive social advantages, such as peer cooperation, and the ability to understand information in multiple ways [8,9]. Perhaps unsurprisingly, learning and using an additional language has been shown to have an impact on the structure and function of the brain, including in regions involved in language, cognitive control, and the connections between them [10,11,12]

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