Cross-language Relationships Research Articles

Revisiting bilingual foreign language learning advantages: The role of extramural exposure

Aims and objectives: Prior research shows that bilingual pupils may have foreign language learning advantages over monolinguals, but evidence is controversial. Investigating English as a foreign language (EFL) in the context of the Netherlands, we hypothesized that the conflicting findings may be partly explained by differences in extramural EFL exposure. We further predicted that amount and length of EFL exposure might moderate the effects of bilingualism on EFL learning and cross-language relationships between English and the previously acquired languages. Approach: Twelve- to 14-year-old Turkish–Dutch bilinguals ( n = 30) and Dutch monolinguals ( n = 31) participated. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test was used to measure receptive vocabulary in English, Dutch, and Turkish. Grammatical ability was measured with a sentence repetition task. A questionnaire was used to obtain information on children’s language exposure. Data and analysis: Data were analyzed by means of multilevel linear regression. Amount and length of extramural exposure were used as control variables in the analyses comparing EFL skills of bilinguals and monolinguals. The role of exposure as a moderator of bilingual effects and cross-language relationships was also tested. Findings/conclusions: If differences in exposure were not taken into account, the bilinguals were outperformed by the monolinguals on EFL vocabulary, but not on grammar. However, the between-group difference disappeared once exposure measures were controlled for. Bilinguals with little exposure to English performed worse than monolingual peers, but at higher exposure levels, bilinguals outperformed monolinguals. In the bilingual sample, Dutch vocabulary predicted English vocabulary, but Turkish proficiency did not predict English skills. Originality: This is the first study to include measures of extramural exposure in investigating the effects of bilingualism on EFL learning. Significance/implications: This research shows that differences between monolingual and bilingual EFL learners can be either concealed or inflated if exposure is not controlled for. Furthermore, exposure moderates bilingual effects in EFL learning.

Predicting literacy development and risk in Spanish-English bilingual first graders

Purpose: There are well-established links between oral language and reading development in monolingual English-speaking children that are associated with literacy outcomes. Oral language, defined relative to lexical quality, provides key support for developing early reading skills. For bilingual children, the connection between oral language and reading development and risk for identification of having language or reading difficulties is assumed but has been less systematically studied. Our goal was to document the relationship between knowledge of semantics and morphosyntax and children's performance on letter and word identification in first grade in each of their languages so as to evaluate the risk for poor reading outcomes in the Spanish and English of bilingual first graders. Method: We examined data from 111 Spanish-English bilingual first graders on measures of Spanish and English semantics and morphosyntax in relation to letter-word identification, which indexes early reading development. We evaluated the within- and across-language relationships between skills and also whether the same children who performed in the at-risk range on the oral language tasks showed risk for future reading difficulties based on their letter-word performance. Results: Oral language skills and early reading skills were strongly related within languages, and cross-language relationships were also evident, though not for all domains. There were significant associations between risk for developmental language disorder (DLD) based on semantics performance and reading risk. Conclusions: We observe cross-linguistic relationships between letter-word identification and morphosyntactic and semantic skills in young Spanish-English bilinguals with and without risk for language and reading development. These findings indicate that connections between oral language and reading hold across differing levels of language and reading risk.

Bidirectional transfer of definition skills and expressive vocabulary knowledge in Chinese-English dual language learners

ABSTRACT Though Mandarin Chinese dual language immersion (DLI) has been growing rapidly in the U.S., research on this population is still rare. This study explored cross-language transfer of expressive oral vocabulary knowledge and definition skills among students in a Chinese DLI program. We found significant within and cross-language relationships of aspects of definition skills and cross-language relationships between expressive vocabulary and definition skills. Hierarchical regression revealed strong predictive association within and across languages for definition skills. Moderation analysis revealed that Chinese vocabulary knowledge had a moderating effect on the transfer of the syntagmatic aspect of Chinese definition skill to the corresponding skill in English. Educational implications and research recommendations are discussed in relation to an expanding framework of cross-language transfer.

Macrostructure in the narratives of Indonesian-Dutch bilinguals

Abstract There is no agreement regarding the relationship between narrative abilities in the two languages of a bilingual child. In this paper, we test the hypothesis that such cross-language relationships depend on age and language exposure by studying the narrative skills of 32 Indonesian-Dutch bilinguals (mean age: 8;5, range: 5;0–11;9). The narratives were elicited by means of the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN) and analysed for story structure, episodic complexity and use of internal state terms (ISTs) in the home language (Indonesian) and majority language (Dutch). The results demonstrate that story structure scores in the home language (but not in the majority language) were positively related to age. Exposure measures (current Dutch/Indonesian input, current richness of Dutch/Indonesian input, and length of exposure to Dutch) did not predict the macrostructure scores. There was a significant positive cross-language relationship in story structure and episodic complexity, and this relationship became stronger as a function of length of exposure to Dutch. There was also a positive cross-lingual relation in IST use, but it became weaker with age. The results support the idea that narrative skills are transferable between languages and suggest that cross-language relationships may interact with age and exposure factors in differential ways.

Can children with DLD acquire a second language in a foreign-language classroom? Effects of age and cross-language relationships

There is a growing pressure to teach foreign languages as early as possible, and children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) are not immune from these pressures. However, current scholarship lacks crucial insights into how children with DLD respond to L2 learning with minimal (classroom) exposure. In this paper, we report the results of a longitudinal study tracing the development of L1 Russian and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) skills in a group of learners with DLD (age of EFL onset: 7;9–12;1). The performance of the DLD group was compared to that of typically-developing controls, matched for classroom EFL exposure. Proficiency in English and Russian was measured three times (after one, one-and-a-half and two years of EFL instruction). At Time 1, there were no significant differences between groups on the EFL measures, but the performance of the typically-developing children significantly improved with time, and that of the DLD group did not. In the DLD group, age of EFL onset was positively related to English receptive vocabulary size. The relation between L1 and L2 proficiency in the DLD group was weaker than in the comparison group. This pattern is probably due to the floor performance of the DLD group in the grammatical domain, but may also indicate that the disorder affects cross-language transfer in the vulnerable domains.

Language and Decoding Skills in Greek-English Primary School Bilingual Children: Effects of Language Dominance, Contextual Factors and Cross-Language Relationships Between the Heritage and the Majority Language

Bilingual children are a heterogeneous population, as the amount of input and use of their languages may differ due to various factors, for example, the status of each language (majority, minority), which language is used in the school, and whether children are acquiring literacy in one or both languages. Their language ability depends to a large extent on the use of each language and on whether they each language at the same rate. The aim of the study was to investigate how primary school bilingual children in the UK perform on several domains of language and reading skills and how these relate to language dominance. Moreover, it addressed how this performance is affected by a range of contextual factors and whether there are cross-language relationships in the children’s language and reading abilities. Forty Greek-English bilingual children in Year 1 and Year 3 were tested on vocabulary, phonological awareness, morphological awareness, morpho-syntax, and decoding in Greek and English. The results showed that as a group, the children were Greek dominant before the age of 4 but English dominant now and confirm that language dominance could change even before children enter school and affects language and literacy skills equally. A strong relationship between language use and performance was only in evidence in the minority language, which suggests that parental effort should be directed towards the minority language because schooling appears to level out differences in the majority language. There was no negative relationship between the use of the heritage language and children’s language and reading performance in the majority language. In contrast, significant positive cross-language associations were revealed among vocabulary, phonological awareness, inflectional morphology and decoding skills. The practical implications of this study are that parents and teachers should be informed for the positive effects of heritage language use in and outside the home for the maintenance of the heritage language and for the development of the children’s language and literacy skills.

Linguistic interdependence of receptive vocabulary skills in emergent bilingual preschool children: Exploring a factor-dependent approach

AbstractThis study investigates the extent to which internal and contextual factors moderate the linguistic interdependence between receptive vocabulary skills in emergent bilingual children. Such factors are frequently related to first (L1) and second language (L2) skills, but few studies have examined their concurrent influence on the cross-language relationship, or have linked the results to the two main explanatory models for interdependence: common underlying proficiency or individual differences. Using a cross-sectional correlational design, concept comprehension was bilingually assessed in 154 children of Turkish background (aged 4 to 6), attending Flemish preschool. Regression analyses revealed that Turkish L1 vocabulary size significantly predicted Dutch L2 vocabulary size, which is in line with interdependence theories. Age, preschool grade, and L2 use at home positively predicted L2 vocabulary. Newly arrived immigrant status and maternal education (partly) predicted L2 vocabulary negatively, the latter especially in 3rd preschool grade. Concerning moderation, indications were found for weakening interdependence for high L2 use at home (3rd preschool grade) and newly arrived immigrant status. Overall, our findings implicate that interdependence in emergent bilinguals’ vocabulary depends on the examined factors to a limited degree only. Finally, our data point to the individual differences model, rather than the common underlying proficiency model of linguistic interdependence.

Cross-Language Influence of Phonological Processing Skills on Early Reading in Chinese-English Speaking Children

Empirical research shows the importance of phonological processing in children’s acquisition of reading skills. However, the cross-language relationship between first language and second language is still not clearly described especially in Malaysia’s multi-cultural context. This study examines the relations between phonological processing skills and early reading in children’s acquisition of Chinese (L1) and English (L2) as second languages. A total of 150 Chinese-speaking children (6 - 7 years old) participated and were administered measures of early reading and phonological processing skills in both L1 and L2. Within-language and cross-language structural equation, models (SEMs) were created to explore the causal relationships between phonological processing skills and early reading in both languages. Results indicated that among the three key skills of phonological processing, rapid automatic naming was the strongest predictor of Chinese early reading. In contrast, phonological awareness strongly predicted English early reading. Only English (L2) rapid automatic naming skills contributed to Chinese (L1) early reading. The cross-language transfer of English rapid automatic naming skills on Chinese (L1) early reading was found and reported. This study contributes to the development of models and theories of bilingual acquisition. It aims to design instructional programmes by considering these critical skills' contribution in enhancing successful reading in English as a second language

Association of handwriting between Chinese Hanzi and Roman systems in the Chinese community of Klang Valley

ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate the cross-language relationship between Chinese Hanzi and Roman handwriting systems in the Chinese community of Klang Valley. The samples were examined under characteristics such as slant, alignment, ending strokes, words dimensions, spacing, letter stalks, the height of t-bars and margins for both languages. Spearman’s Rank Correlation and McNemar Bowker tests were applied for the continuous and descriptive data analysis respectively due to their significance association using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 23. The results showed a significant strong positive correlation between the left margins (R 2 = 0.936, p < 0.001) and widths (R 2 = 0.734, p < 0.001). Moderate positive correlation was obtained between heights (R 2 = 0.690, p < 0.001), right margins (R 2 = 0.626, p < 0.001), stalks (R 2 = 0.586, p < 0.001), height of t-bars (R 2 = 0.499, p < 0.001) and intrawords (R 2 = 0.410, p < 0.001). The McNemar Bowker test revealed a significant association between slants (X(6) = 42.702, p < 0.001), ending strokes (X(3) = 38.400, p < 0.001) and baseline (X(10) = 21.904, p = 0.016). The findings were statistically significant (p˂0.05) for all the means measured. Based on the result, an association of handwriting between the two languages exists, despite the structural variation in the writings. This indicates that there is a correspondence in the handwriting of an individual when using two different language systems.

Specification of Bilingual Scenario of Cross-Language Relationship and Its Implementation Problems (Based on the Examples of Canada, Belgium and Spain)

Our current research is dedicated to the analysis of the most demonstrative scenarios of bilingual cross-language relationship and peculiarities of their implementation within a single state, comparing the experience of such countries as Canada, Belgium and Spain. It has been examined that “type A” scenario implies of the ideas of the absence of “Great Tradition”, “type B” - the existence of such “Great Tradition” and “type C” involves several “Great Traditions”, which remain in the relationship of competition. Besides, it has been estimated that diglossia models w ere distributed in former colonial states of Africa and India. Consideration of Canadian experience firstly showed the facts of the English-French bilingualism type; in addition to it, it has been proved that all Federal Institutions had been transferred to bilingual background that was adopted legislatively by the Constitution of Canada. The case of Belgium has occurred to be even more demonstrative, while this country has two components, which qualitatively differ “Belgian case” from the “Canadian”: a) more consequent background upon the ethnic model of communities’ identity (in Canada this model is exclusively “linguistic”, close to American “civil nation’s model”) and b) practical absence of the question consideration about “Belgian nation” (in Canadian case there exists such a public require, but it remains unsatisfied). Third country’s (Spain) investigation involves two principles which allow Spain to occupy the middle position between unitary, centralized, monolingual France and completely regionalized Belgium and pushes us to characterize the combination of these principles (“state integrity” and “regional demand”) as the “symbols of combination”.

Acquiring Orthographic Processing through Word Reading: Evidence from Children Learning to Read French and English

This study examined the within-language and cross-language relationships between orthographic processing and word reading in French and English across Grades 1 and 2. Seventy-three children in French Immersion completed measures of orthographic processing and word reading in French and English in Grade 1 and Grade 2, as well as a series of control measures. Regressions controlled for non-verbal reasoning, phonological awareness, rapid naming, and the appropriate autoregressor of orthographic processing or word reading. Orthographic processing in Grade 1 did not predict word reading in Grade 2, in either language. Instead, within both languages, word reading in Grade 1 predicted orthographic processing in Grade 2. Cross-linguistically, French word reading was a unique predictor of growth in English orthographic processing. Theoretical and practical implications of the relationships between orthographic processing and word reading in bilinguals are discussed.

Learning about print: the development of orthographic processing and its relationship to word reading in first grade children in French immersion

As children learn to read, they become sensitive to the patterns that exist in the ways in which their language(s) are represented in print. This skill is known as orthographic processing. We examined the nature of orthographic processing in English and French for children in the first grade of a French immersion program, and the relationship between orthographic processing and reading beyond controls for mother’s education, non-verbal reasoning, English vocabulary and phonological awareness. We found that children showed greater orthographic processing skill to patterns that were common to both of their languages than to those that occurred in just one of their languages. Across both lexical and sub-lexical orthographic processing measures, scores were related to word reading within each language, beyond our control variables. There was some evidence of cross-language relationships between orthographic processing and word reading, both for lexical and sub-lexical language-shared measures of orthographic processing. These findings suggest that children’s attention to features that are common both languages might be one source of transfer of orthographic processing to reading between languages.

Cross-language transfer of spelling strategies in English and Afrikaans Grade 3 children

This study examined strategies for spelling accuracy in Grade 3 children. Thirty bilingual, Afrikaans–English speaking children and 30 monolingual, English-speaking children were assessed on their ability to spell English words and non-words. The bilingual children were also assessed on their Afrikaans word and non-word spelling abilities. In terms of spelling accuracy, the monolingual children had significantly higher scores for the complex opaque English words and non-words than did the bilingual children. The bilingual children showed greater spelling accuracy in the spelling of Afrikaans words and non-words compared to their spelling of English words and non-words. Nevertheless, bilingual children may benefit from utilising spelling systems from two languages to facilitate spelling in both languages. Qualitative error analyses indicated that both lexical and sub-lexical strategies are available for spelling English and Afrikaans words, but that the assembled route contributes more to spelling in a transparent orthography, consistent with the orthographic transparency hypothesis. The bilingual children's ability to spell in Afrikaans and English was correlated, signifying a cross-language relationship for spelling both languages; but with language background and orthographic depth exerting an influence on the nature and development of spelling strategies used to spell in an orthographically different first language and second language.