English-only Children Research Articles

Is starting earlier better? A propensity score analysis of toddler-year impacts for English only and Spanish-speaking dual language learners

Most early care and education (ECE) programs serve 3-5 year olds, but enrolling children at younger ages has the potential to multiply the benefits of ECE enrollment. This study examined characteristics of children and family who enrolled as toddlers (18-35 months; n=450) versus preschoolers (36-48 months; n=2,356), then tested the impact of toddler enrollment in high-quality ECE on fall and spring preschool outcomes for English-only and Spanish dual language learners (DLLs). Groups were balanced using propensity score weights. Toddler enrollment was related differentially to parent education, special needs status, food insecurity, and single-parent household status for DLLs and English-dominant peers. Toddler entry was related to better English language skills (fall E.S.=0.13-0.47; spring E.S.=0.10-0.43) and lower teacher-rated self-control skills (fall E.S.=0.12-0.15; spring E.S.=0.12-0.19) than same language peers. English-only children who entered as toddlers were rated as more independent at preschool entry (E.S.=0.15). Differences were not observed in Spanish-language skills, child-teacher attachment, or behavior problems in preschool.

Multilingualism and speech-language competence in early childhood: Impact on academic and social-emotional outcomes at school

This large-scale longitudinal population study provided a rare opportunity to consider the interface between multilingualism and speech-language competence on children’s academic and social-emotional outcomes and to determine whether differences between groups at 4–5 years persist, deepen, or disappear with time and schooling. Four distinct groups were identified from the Kindergarten cohort of the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) (1) English-only+typical speech and language (n=2012); (2) multilingual+typical speech and language (n=476); (3) English-only+speech and language concern (n=643); and (4) multilingual+speech and language concern (n=109). Two analytic approaches were used to compare these groups. First, a matched case-control design was used to randomly match multilingual children with speech and language concern (group 4, n=109) to children in groups 1–3 on gender, age, and family socio-economic position in a cross-sectional comparison of vocabulary, school readiness, and behavioral adjustment. Next, analyses were applied to the whole sample to determine longitudinal effects of group membership on teachers' ratings of literacy, numeracy, and behavioral adjustment at ages 6–7 and 8–9 years. At 4–5 years, multilingual children with speech and language concern did equally well or better than English-only children (with or without speech and language concern) on school readiness tests but performed more poorly on measures of English vocabulary and behavior. At ages 6–7 and 8–9, the early gap between English-only and multilingual children had closed. Multilingualism was not found to contribute to differences in literacy and numeracy outcomes at school; instead, outcomes were more related to concerns about children’s speech and language in early childhood. There were no group differences for socio-emotional outcomes. Early evidence for the combined risks of multilingualism plus speech and language concern was not upheld into the school years.

Should Bilingual Children Learn Reading in Two Languages at the Same Time or in Sequence?

Is it best to learn reading in two languages simultaneously or sequentially? We observed second- and third-grade children in two-way dual-language learning contexts: (a) 50:50 or Simultaneous dual-language (two languages within same developmental period) and (b) 90:10 or Sequential dual-language (one language, followed gradually by the other). They were compared to matched monolingual English-only children in single-language English schools. Bilinguals (home language was Spanish only, English-only, or Spanish and English in dual-language schools), were tested in both languages, and monolingual children were tested in English using standardized reading and language tasks. Bilinguals in 50:50 programs performed better than bilinguals in 90:10 programs on English Irregular Words and Passage Comprehension tasks, suggesting language and reading facilitation for underlying grammatical class and linguistic structure analyses. By contrast, bilinguals in 90:10 programs performed better than bilinguals in the 50:50 programs on English Phonological Awareness and Reading Decoding tasks, suggesting language and reading facilitation for surface phonological regularity analysis. Notably, children from English-only homes in dual-language learning contexts performed equally well, or better than, children from monolingual English-only homes in single-language learning contexts. Overall, the findings provide tantalizing evidence that dual-language learning during the same developmental period may provide bilingual reading advantages.

The relations among L1 (Spanish) literacy skills, L2 (English) language, L2 text reading fluency, and L2 reading comprehension for Spanish-speaking ELL first grade students

We investigated the relations of L2 (i.e., English) oral reading fluency, silent reading fluency, word reading automaticity, oral language skills, and L1 literacy skills (i.e., Spanish) to L2 reading comprehension for Spanish-speaking English language learners in the first grade (N=150). An analysis was conducted for the entire sample as well as for skilled and less skilled word readers. Results showed that word reading automaticity was strongly related to oral and silent reading fluency, but oral language skill was not. This was the case not only for the entire sample but also for subsamples of skilled and less skilled word readers, which is a discrepant finding from a study with English-only children (Kim et al., 2011). With regard to the relations among L2 oral language, text reading fluency, word reading automaticity, reading comprehension, and L1 literacy skills, patterns of relations were similar for skilled versus less skilled word readers with oral reading fluency, but different with silent reading fluency. When oral and silent reading fluency were in the model simultaneously, oral reading fluency, but not silent reading fluency, was uniquely related to reading comprehension. Children's L1 literacy skill was not uniquely related to reading comprehension after accounting for other L2 language and literacy skills. These results are discussed in light of a developmental theory of text reading fluency.

English Speech Sound Development in Preschool-Aged Children From Bilingual English–Spanish Environments

English speech acquisition by typically developing 3- to 4-year-old children with monolingual English was compared to English speech acquisition by typically developing 3- to 4-year-old children with bilingual English-Spanish backgrounds. We predicted that exposure to Spanish would not affect the English phonetic inventory but would increase error frequency and type in bilingual children. Single-word speech samples were collected from 33 children. Phonetically transcribed samples for the 3 groups (monolingual English children, English-Spanish bilingual children who were predominantly exposed to English, and English-Spanish bilingual children with relatively equal exposure to English and Spanish) were compared at 2 time points and for change over time for phonetic inventory, phoneme accuracy, and error pattern frequencies. Children demonstrated similar phonetic inventories. Some bilingual children produced Spanish phonemes in their English and produced few consonant cluster sequences. Bilingual children with relatively equal exposure to English and Spanish averaged more errors than did bilingual children who were predominantly exposed to English. Both bilingual groups showed higher error rates than English-only children overall, particularly for syllable-level error patterns. All language groups decreased in some error patterns, although the ones that decreased were not always the same across language groups. Some group differences of error patterns and accuracy were significant. Vowel error rates did not differ by language group. Exposure to English and Spanish may result in a higher English error rate in typically developing bilinguals, including the application of Spanish phonological properties to English. Slightly higher error rates are likely typical for bilingual preschool-aged children. Change over time at these time points for all 3 groups was similar, suggesting that all will reach an adult-like system in English with exposure and practice.

A Probe into Lexical Depth: What is the Direction of Transfer for L1 Literacy and L2 Development?

This paper examines the intersection between heritage language (HL) learning and the development of English and Farsi deep lexical knowledge. The study compares two groups of Farsi-English bilingual children with different HL educational backgrounds and a group of English-only children by testing their paradigmatic-syntagmatic knowledge of words. A statistical analysis of the children's deep lexical knowledge was conducted in light of their HL literacy experience, second language (English) schooling, and length of residence. The findings revealed that longer length of residence and L2 schooling correlates with better performance on the L2 measures of lexical depth, whereas longer residence in the home country and first language (L1) formal schooling do not correlate with better performance on the Farsi measures. The study concluded that, in the long term, the learning of a heritage language, in combination with L2 academic instruction is more effective to the cross-lingual transfer of academic skills.

Crossing borders: Recognition of Spanish words by English-speaking children with and without language impairment

We introduce an objective method for classifying phonological overlap between Spanish and English translation equivalents. This method then is exploited to examine spoken word recognition using stimuli with graded levels of phonological overlap. Performance by typical English-only speaking (EO) children and English-only children with primary language impairment (LI) is compared to a control group of bilingual Spanish–English peers (BI). Response time and accuracy separated groups, with the BI group outperforming the EO group, who in turn outperformed the LI group. Children with more severe LI are slower than those with mild LI, and LI severity is significantly correlated with speed. The two groups of monolingual children and the LI subgroups respond in a qualitatively similar way to decreasing phonological overlap.

Academic Achievement in the Milingimbi Bilingual Education Program

Milingimbi is an isolated, traditionally oriented Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory of Australia. A bilingual program in English and Gupapuyngu was started at Milingimbi School in 1973. For four years, children from both English-only and bilingual classes were tested for achievement in academic subjects. By Year 7, the children from bilingual classes were performing better in seven out of ten tests than the English-only children.