Child L2 Research Articles

How frequent are these verbs?

In monolingual (L1) acquisition, children produce target-like subject-verb agreement early in development in both Spanish (Grinstead 1998) and English (Guasti 2002). However, in heritage simultaneous bilinguals (2L1) and child second language acquirers (L2), agreement morphology shows variability (Goldin 2020; Herschensohn & Stevenson 2005) due to age of acquisition (AoA) effects. Lexical frequency is another factor that has been shown to play a role in modulating L1 (i.e. Ambridge et al. 2015) and heritage acquisition (i.e. Giancaspro 2017, 2020), but little is known about its effect in child L2. This study explores the extent to which verb lexical frequency plays a role in the acquisition of verb morphology for bilingual children with differing AoA, comparing 42 2L1 heritage children with 46 L2 Spanish learners with AoA of 5;0. They participated in a Spanish fill-in-the-blanks production task. The results of an analysis focused on singular correr and comer (chosen because they differ in only one phoneme) indicated that responses to comer, the more frequent verb, were more target-like for both groups, and that frequency showed a stronger effect for heritage 2L1 children than for L2 children, while also modulating non-target-like responses. We discuss these findings with implications for bilingual development and education.

The Predictive Role of Quantity and Quality Language-Exposure Measures for L1 and L2 Vocabulary Production among Immigrant Preschoolers in Italy.

In this study, we investigated the lexical ability in L1 and L2 of 60 immigrant children who were 37 to 62 months old and exposed to minority languages (L1) and Italian (L2). Using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories, we measured children's vocabulary production in L1 and L2. From interviews, we collected data on quantitative language exposure (parental input, child output, length of exposure to L2 at preschool, and parental oral fluency) and qualitative home-language exposure (HLE) practices (active, play, and passive) in L1 and L2. We conducted stepwise regression analyses to explore which factors predicted children's vocabulary production in L1 and L2. The child's chronological age and parental education were not predictors of vocabulary production. L2 parental input, L1 child output, and L1 HLE-active practices explained 42% of the variance in children's L1 vocabulary production. L2 child output and L2 HLE-active practices explained 47% of the variance in children's L2 vocabulary production, whereas length of L2 exposure in preschool was a predictor only when we included quantitative language-exposure factors in the model. The effects of the quantity and quality of language exposure on lexical ability among preschool immigrant children are discussed.

Educational bilingualism: Reflections on a longitudinal study of children's cognitive and linguistic development

Our longitudinal study examined the cognitive and linguistic development of bilingually-educated, yet monolingually-raised, Spanish children, exploring (a) whether bilingual education procured a bilingual advantage, (b) whether greater L2 exposure was key to producing it, and (c) how development proceeded over time.We compared three groups of children in Years 1 and 2 of primary education in Spain: one attending monolingual education (MON), and two attending English-Spanish bilingual education, where one group received higher exposure (HiEx) and the other lower exposure (LoEx) to English. Children were tested in their schools on attention and L1 and L2 vocabulary skills, as well as several background measures.Across both years, the groups differed in their English vocabulary: HiEx outperformed LoEx and MON (p < 0.001), and LoEx outperformed MON (p = 0.02) but there were no differences in the children's L1 vocabulary scores. After one year of schooling, bilingually-educated children scored higher than MON on certain cognitive skills (interference suppression, p < 0.001; response inhibition, p = 0.02) but these differences did not materialise after a second year. The present paper combines these results from our two previously published studies with other current literature on educational bilingualism into a discussion on how future work on this population could progress.

Exploring English Language Development Assessment for Real-Time Interaction between Autonomous Robots and Children: A Preliminary Study

Despite attention by educators and researchers to the advancement of robotics research in education, little experimental research has been conducted on the use of robots in language education for young children. This paper reports on a study aimed at providing an improved English language development assessment questionnaire specifically for use in a project to bring autonomous social robots into English as a foreign language (EFL) classes for native-Korean-speaking children aged 3-5 years old. In order to examine the validity of questionnaire items, a focus group of 10 professors with expertise in child EFL learning was sent the questionnaire, which includes 127 items to be rated on a 5-point Likert scale and two open-ended questions. They were asked to judge whether each item was appropriate for children of the target age group, and whether any items were not appropriate to assess child L2 learners’ English language development. The findings inform the selection of appropriate items for evaluating language development stages based on children’s speaking performance in a robot-assisted language learning condition. The study’s results provide a baseline for an English language assessment questionnaire for EFL teachers to evaluate 3-5-year-old children’s language development in English speaking in the robot-assisted language learning (RALL) condition.

A 4-year longitudinal study examining lexical and syntactic bootstrapping in English Language Learners (ELLs) and their monolingual peers.

Current models of the affinity between syntax and vocabulary are complex and recognize the contribution of bootstrapping and computational processes. To date, the mutual facilitation between these two constructs over time has not been studied in second language (L2) school children. The present study investigated longitudinally the direction and strength of the associations between syntactic and vocabulary skills in English Language Learners (ELLs; N = 409, 204 females, M age = 78 months, low socioeconomic status backgrounds) and their monolingual English-speaking peers (EL1; N = 157, 92 females, M age = 77 months, low socioeconomic status backgrounds). Children were assessed annually from Grade 1 to Grade 4 on a syntactic and a vocabulary task. Overall, autoregressive cross-lagged analyses indicated that early syntax predicted later vocabulary and vice versa, yet, the magnitude of prediction varied across groups. Notably, in the early stages of L2 learning, the predictive power from vocabulary to syntax was stronger than that in the opposite direction. Moreover, the predictive power from vocabulary to syntax was consistently stronger in the ELL than in the EL1 group. The results suggest that, in general, with sufficient quantity and quality of exposure to the L2, lexical and syntactic bootstrapping coexist. However, among novice young ELLs, bootstrapping is stronger from vocabulary to syntax than the other way around. Results underscore the importance of studying the relations between vocabulary and syntax longitudinally, and caution about an injudicious application of L1-based models to young L2 children's language development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Acquisition of L2 English spatial deixes by Arabic-speaking children.

Deictic words are considered the earliest words which children acquire at the stage of two-word-utterance. However, mastering them like adults may take more time. This paper investigates how L2 children comprehend and produce English spatial deixis 'here', 'there', 'this', and 'that' by observing and documenting their responses and reactions in hide-and-seek game. It also aims to find out the children's obstacles in acquiring these words, such as proximity bias and egocentrism. The subjects are Arabic children of ages four, five, and six who acquire English as a second language in international schools in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. They performed two types of tasks: comprehension task and production task. Both tasks contained two trials: same perspective and the different perspective. Based on the results, children did better in comprehending the spatial deixis than in producing them. Moreover, the results showed that there was no proximity bias happened with children in this study. In addition, the results of the two trials in both tasks illustrated that changing the deictic center improves with age. Although the study provides some significant results, there should be an increase in the number of the samples in order to make the results generalized.

Comparativa entre procedimientos para el análisis del primer desarrollo lingüístico en niños y niñas con L1 vasco y español

Background and objectiveThe need to carry out studies on the level of early lexical development in Basque-Spanish bilingual children is a reality reflected in the scientific literature. In this context, both the MacArthur-Bates communicative development inventories and the methods based on early observation have been an important element for the analysis of the level of linguistic development of children. Therefore, the objective of this work has been to carry out a comparison between two different instruments on the same sample: on the one hand, the MacArthur-Bates Communication Skills Development Inventory, in its adaptations in Spanish and Basque, and, on the other hand, longitudinal observation through recordings of children in different contexts of spontaneous communication. Materials and methodThe participants were 8 Basque children with different L1 (Basque or Spanish) analyzed from 17 to 30months and from a small town in the Basque Country, Bermeo. Three recordings were made through non-participatory contextualized observation in those months in which the children were 17, 25 and 30months old. In addition, the annotations and transcripts were made through professional software: ELAN and CHAT. Likewise, at the time of the third recording, the families completed the CDI-2 in its adaptation to Spanish and Basque. ResultsThe results show the usefulness of parental reports to obtain information on the development of early communication skills. In any case, the need for larger explorations is considered necessary in order not to fall into the argument of the «overvaluation» of children's broadcasts. Likewise, it is interesting to note that children with L1 Basque and children with L1 Spanish present different results, in a similar way to what was observed in bilingual children of other languages, so it can be stated that children with the same age of early acquisition of two languages (Spanish and Basque) they can develop different patterns in their bilingualism depending on the degree of exposure to the language.

Child second language development of English tense and aspect: The role of narrative organization

AbstractMuch research has documented that second language (L2) development of tense and aspect markers is influenced by a range of factors that include cross-linguistic influences, phonological nature of forms, inherent semantics of predicates, and discourse structure. Nonetheless, relatively little research has examined the role of discourse organization in the development of tense and aspect marking. To expand our understanding of L2 tense and aspect, this study examined child L2 development of English tense and aspect in oral narratives in relation to the foregrounding and backgrounding of narrative discourse. Thirty-eight learners’ oral narratives were elicited, usingFrog, Where Are You?(Mayer, 1969) three points in time: kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2. The foreground in oral narratives was associated with more frequent use of the simple past than the background across the grade levels. While the occurrence of the simple past did not necessarily mark the foreground, the simple past emerged as the dominant form in the foreground in Grade 1. In the background, on the other hand, it took longer for the past forms to catch up with the non-past forms. The simple past became dominant in the background in Grade 2.

The role of socioemotional wellbeing difficulties and adversity in the L2 acquisition of first-generation refugee children

AbstractFirst-generation refugee children often experience pre- and post-migration adversity and display high levels of mental health/wellbeing difficulties, but to date, research has not examined the impact of such factors on refugee children's L2 acquisition. Accordingly, this study examined the influence of externalizing and internalizing problem behaviours (wellbeing), time in refugee camps and low socioeconomic status (SES) (adversity) on the English-L2 abilities of 117 Syrian refugee children (7–14 years) in their third year of residency in Canada. Wellbeing difficulties and adversity factors accounted for variance on L2 vocabulary, morphosyntax, listening comprehension and narrative production tasks, beyond the variance accounted for by age of L2 acquisition and length of L2 exposure. Specifically, externalizing problem behaviours, time in refugee camp, maternal education and maternal employment predicted variance in L2 abilities. It is concluded that refugee children could have influences on their L2 acquisition that are different from those of bilinguals with other backgrounds.

Does Early Exposure to Chinese-English Biliteracy Enhance Cognitive Skills?

Clarifying the effects of biliteracy on cognitive development is important to understanding the role of cognitive development in L2 learning. A substantial body of research has shed light on the cognitive factors contributing to biliteracy development. Yet, not much is known about the effect of the degree of exposure to biliteracy on cognitive functions. To fill this research void, we measured three categories of biliteracy skills (language, reading, and cognitive–linguistic skills in both Chinese and English) jointly and investigated the effects of biliteracy skill performance in these three categories on cognitive skills (working memory and attentional control) in Chinese L1 children who were exposed to English as L2 beginning at age 3 (“early”) or in grade 3 (“late”). In this cross-sectional study, 10 parallel Chinese and English language, reading, and cognitive–linguistic measures were administered to emerging Chinese–English bilingual children in grade 3 (n = 178) and grade 6 (n = 176). The results revealed that early exposure to Chinese–English biliteracy enhanced cognitive skills but with a cost of a slight delay in performance on Chinese L1 language skills in grade 3 (but not in grade 6). Importantly, the present findings suggest that, in addition to universal and developmental processes, the cumulative effect of early and sustained bi-scriptal exposure enhances working memory and attention in school children.

L1 어휘 의미 습득과정 연구에 대한 비판적 고찰

The purpose of this study is to critically review and study L1 child acquisition of word meaning in terms of the theory of mind with respect to different age groups, based on Bloom (2000). Two more current papers were studied in line with Chenu & Jisa (2009) and Kuipers et al. (2017) to identify and clarify the important issues raised in the field of vocabulary acquisition or vocabulary learning. Bloom

Does the Use of Complex Sentences Differentiate Between Bilinguals With and Without DLD? Evidence From Conversation and Narrative Tasks

Over-identification of language disorder among bilingual children with typical development (TD) is a risk factor in assessment. One strategy for improving assessment accuracy with bilingual children is to determine which linguistic sub-domains differentiate bilingual children with TD from bilingual children with developmental language disorder (DLD). To date, little research on sequential bilinguals with TD and DLD has focussed on complex (multi-clausal) sentences in naturalistic production, even though this is a noted domain of weakness for school-age monolinguals with DLD. Accordingly, we sought to determine if there were differences in the use of complex sentences in conversational and narrative tasks between school-age sequential bilinguals with TD and with DLD at the early stages of L2 acquisition. We administered a conversation and a narrative task to 63 English L2 children with TD and DLD, aged 5–7 years with 2 years of exposure to the L2. Children had diverse first language backgrounds. The L2-TD and L2-DLD groups were matched for age, length of L2 exposure and general L2 proficiency (receptive vocabulary size). Language samples from both tasks were coded and analyzed for the use of complex versus simple sentences, for the distribution of complex sentence types, for clausal density and mean length of utterance (MLU). Complex sentences included coordinated clauses, sentential complement clauses, adverbial clauses and relative clauses. Using regression modelling and PERMANOVA, we found that the L2-TD group produced more complex sentences than the L2-DLD group, with coordinated clauses, adverbial clauses and relative clauses differing the most between the groups. Furthermore, the two groups differed for mean clausal density, but not for MLU, indicating that clausal density and MLU did not estimate identical morphosyntactic abilities. Individual variation in complex sentence production for L2-TD was predicted by longer L2 exposure and task; by contrast, for L2-DLD, it was predicted by older age. This study indicates that complex sentence production is an area of weakness for bilingual children with DLD, as it is for monolinguals with DLD. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Sequential bilingual heritage children's L1 attrition in lexical retrieval: Age of acquisition versus language experience

AbstractThis study investigated the unresolved issue of potential sources of heritage language attrition. To test contributing effects of three learner variables – age of second language acquisition, length of residence, and language input – on heritage children's lexical retrieval accuracy and speed, we conducted a real-time word naming task with 68 children (age 11–14 years) living in South Korea who spoke either Chinese or Russian as a heritage language. Results of regression analyses showed that the participants were less accurate and slower in naming target words in their heritage language as their length of residence in Korea and the amount of Korean input increased. The age of Korean acquisition did not significantly influence their performance. These findings support the claim that heritage speakers’ language experience is a more reliable predictor of first language attrition than age of acquisition. We discuss these findings in light of different approaches to explaining language attrition.

A study on the role of multiword expressions in movie English

The purpose of this paper is fourfold: (1) to observe what multiword expressions (MWEs) mean for beginning level English language learners, (2) to watch what kind of MWEs the learners prefer, (3) to find whether individual words could be functionally MWEs, and (4) to discuss if it could be possible for beginning level learners to learn MWEs. To explore the findings, one case study was conducted. Three beginning level college students participated in the experiment. The material was an American action movie, 3 Days to Kill (McG, 2014). The teacher explicitly instructed various types of MWEs based on the movie storyline while the subjects implicitly learned those MWEs. After activities, the subjects were provided with vocabulary lists. Then they had three tests done: vocabulary-recall, summaries of movie scenes, and choice of relevant vocabulary or MWEs which comprised technical vocabulary, general service vocabulary, phrases, compounds, and expressions. The results showed that the subjects subconsciously regarded exam vocabulary as linguistic units, they preferred utterance level expressions, and they functionally used individual words like ‘one-word utterance’ of L1 children. Lastly, it is possible to teach beginning level students MWEs as long as a teacher proceeds with their instructions with content like movie stories.

The Challenges of Error Coding Scheme for Verbal Inflections in Child L2 English

This study shows a streamline of the schema change for analyzing English verb usages, depending on linguistic convergence of taxonomy, coding, and display. A Korean L1 child’s developmental knowledge and use of English verbal morphology in the EFL context were observed for one year (Subject

Collocational knowledge in children: a comparison of English-speaking monolingual children, and children acquiring English as an Additional Language.

Collocations, e.g., apples and pears, hard worker, constitute an important avenue of linguistic enquiry straddling both grammar and the lexicon. They are sensitive to language experience, with adult L2 learners and children learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) exhibiting poor collocational knowledge. The current study piloted a novel collocational assessment with children (mean age 6;3, 40 monolingual, 32 EAL). It investigated (1) the feasibility of a collocational assessment at this age, (2) whether collocational knowledge is associated with other language domains (receptive grammar and vocabulary), and (3) whether collocational knowledge is more affected than other domains. The assessment demonstrated good psychometric properties and was highly correlated with performance in other domains, indicating shared psycholinguistic mechanisms. Unlike adult counterparts, the EAL children performed equally poorly across domains. Given the role played by collocations in vocabulary development and reading, a focus on this domain may be beneficial for EAL children.

Acquisition of morphology by L2 children in naturalistic environments: a case of Japanese case markers

Abstract This study investigated the second language (L2) acquisition of Japanese case markers among children in naturalistic environments. L2 Japanese children with Chinese backgrounds (n = 187) and monolingual Japanese children (n = 280) were tested on their productive knowledge of four case markers: ga, o, ni, and de. Test scores correlated more strongly with length of residence (LOR) than age of acquisition in the current L2 group (LOR mean = 4.98 years). Most L2 children reached age-matched monolingual norms after an LOR of 2–5 years, although some did not reach the norms within this time frame. The nominative and accusative case markers, ga and o, were generally easier than the other two case markers, even though there are no equivalent morphological markers in Chinese. This indicates that the absence of these markers in the first language is not always a determining factor for the difficulty in naturalistic child L2 acquisition.

Morphological instruction and reading development in young L2 readers: A scoping review of causal relationships

This scoping review explores the causal relationship between morphological instruction and reading development in young L2 learners by synthesizing 12 primary studies published between 2004 and 2019 (N = 1,535). These studies focused on reading English as the target language and involved participants between kindergarten and Grade 12 from four countries (China, Egypt, Singapore, and the USA). Findings suggested that (a) morphological instruction led to consistent and positive gains in L2 children’s morphological awareness and vocabulary knowledge, and the effect sizes (Cohen’s ds) ranged from small to large; and (b) the relationship between morphological instruction and other outcomes such as phonological awareness, word reading accuracy, word reading fluency, spelling, and reading comprehension was inconclusive. Notably, transfer effects of L2 English morphological instruction on novel word learning in English or on reading development in an additional language were only examined and observed in four primary studies. Discussion was provided regarding future instructional and research design.

Look at that: Spatial deixis reveals experience-related differences in prediction

ABSTRACT Prediction-based theories posit that interlocutors use prediction to process language efficiently and to coordinate dialogue. The present study evaluated whether listeners can use spatial deixis (i.e., this, that, these, and those) to predict the plurality and proximity of a speaker’s upcoming referent. In two eye-tracking experiments with varying referential complexity (N = 168), native English-speaking adults, native English-learning 5-year-olds, and nonnative English-learning adults viewed images while listening to sentences with or without informative deictic determiners, e.g., Look at the/this/that/these/those wonderful cookie(s). Results showed that all groups successfully exploited plurality information. However, they varied in using deixis to anticipate the proximity of the referent; specifically, L1 adults showed more robust prediction than L2 adults, and L1 children did not show evidence of prediction. By evaluating listeners with varied language experiences, this investigation helps refine proposed mechanisms of prediction and suggests that linguistic experience is key to the development of such mechanisms.

L1 transfer in the interpretation of L2 reflexive pronouns by child learners of Korean

Aim: The current study explores first language (L1) transfer in child second language (L2) acquisition, testing whether L1-Chinese children learning L2 Korean show an advantage over L1-Russian children in the acquisition of Korean reflexives. Methodology: L1-Chinese and L1-Russian children with L2 Korean completed truth-value judgment tasks designed to explore their interpretation of the Korean reflexives caki and caki-casin in bi-clausal sentences. Chinese, like Korean, has a monomorphemic reflexive that takes a long-distance (LD) antecedent, and a polymorphemic reflexive that prefers a local antecedent; Russian, in contrast, has only a monomorphemic reflexive, which requires a local interpretation in finite clauses. Data and analysis: The proportion of preferences for each condition in the tasks was statistically compared using a logistic mixed-effects regression. Findings: The study resulted in two main findings. First, L1-Chinese children, regardless of L2 proficiency, preferred the LD antecedent (i.e., the matrix clause subject) for caki and the local antecedent (i.e., the embedded clause subject) for caki-casin, which is target-like for Korean and consistent with the interpretation of the Chinese reflexives ziji and taziji. Second, high-proficiency (but not low-proficiency) L1-Russian children showed target-like behavior in rejecting an LD interpretation for caki-casin, but a non-target-like acceptance of the local interpretation for caki, which may be due to L1 transfer based on Russian’s locally bound reflexive. Originality: L1 transfer in the interpretation of L2 reflexive pronouns has been reported with adults, but not with children. The current study fills this research gap. Implications: This study provides evidence that supports L1 transfer in the context of child L2 reflexive interpretation, countering arguments claiming for a limited role of L1 transfer in child L2 acquisition.