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Exploring minority language input sources as means of supporting the early development of second language vocabulary and grammar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2017

NIA WILLIAMS  and
ENLLI MÔN THOMAS
NIA WILLIAMS*
Affiliation:
Bangor University
ENLLI MÔN THOMAS
Affiliation:
Bangor University
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Nia Williams, School of Education, Bangor University, Safle'r Normal, Ffordd Caergybi, Bangor, Gwynedd LL57 2PZ, Wales. E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Exposure to a minority language is largely limited in terms of frequency, and often delivered by nonnative speakers in certain domains. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of two types of native-language input sources (story telling and minority language children's television) in providing 4- and 5-year-old native English-speaking children with beginning awareness of Welsh. Results revealed that exposure to Welsh via television programs was equally as beneficial, if not more so in some cases, as listening to Welsh stories in developing children's vocabulary, particularly within the context of social interaction. These results suggest a useful and potentially effective role for the use of native-language television within a carefully designed language curriculum to aid early second language development in minority language contexts.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 38 , Issue 4 , July 2017 , pp. 855 - 880
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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