Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T22:02:10.192Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

English exposure in the home and classroom: Predictions to Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ English vocabulary skills

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2013

FRANCISCO PALERMO*
Affiliation:
University of Missouri
ARIANA M. MIKULSKI
Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
RICHARD A. FABES
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
LAURA D. HANISH
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
CAROL LYNN MARTIN
Affiliation:
Arizona State University
LAUREN E. STARGEL
Affiliation:
Colorado State University
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Francisco Palermo, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Missouri, 302 Gentry Hall, Columbia, MO 65211. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

This study examined the combined and unique contributions of home, teacher, and peer English exposure levels on Spanish-speaking preschoolers’ (N = 107) English receptive and expressive vocabulary skills. The combined levels of English exposure during the fall of preschool were positively associated with children's English receptive and expressive vocabulary skills in the spring. Furthermore, English exposure levels at home were uniquely and positively associated with children's English receptive and expressive vocabularies, whereas peer English exposure levels were uniquely and positively associated with children's English expressive vocabulary. Teachers’ English exposure levels were not uniquely associated with children's English vocabulary. The findings highlight the importance of the home environment and peer experiences in the classroom for maximizing Spanish-speaking children's early English vocabulary skills.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Allison, P. D. (2001). Missing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
August, D., Carlo, M., Dressler, C., & Snow, C. (2005). The critical role of vocabulary development for English language learners. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 20, 5057.Google Scholar
August, D., & Hakuta, K. (Eds.). (1997). Improving schooling for language-minority children: A research agenda. Washington, DC: National Academic Press.Google Scholar
Aukrust, V. G. (2004). Explanatory discourse in young s language learners’ peer play. Discourse Studies, 6, 393412.Google Scholar
Bachman, L. F. (2004). Statistical analyses for language assessment. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergen, D., & Mauer, D. (2000). Symbolic play, phonological awareness, and literacy skills at three age levels. In Roskos, K. A. & Chrisite, J. M. (Eds.), Play and literacy in early childhood (pp. 4562). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Bowers, E. P., & Vasilyeva, M. (2011). The relation between teacher input and lexical growth of preschoolers. Applied Psycholinguistics, 32, 221241.Google Scholar
Brown, J. R., & Dunn, J. (1992). Talk with your mother or your sibling? Developmental changes in early family conversations about feelings. Child Development, 63, 336349.Google Scholar
Cazden, C. (1988). Classroom discourse: The language of teaching and learning. Portsmouth, NJ: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Chesterfield, K., Chesterfield, R., & Chávez, R. (1982). Peer interaction, language proficiency, and language preference in bilingual preschool classrooms. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 4, 467486.Google Scholar
Chesterfield, R., Hayes-Latimer, K., Chesterfield, K. B., & Chávez, R. (1983). The influence of teachers and peers on second language acquisition in bilingual preschool programs. TESOL Quarterly, 17, 401419.Google Scholar
Cho, G., & Krashen, S. (1998). The negative consequences of heritage language loss and why we should care. In Krashen, S. D., Tse, L., & McQuillan, J. (Eds.), Heritage language development (pp. 3139). Culver City, CA: Language Education Associates.Google Scholar
Cook, R. D. (1977). Detection of influential observation in linear regression. Technometrics, 19, 1519.Google Scholar
De Houwer, A. (1995). Bilingual language acquisition. In Fletcher, P. & MacWhinney, B. (Eds.), The handbook of child language acquisition (pp. 219250). Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar
De Houwer, A. (2009). Bilingual first language acquisition. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Dickinson, D. K. (2001). Putting the pieces together: Impact of preschool on children's language and literacy development in kindergarten. In Dickinson, D. K. & Tabors, P. O. (Eds.), Beginning literacy with language (pp. 257287). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.Google Scholar
Dickinson, D. K., & Porche, M. V. (2011). Relation between language experiences in preschool classrooms and children's kindergarten and fourth-grade language and reading abilities. Child Development, 82, 870886.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dodici, B. J., Draper, D. C., & Peterson, C. A. (2003). Early parent–child interactions and early literacy development. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 23, 124136.Google Scholar
Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, D. M. (2007). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 4. Bloomington, MN: Pearson Assessments.Google Scholar
Duursma, E., Romero-Contreras, S., Szuber, A., Proctor, P., Snow, C., August, D., et al. (2007). The role of home literacy and language environment on bilinguals’ English and Spanish vocabulary development. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28, 171190.Google Scholar
Gathercole, V. C. M. (2007). Miami and North Wales, so far and yet so near: A constructivist account of morphosyntactic development in bilingual children. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 10, 224247.Google Scholar
Gutierrez-Clellen, V., & Kreiter, J. (2003). Understanding child bilingual acquisition using parent and teacher reports. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24, 267288.Google Scholar
Hakuta, K. (1994). Distinguishing among proficiency, choice, and attitudes in questions about language for bilinguals. In Lamberty, G. & Coll, C. G. (Eds.), Puerto Rican women and children: Issues in health, growth, and development (pp. 191209). New York: Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hamilton, C. E., Restrepo, M. A., Neuharth-Pritchett, S. M., & Schwanenflugel, P. J. (n.d.). PAVEd for success Inventario de la lectura y escritura en casa [Inventory of reading and writing in the home]. Unpublished manuscript.Google Scholar
Hammer, C. S., Lawrence, F. R., & Miccio, A. W. (2008). Exposure to English before and after entry into Head Start: Bilingual children's receptive language growth in Spanish and English. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11, 3056.Google Scholar
Hanish, L. D., Martin, C. L., Fabes, R. A., Leonard, S., & Herzog, M. (2005). Exposure to externalizing peers in early childhood: Homophily and peer contagion processes. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33, 267281.Google Scholar
Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.Google Scholar
Hoff, E. (2003). The specificity of environmental influence: Socioeconomic status affects early vocabulary development via maternal speech. Child Development, 74, 13681378.Google Scholar
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huttenlocher, J., Haight, W., Bryk, A., Seltzer, M., & Lyons, T. (1991). Early vocabulary growth: Relation to language input and gender. Developmental Psychology, 27, 236248.Google Scholar
Huttenlocher, J., Levine, S., & Vevea, J. (1998). Environmental input and cognitive growth: A study using time-period comparisons. Child Development, 69, 10121029.Google Scholar
Kieffer, M. J. (2008). Catching up or falling behind? Initial English proficiency, concentrated poverty, and the reading growth of language minority students in the United States. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100, 851868.Google Scholar
Little, R. J. A. (1988). A test of missing completely at random for multivariate data with missing values. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 83, 11981202.Google Scholar
MacCallum, R. (1986). Specification searches in covariance structure modeling. Psychological Bulletin, 100, 107120.Google Scholar
MacGregor-Mendoza, P. (2000). Aquí no se habla español: Stories of linguistic repression in southwest schools. Bilingual Research Journal, 24, 333345.Google Scholar
Mancilla-Martinez, J., & Lesaux, N. K. (2011). Early home language use and later vocabulary development. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103, 535546.Google Scholar
Martin, C. L., & Fabes, R. A. (2001). The stability and consequences of young children's same-sex peer interactions. Developmental Psychology, 37, 431446.Google Scholar
Mashburn, A. J., Justice, L. M., Downer, J. T., & Pianta, R. C. (2009). Peer effects on children's language achievement during pre-kindergarten. Child Development, 80, 686702.Google Scholar
Mather, N., & Woodcock, R. W. (2001). Examiner's manual: Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Itasca, IL: Riverside.Google Scholar
Mehan, H. (1979). Learning lessons. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Michaels, S. (1983). The role of adult assistance in children's acquisition of literate discourse strategies. Volta Review, 85, 7285.Google Scholar
Naglieri, J. A. (2003). Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test individual form. San Antonio, TX: Harcourt.Google Scholar
Naglieri, J. A., Booth, A. L., & Winsler, A. (2004). Comparison of Hispanic children with and without limited English proficiency on the Naglieri Nonverbal Ability Test. Psychological Assessment, 16, 8184.Google Scholar
National Center for Education Statistics. (NCES). (2009). The nation's report card: Reading 2009 (Rep. No. NCES 2010-458). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/main2009/2010458.pdfGoogle Scholar
National Center for Education Statistics. (NCES). (2010). The condition of education 2010 (Rep. No. NCES 2010-028). Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2010/2010028.pdfGoogle Scholar
Neuman, S., & Roskos, K. (1993). Language and literacy learning in the early years: An integrated approach. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.Google Scholar
NICHD Early Child Care Research Network. (2005). Pathways to reading: The role of oral language in the transition to reading. Developmental Psychology, 41, 428442.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oliver, R. (1995). Negative feedback in child NS–NNS conversation. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 17, 459481.Google Scholar
Oliver, R. (2002). The patterns of negotiation for meaning in child interactions. Modern Language Journal, 86, 97111.Google Scholar
Owens, R. E. (2008). Language development: An introduction (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson.Google Scholar
Pan, B. A., Rowe, M. L., Singer, J. D., & Snow, C. E. (2005). Maternal correlates of growth in toddler vocabulary production in low-income families. Child Development, 76, 763782.Google Scholar
Pancsofar, N., & Vernon-Feagans, L. (2006). Mother and father language input to young children: Contributions to later language development. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 27, 571587.Google Scholar
Paradis, J. (2011). The impact of input factors on bilingual development: Quantity versus quality. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 1, 6770.Google Scholar
Patterson, J. L. (2002). Relationships of expressive vocabulary to frequency of reading and television experience among bilingual toddlers. Applied Psycholinguistics, 23, 493508.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, B. Z., & Fernandez, S. C. (1994). Patterns of interaction in the lexical growth in two languages of bilingual infants and toddlers. Language Learning, 44, 617653.Google Scholar
Pearson, B. Z., Fernández, S. C., Lewedeg, V., & Oller, K. (1997). The relation of input factors to lexical learning by bilingual infants. Applied Psycholinguistics, 18, 4158.Google Scholar
Peña, E. D. & Halle, T. G. (2011). Assessing preschool dual language learners: Traveling a multiforked road. Child Development Perspectives, 5, 2832.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Preece, A. (1992). Collaborators and critics: The nature and effects of peer interaction on children's conversational narratives. Journal of Narrative and Life History, 2, 277292.Google Scholar
Romaine, S. (1984). The language of children and adolescents. Oxford: Basil Blackwell.Google Scholar
Smith, M. W. (1996). Teacher–child interaction in early childhood classrooms: Theoretical and practical perspectives. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Clark University.Google Scholar
Snow, C. E. (1990). The development of definitional skill. Journal of Child Language, 17, 697710.Google Scholar
Storch, S. A., & Whitehurst, G. J. (2002). Oral language and code-related precursors to reading: Evidence from a longitudinal structural model. Developmental Psychology, 38, 934947.Google Scholar
Tomasello, M., Kruger, A., & Ratner, H. (1993). Cultural learning. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 16, 495552.Google Scholar
US Department of Education. (n.d.). Teaching literacy in English to k–5 English learners. Retrieved from http://dww.ed.gov/Literacy-in-English-K-5/Teach-Vocabulary/practice/?T_ID=13&P_ID=22Google Scholar
US Department of Health and Human Services. (2010). Head Start impact study: Final report. Washington, DC: Author.Google Scholar
Valdés, G., & Figueroa, R. A. (1996). Bilingualism and testing: A special case of bias. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.Google Scholar
Woodcock, R. W., McGrew, K. S., & Mather, N. (2000). Woodcock–Johnson III. Itasca, IL: Riverside.Google Scholar
Zentella, A. C. (1997). Growing up bilingual. Oxford: Blackwell.Google Scholar