Hostname: page-component-6bf8c574d5-9nwgx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-02-17T15:45:08.691Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Bilingualism and receptive vocabulary achievement: Could sociocultural context make a difference?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2014

LISA SMITHSON ,
JOHANNE PARADIS  and
ELENA NICOLADIS
LISA SMITHSON*
Affiliation:
University of Alberta
JOHANNE PARADIS
Affiliation:
University of Alberta
ELENA NICOLADIS
Affiliation:
University of Alberta
*
Address for correspondence: Lisa Smithson, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, P2-17 Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton AB, T6G 2E9, Canada[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate receptive vocabulary achievement among French–English bilinguals in Canada. Standardized test scores of receptive vocabulary were measured in both languages from preschool, early-elementary, and late-elementary French–English bilingual children, and French–English bilingual adults. Mean vocabulary scores across all bilingual age groups were statistically equivalent to or above the standard mean in French and English with the exception of the early-elementary bilinguals who scored below the standard mean on the English vocabulary assessment. Mean vocabulary scores of the preschool and adult bilingual groups were not significantly different from those of their monolingual peers in either language. However, early-elementary and late-elementary bilingual children scored significantly lower than monolinguals on the English vocabulary assessment. The positive sociocultural context for French–English bilingualism in Canada as well as language input changes in school are discussed as underlying reasons for these findings.

Keywords

vocabularybilingualismsociocultural context
Type
Research Notes
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 17 , Issue 4 , October 2014 , pp. 810 - 821
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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

Allman, B. (2005). Vocabulary size and accuracy of monolingual and bilingual preschool children. In Cohen et al. (eds.), pp. 58–77.Google Scholar
Alvermann, D., & Earle, J. (2003). Comprehension instruction. In Sweet, A. P. & Snow, C. (eds.), Rethinking reading comprehension, pp. 12–30. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Aukrust, V. G. (2007). Young children acquiring second language vocabulary in preschool group-time: Does amount, diversity, and discourse complexity of teacher talk matter? Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 22, 17–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ben-Zeev, S. (1977). The influence of bilingualism on cognitive strategy and cognitive development. Child Development, 48, 1009–1018.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E. (2009). Bilingualism: The good, the bad, and the indifferent. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 12, 3–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E., Craik, F. I. M., & Luk, G. (2007). Lexical access in bilinguals: Effects of vocabulary size and executive control. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 21, 522–538.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E., Craik, F. [I. M.], & Luk, G. (2008). Cognitive control and lexical access in younger and older bilinguals. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 34, 859–873.Google ScholarPubMed
Bialystok, E., Luk, G., Peets, K. F., & Yang, S. (2010). Receptive vocabulary differences in monolingual and bilingual children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13, 525–531.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cobo-Lewis, A. B., Pearson, B. Z., Eilers, R. E., & Umbel, V. C. (2002a). Effects of bilingualism and bilingual education on oral and written English skills: A multifactor study of standardized test outcomes. In Oller & Eilers (eds.), pp. 64–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cobo-Lewis, A. B., Pearson, B. Z., Eilers, R. E., & Umbel, V. C. (2002b). Effects of bilingualism and bilingual education on oral and written Spanish skills: A multifactor study of standardized test outcomes. In Oller & Eilers (eds.), pp. 98–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cohen, J., McAlister, K. T., Rolstad, K., & MacSwan, J. (eds.) (2005). ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Doyle, A. B., Champagne, M., & Segalowitz, N. (1978). Some issues in the assessment of linguistic consequences of early bilingualism. In Paradis, M. (ed.), Aspects of bilingualism, pp. 13–20. Columbia, SC: Hornbeam Press.Google Scholar
Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1997). Examiner's manual for the PPVT–III: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–Third Edition. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
Dunn, L. M., Thériault-Whalen, C. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1993). Échelle de vocabulaire en images Peabody. Toronto: Psycan.Google Scholar
Durik, A. M., & Eccles, J. S. (2006). Classroom activities in math and reading in early, middle, and late elementary school. Journal of Classroom Interaction, 41, 33–41.Google Scholar
Gathercole, V. C. M., & Thomas, E. M. (2009). Bilingual first-language development: Dominant language takeover, threatened minority language take-up. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 12, 213–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutiérrez-Clellen, V. F., & Krieter, J. (2003). Understanding child bilingual acquisition using parent and teacher reports. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24, 267–288.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hammer, C., Davison, M., Lawrence, F., & Miccio, A. (2009). The effect of maternal language on bilingual children's vocabulary and emergent literacy development during Head Start and kindergarten. Scientific Studies of Reading, 13, 99–121.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hart, B., & Risley, T. (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, 1368–1378.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoff, E., Core, C., Place, S., Rumiche, R., Señor, M., & Parra, M. (2012). Dual language exposure and early bilingual development. Journal of Child Language, 39, 1–27.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoff-Ginsberg, E. (1991). Mother–child conversation in different social classes and communicative settings. Child Development, 62, 782–796.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoffman, E. (2003). PS. In de Courtivron, I. (ed.), Lives in translation, pp. 49–54. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Jacobson, P. F., & Cairns, H. S. (2008). Considering linguistic input in a bilingual situation: Implications for acquisition. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 39, 352–364.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Junker, D. A., & Stockman, I. J. (2002). Expressive vocabulary of German–English bilingual toddlers. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11, 381–395.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kan, P. F., & Kohnert, K. (2005). Preschoolers learning Hmong and English: Lexical-semantic skills in L1 and L2. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 48, 372–383.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawrence, J. F. (2012). English vocabulary trajectories of students whose parents speak a language other than English: Steep trajectories and sharp summer setback. Reading and Writing, 25, 1113–1141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Majerus, S., Poncelet, M., & Greffe, C. (2006). Relations between vocabulary development and verbal short-term memory: The relative importance of short-term memory for serial order and item information. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 93, 95–119.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mancilla-Martinez, J., & Lesaux, N. K. (2011). Early home language use and later vocabulary development. Journal of Educational Psychology, 103, 535–546.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muter, V., Hulme, C., Snowling, M. J., & Stevenson, J. (2004). Phonemes, rimes, vocabulary, and grammatical skills as foundation of early reading development: Evidence from a longitudinal study. Developmental Psychology, 40, 665–681.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Oller, D. K. (2005). The distributed characteristic in bilingual learning. In Cohen, J., McAlister, K. T., Rolstad, K. & MacSwan, J. (eds.), ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism, pp. 1744–1749. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Oller, D. K., & Eilers, R. (2002). Language and literacy in bilingual children. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oller, D. K., Pearson, B. Z., & Cobo-Lewis, A. B. (2007). Profile effects in early bilingual language and literacy. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28, 191–230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paradis, J. (2009). Oral language development in French and English and the role of home input factors. Report for the Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord, Edmonton, Alberta.Google Scholar
Paradis, J. (2010). Bilingual children's acquisition of English verb morphology: Effects of language exposure, structure complexity, and task type. Language Learning, 60, 651–680.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paradis, J., Genesee, F., & Crago, M. (2011). Dual language development and disorders: A handbook on bilingualism and second language learning. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.Google Scholar
Paradis, J., Nicoladis, E., Crago, M., & Genesee, F. (2011). Bilingual children's acquisition of the past tense: A usage-based approach. Journal of Child Language, 38, 554–578.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pearson, B. Z., Fernández, V. L., Lewedeg, V., & Oller, D. K. (1997). The relation of input factors to lexical learning by bilingual infants. Applied Psycholinguistics, 18, 41–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pearson, B. Z., Fernández, S. C., & Oller, D. K. (1993). Lexical development in bilingual infants and toddlers: Comparison to monolingual norms. Language Learning, 43, 93–120.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Place, S., & Hoff, E. (2011). Properties of dual language exposure that influence two-year-olds’ bilingual proficiency. Child Development, 82, 1834–1849.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scheele, A. F., Leseman, P. P. M., & Mayo, A. Y. (2010). The home language environment of monolingual and bilingual children and their language proficiency. Applied Psycholinguistics, 31, 117–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sénéchal, M., Ouellette, G., & Rodney, D. (2006). The misunderstood giant: On the predictive role of early vocabulary to future reading. In Neuman, S. B. & Dickinson, D. (eds.), Handbook of early literacy research (vol. 2), pp. 173–182. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Smith, T. C., Smith, B. L., & Dobbs, K. (1991). Relationship between the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – Revised, Wide Range Achievement Test – Revised, and Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Revised. Journal of School Psychology, 29, 53–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smithson, L., & Nicoladis, E. (2013). Verbal memory resources predict iconic gesture use among monolinguals and bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 16, 934–944.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Statistics Canada (2011). Linguistic characteristics of Canadians. Catalogue no. 98-314-X2011001. Available online at http://www.statcan.gc.ca.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, 934–947.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2007). Using multivariate statistics (5th edn.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Tagoilelagi-LeotaGlynn, F., McNaughton, S., MacDonald, S., & Farry, S. (2005). Bilingual and biliteracy development over the transition to school. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 8, 455–479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thordardottir, E. (2011). The relationship between bilingual exposure and vocabulary development. The International Journal of Bilingualism, 15, 426–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thordardottir, E., Rothenberg, A., Rivard, M.-E., & Naves, R. (2006). Bilingual assessment: Can overall proficiency be estimated from separate measurement of two languages? Journal of Multilingual Communication Disorders, 4, 1–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ucelli, P., & Páez, M. (2007). Narrative and vocabulary development of bilingual children from kindergarten to first grade: Developmental changes and associations among English and Spanish skills. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38, 225–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uchikoshi, Y. (2006). English vocabulary development in bilingual kindergarteners: An individual growth modeling approach. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 9, 33–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar