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Effects and noneffects of input in bilingual environments on dual language skills in 2 ½-year-olds*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 July 2015

SILVIA PLACE  and
ERIKA HOFF
SILVIA PLACE
Affiliation:
Florida Atlantic University
ERIKA HOFF*
Affiliation:
Florida Atlantic University
*
Address for correspondence: Erika Hoff, Florida Atlantic University, Department of Psychology, 3200 College Avenue, Davie, FL 33314USA[email protected]
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Abstract

Recent findings suggest some properties of input in dual-language environments that influence its value for bilingual development, but the extant data base is small and sometimes inconclusive. The present study sought additional evidence regarding three quality indicators: the percent of input provided by native speakers, the number of different speakers providing input, and the frequency of language mixing. Participants were 90 thirty-month-olds exposed to Spanish and English. Using the Language Diary method to assess input and using multiple measures of children's bilingual skills, results replicated previous findings that the percent of input provided by native speakers is a positive quality indicator and found suggestive evidence that the number of speakers is also a positive quality indicator. There was little evidence that the frequency of language mixing is a negative indicator. These findings advance understanding of sources of variability in bilingual outcomes and have implications for programs to support bilingual development.

Keywords

bilingual first language acquisitionexposure effectscode-switching
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 19 , Issue 5 , November 2016 , pp. 1023 - 1041
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

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Footnotes

*

This research was supported by NIH grant HD068421 to Erika Hoff.

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