De Cat, C orcid.org/0000-0003-0044-0527 (2020) Predicting language proficiency in bilingual children. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 42 (2). pp. 279-325. ISSN 0272-2631
Abstract
Using advanced quantitative methods, this article demonstrates that cumulative exposure to the school language is the best language experience predictor of proficiency in that language (as indexed by sentence repetition, lexical semantic, and discourse semantic tasks) in a highly diverse group of 5- to 7-year-old bilingual children in monolingual education. An objective method is proposed to identify the amount of school language experience beyond which bilingual children are likely to perform within the monolingual range, and show that relative passivity in the home language does not translate into better school language proficiency. Socioeconomic status is shown to interact in complex ways with language exposure, such that it is only above a certain level of exposure to the school language that the benefits of a more privileged background have a tangible impact on school language proficiency. To tease apart the effect of environmental predictors from the effect of cognitive factors, memory and cognitive flexibility measures are included as covariates in all analyses.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © Cambridge University Press 2019. This article has been published in a revised form in Studies in Second Language Acquisition [http://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263119000597]. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Languages Cultures & Societies (Leeds) > Linguistics & Phonetics (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Leverhulme Trust RPG-2012-633 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 04 Oct 2019 12:55 |
Last Modified: | 02 Oct 2020 13:43 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/S0272263119000597 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:151766 |