Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-20T02:44:25.117Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Vocabulary size and speed of word recognition in very young French–English bilinguals: A longitudinal study*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 August 2016

JACQUELINE LEGACY ,
PASCAL ZESIGER ,
MARGARET FRIEND  and
DIANE POULIN-DUBOIS
JACQUELINE LEGACY*
Affiliation:
Concordia University
PASCAL ZESIGER
Affiliation:
Université de Genève
MARGARET FRIEND
Affiliation:
San Diego State University
DIANE POULIN-DUBOIS
Affiliation:
Concordia University
*
Address for correspondence: Jacqueline Legacy, 7141 Sherbrooke Street West, PY Building 276-3, H4B 1R6, Montreal, Quebec, Canadajlegacy@hotmail.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A longitudinal study of lexical development in very young French–English bilinguals is reported. The Computerized Comprehension Test (CCT) was used to directly assess receptive vocabulary and processing efficiency, and parental report (CDI) was used to measure expressive vocabulary in monolingual and bilingual infants at 16 months, and six months later, at 22 months. All infants increased their comprehension and production of words over the six-month period, and bilingual infants acquired approximately as many new words in each of their languages as the monolinguals did. Speed of online word processing was also equivalent in both groups at each wave of data collection, and increased significantly across waves. Importantly, significant relations emerged between language exposure, vocabulary size, and processing speed, with proportion of language exposure predicting vocabulary size at each time point. This study extends previous findings by utilizing a direct measure of receptive vocabulary development and online word processing.

Keywords

bilingualismvocabulary developmentword processing speed
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 21 , Issue 1 , January 2018 , pp. 137 - 149
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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.)

Footnotes

*

This research was supported by NICHD under award #R01HD468058 and does not necessarily represent the views of the National Institutes of Health. The authors wish to thank Laura Alaria, Alexandra Bittner, Antonella Crettol, Cristina Crivello, Katherine Gittins, Melissa Icart, Olivia Kuzyk, Tamara Patrucco-Nanchen, Monyka Rodrigues, and Lyakout Mohamed Said for their help with data collection.

References

Barnes, J., & Garcia, I. (2012). Vocabulary growth and composition in monolingual and bilingual Basque infants and toddlers. International Journal of Bilingualism, 17, 357–374.Google Scholar
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.Google Scholar
Bornstein, M. H., Hahn, C. S., Putnick, D. L., & Suwalsky, J. T. (2014). Stability of core language skill from early childhood to adolescence: A latent variable approach. Child Development, 85, 1346–1356.Google Scholar
Bornstein, M. H., Putnick, D. L., & De Houwer, A. (2006). Child vocabulary across the second year: Stability and continuity for reporter comparisons and a cumulative score. First Language, 26, 299–316.Google Scholar
Bosch, L., & Ramon-Casas, M. (2014). First translation equivalents in bilingual toddlers’ expressive vocabulary: Does form similarity matter? International Journal of Behavioral Development, 38, 317–322.Google Scholar
Core, C., Hoff, E., Rumiche, R., & Señor, M. (2013). Total and conceptual vocabulary in Spanish–English bilinguals from 22 to 30 months: implications for assessment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 56, 1637–1649.Google Scholar
Dale, P. S., & Fenson, L. (1996). Lexical development norms for young children. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 28, 125–127.Google Scholar
DeAnda, S., Bosch, L., Poulin-Dubois, D., Zesiger, P., & Friend, M. (in press). The language exposure assessment tool: Quantifying language exposure in infants and children. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research.Google Scholar
DeAnda, S., Arias-Trejo, N., Poulin-Dubois, D., Zesiger, P., & Friend, M. (2016). Minimal second language exposure, SES, and early word comprehension: New evidence from a direct assessment. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 19, 162–180.Google Scholar
De Houwer, A. (2007). Parental language input patterns and children's bilingual use. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28, 411–424.Google Scholar
De Houwer, A., Bornstein, M. H., & De Coster, S. (2006). Early understanding of two words for the same thing: A CDI study of lexical comprehension in infant bilinguals. International Journal of Bilingualism, 10, 331–348.Google Scholar
De Houwer, A., Bornstein, M. H., & Leach, D. B. (2005). Assessing early communicative ability: A cross-reporter cumulative score for the MacArthur CDI. Journal of Child Language, 32, 735–758.Google Scholar
De Houwer, A., Bornstein, M. H., & Putnick, D. L. (2014). A bilingual-monolingual comparison of young children's vocabulary size: Evidence from comprehension and production. Applied Psycholinguistics, 35, 1189–1211.Google Scholar
Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1997). PPVT-III: Peabody picture vocabulary test. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Service.Google Scholar
Fenson, L., Dale, P. S., Reznick, J. S., Thal, D., Bates, E., Hartung, J. P., Pethick, S., & Reilly, J. S. (1993). The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories: User's guide and technical manual. San Diego, CA: Singular Publishing Group.Google Scholar
Fernald, A., & Marchman, V. A. (2012). Individual differences in lexical processing at 18 months predict vocabulary growth in typically developing and late-talking toddlers. Child Development, 83, 203–222.Google Scholar
Fernald, A., Marchman, V. A., & Weisleder, A. (2013). SES differences in language processing skill and vocabulary are evident at 18 months. Developmental Science, 16, 234–248.Google Scholar
Fernald, A., Perfors, A., & Marchman, V. A. (2006). Picking up speed in understanding: Speech processing efficiency and vocabulary growth across the 2nd year. Developmental Psychology, 42, 98–116.Google Scholar
Fernández, M. C., Pearson, B. Z., Umbel, V. M., Oller, D. K., & Molinet-Molina, M. (1992). Bilingual receptive vocabulary in Hispanic preschool children. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 14, 268–276.Google Scholar
Friend, M., & Keplinger, M. (2003). An infant-based assessment of early lexicon acquisition. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments & Computers, 35, 302–309.Google Scholar
Friend, M., Schmitt, S. A., & Simpson, A. M. (2012). Evaluating the predictive validity of the Computerized Comprehension Task: Comprehension predicts production. Developmental Psychology, 48, 136–148.Google Scholar
Friend, M., & Zesiger, P. (2011). A systematic replication of the psychometric properties of the CCT in three languages: English, Spanish, and French. Enfance, 3, 329–344.Google Scholar
Genesee, F., & Nicoladis, E. (2007). Bilingual acquisition. In Hoff, E. & Shatz, M. (eds.), Handbook of Language Development, pp. 324–342. Oxford, England: Blackwell.Google Scholar
Goldfield, B. A., & Reznick, J. S. (1990). Early lexical acquisition: Rate, content, and the vocabulary spurt. Journal of Child Language, 17, 171–183.Google Scholar
Grüter, T., Hurtado, N., Marchman, V. A., & Fernald, A. (2014). Language exposure and online processing efficiency in bilingual development: Relative versus absolute measures. In Grüter, T. & Paradis, J. (eds.), Input and Experience in Bilingual Development, 13, pp. 15–36. Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Hammer, C. S., Hoff, E., Uchikoshi, Y., Gillanders, C., Castro, D. C., & Sandilos, L. E. (2014). The language and literacy development of young dual language learners: A critical review. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29, 715–733.Google Scholar
Hammer, C. S., Lawrence, F. R., & Miccio, A. W. (2008). Exposure to English before and after entry into Head Start 1: Bilingual children's receptive language growth in Spanish and English. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11, 30–56.Google Scholar
Hendrickson, K., Mitsven, S., Poulin-Dubois, D., Zesiger, P., & Friend, M. (2014). Looking and touching: What extant approaches reveal about the structure of early word knowledge. Developmental Science, 18, 723–735.Google Scholar
Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Golinkoff, R. M. (1996). The intermodal preferential looking paradigm: A window into emerging language comprehension. In McDaniel, D., McKee, C., & Cairns, H. S. (eds.), Methods for assessing children's syntax, pp. 105–124. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Hoff, E. (2013). Interpreting the early language trajectories of children from low-SES and language minority homes: Implications for closing achievement gaps. Developmental Psychology, 49, 4–14.Google Scholar
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.Google Scholar
Hoff, E., Rumiche, R., Burridge, A., Ribot, K. M., & Welsh, S. N. (2014). Expressive vocabulary development in children from bilingual and monolingual homes: A longitudinal study from two to four years. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29, 433–444.Google Scholar
Hurtado, N., Grüter, T., Marchman, V., & Fernald, A. (2014). Relative language exposure, processing efficiency and vocabulary in Spanish-English bilingual toddlers. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 17, 189–202.Google Scholar
Junker, D. A., & Stockman, I. J. (2002). Expressive vocabulary of German-English bilingual toddlers. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11, 381–394.Google Scholar
Kan, P. F., & Kohnert, K. (2008). Fast mapping by bilingual preschool children. Journal of Child Language, 35, 495–514.Google Scholar
Kan, P. F., & Kohnert, K. (2012). A growth curve analysis of novel word learning by sequential bilingual preschool children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15, 452–469.Google Scholar
Kern, S. (1999). Inventaire Français du Développement Communicatif chez le nourrisson. Lyon, France: Laboratoire Dynamique du Langage. Institut des Sciences de l'Homme.Google Scholar
Law, J., & Roy, P. (2008). Parental report of infant language skills: A review of the development and application of the communicative development inventories. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 13, 198–206.Google Scholar
Legacy, J., Reider, J., Crivello, C., Kuzyk, O., Friend, M., Zesiger, P., & Poulin-Dubois, D. (2016a). Dog or chien? Translation equivalents in the receptive and expressive vocabularies of young French-English bilinguals. Journal of Child Language, doi: 10.1017/S0305000916000295. Published online by Cambridge University Press, July 5, 2016.Google Scholar
Legacy, J., Zesiger, P., Friend, M., & Poulin-Dubois, D. (2016b). Vocabulary size, translation equivalents, and efficiency in word recognition in very young bilinguals. Journal of Child Language, 43, 760–783.Google Scholar
MacLeod, A., Fabiano-Smith, L., Boegner-Pagé, S., & Fontolliet, S. (2013). Simultaneous bilingual language acquisition: The role of parental input on receptive vocabulary development. Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 29, 131–142.Google Scholar
Mancilla-Martinez, J., & Vagh, S. B. (2013). Growth in toddlers’ Spanish, English, and conceptual vocabulary knowledge. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28, 555–567.Google Scholar
Marchman, V. A., Fernald, A., & Hurtado, N. (2010). How vocabulary size in two languages relates to efficiency in spoken word recognition by young Spanish–English bilinguals. Journal of Child Language, 37, 817–840.Google Scholar
Patterson, J. L., & Pearson, B. Z. (2012). Bilingual lexical development, assessment, and intervention. In Goldstein, B. A. (ed.), Bilingual Language Development and Disorders in Spanish-English Speakers, 2nd Edition, Baltimore, MD: Brookes Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Pearson, B. Z., & Fernández, S. C. (1994). Patterns of interaction in the lexical growth in two languages of bilingual infants and toddlers. Language Learning, 44, 617–653.Google Scholar
Pearson, B. Z., Fernández, S., & Oller, D. K. (1993). Lexical development in simultaneous bilingual infants: Comparison to monolinguals. Language Learning, 43, 93–120.Google Scholar
Poulin-Dubois, D., Bialystok, E., Blaye, A., Polonia, A., & Yott, J. (2012). Lexical access and vocabulary development in very young bilinguals. International Journal of Bilingualism, 17, 57–70.Google Scholar
Schwartz, M., Moin, V., & Leikin, M. (2012). Lexical knowledge development in the first and second languages among language-minority children: The role of bilingual versus monolingual preschool education. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 15, 549–571.Google Scholar
Stokes, S. F., & Klee, T. (2009). Factors that influence vocabulary development in two-year-old children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 50, 498–505.Google Scholar
Thordardottir, E. (2011). The relationship between bilingual exposure and vocabulary development. International Journal of Bilingualism, 15, 426–445.Google Scholar
Trudeau, N., Frank, I., & Poulin-Dubois, D. (1999). Une adaptation en français Québécois du MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory. La Revue d'Orthophonie et d'Audiologie, 23, 61–73.Google Scholar
Uchikoshi, Y. (2006). English vocabulary development in bilingual kindergartners: What are the best predictors? Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 9, 33–49.Google Scholar
Umbel, V. M., Pearson, B. Z., Fernández, M. C., & Oller, D. K. (1992). Measuring bilingual children's receptive vocabularies. Child Development, 63, 1012–1020.Google Scholar
Vagh, S. B., Pan, B. A., & Mancilla‐Martinez, J. (2009). Measuring growth in bilingual and monolingual children's English productive vocabulary development: The utility of combining parent and teacher report. Child Development, 80, 1545–1563.Google Scholar