ABSTRACT
Bilingual children often lag behind monolinguals on standardized measures of language acquisition, such as vocabulary tests. This bilingual lag could be related bilinguals’ lesser experience with the target language relative to monolinguals. In this study, we predicted that sequential Mandarin-English bilinguals would perform worse than same-aged English monolinguals on a standardized measure of complex sentence production. As predicted, the bilingual preschoolers performed worse than age-matched English monolinguals. However, once English experience was covaried, there was no significant difference between the two groups. After controlling for age, we tested three predictors of complex sentence production: (1) English vocabulary, (2) verbal memory, and (for the bilinguals) (3) Mandarin vocabulary. For both bilinguals and monolinguals, English vocabulary and verbal memory were significant predictors. These results support the argument that experience with a particular language is highly predictive of children’s ability to produce complex sentences in that language. Verbal memory is also an important predictor of individual differences in the ability to produce complex sentences.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Ethical statement
The methods of this study were reviewed and approved by the Research Ethics Board of the University of Alberta (Pro00083328). The parents of all children provided writte000n consent before data were collected. The children provided assent before data were collected and their verbal and nonverbal behaviour was monitored throughout the session for continued willingness to participate.
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Notes on contributors
Elena Nicoladis
Elena Nicoladis is a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia. Her research interests include bilingual first language acquisition and gesture production.
Amanda Luo
Amanda Luo worked on this study when she was an undergraduate student at the University of Albertas.
George Vouronikos
George Vouronikos worked on this study when he was an undergraduate student at the University of Albertas.