Do Chinese- and English-Speaking Preschoolers Think Differently about Language?

Autor/inn/en	Guan, Yao; Farrar, M. Jeffrey
Titel	Do Chinese- and English-Speaking Preschoolers Think Differently about Language?
Quelle	In: First Language, 36 (2016) 6, S.617-636 (20 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0142-7237
DOI	10.1177/0142723716673956
Schlagwörter	Metalinguistics; Preschool Children; Chinese; English; Native Language; Monolingualism; Task Analysis; Inhibition; Receptive Language; Measures (Individuals); Rhyme; Contrastive Linguistics; Cognitive Development; Language Acquisition; Learning Processes; Foreign Countries; Intelligence Tests; Verbal Ability; Vocabulary; Regression (Statistics); Asians; North Americans; China; Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Metalanguage; Metasprache; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; China; Chinesen; English language; Englisch; Aufgabenanalyse; Hemmung; Rezeptive Kommunikationsfähigkeit; Messdaten; Reim; Linguistics; Kontrastive Linguistik; Kognitive Entwicklung; Sprachaneignung; Spracherwerb; Learning process; Lernprozess; Ausland; Intelligence test; Intelligenztest; Mündliche Leistung; Wortschatz; Regression; Regressionsanalyse; Asian; Asiat; Asiatin; Asiaten; Asiate
Abstract	Metalinguistic awareness is the ability to identify, reflect upon, and manipulate linguistic units. It plays a critical role in reading development. The present study investigated Chinese- and English-speaking preschoolers' metalinguistic awareness development and the role of cognitive and linguistic abilities in its development. Forty-two Chinese-speaking and 36 English-speaking monolingual children completed a series of metalinguistic awareness, false belief, inhibitory control, and receptive vocabulary tasks. The results revealed distinct pathways for the two language groups. English speakers had a more advanced level of rhyme awareness. Chinese speakers developed homonym understanding faster during the preschool years. Inhibitory control was more important for Chinese speakers to develop synonym and homonym understanding, whereas receptive vocabulary was crucial for English speakers to develop rhyme awareness. These differences may be attributable to the characteristics of the Chinese and English languages, as well as the patterns of cognitive development in the two populations. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01