Bilingualism Changes Children's Beliefs about What Is Innate

Autor/inn/en	Byers-Heinlein, Krista; Garcia, Bianca
Titel	Bilingualism Changes Children's Beliefs about What Is Innate
Quelle	In: Developmental Science, 18 (2015) 2, S.344-350 (7 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1363-755X
DOI	10.1111/desc.12248
Schlagwörter	Beliefs; Childhood Attitudes; Bilingualism; Young Children; Second Language Learning; Language Acquisition; Monolingualism; Animal Behavior; Ecology; Developmentally Appropriate Practices; Constructivism (Learning); Preschool Children; Preschool Education; Child Development; Native Language; Predictor Variables; Foster Care; Parents + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Belief; Glaube; Bilingualismus; Frühe Kindheit; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Sprachaneignung; Spracherwerb; Tierverhalten; Ökologie; Entwicklungsbezogene Bildung; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Kindesentwicklung; Prädiktor; Pflegehilfe; Eltern
Abstract	Young children engage in essentialist reasoning about natural kinds, believing that many traits are innately determined. This study investigated whether personal experience with second language acquisition could alter children's essentialist biases. In a switched-at-birth paradigm, 5- and 6-year-old monolingual and simultaneous bilingual children expected that a baby's native language, an animal's vocalizations, and an animal's physical traits would match those of a birth rather than of an adoptive parent. We predicted that sequential bilingual children, who had been exposed to a new language after age 3, would show greater understanding that languages are learned. Surprisingly, sequential bilinguals showed reduced essentialist beliefs about all traits: they were significantly more likely than other children to believe that human language, animal vocalizations, and animal physical traits would be learned through experience rather than innately endowed. These findings suggest that bilingualism in the preschool years can profoundly change children's essentialist biases. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01