A Comparison between Verbal Working Memory and Vocabulary in Bilingual and Monolingual South African School Beginners: Implications for Bilingual Language Assessment

Autor/in	Cockcroft, Kate
Titel	A Comparison between Verbal Working Memory and Vocabulary in Bilingual and Monolingual South African School Beginners: Implications for Bilingual Language Assessment
Quelle	In: International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 19 (2016) 1, S.74-88 (15 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1367-0050
DOI	10.1080/13670050.2014.964172
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Receptive Language; Expressive Language; Verbal Communication; Short Term Memory; English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Native Language; Bilingualism; Correlation; Monolingualism; Comparative Analysis; Vocabulary Development; Recall (Psychology); Language Skills; Language Tests; Executive Function; Phonology; Nonverbal Ability; Intelligence Tests; African Languages; Elementary School Students; Grade 1; Socioeconomic Status; Statistical Analysis; South Africa; Raven Progressive Matrices + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Rezeptive Kommunikationsfähigkeit; Kurzzeitgedächtnis; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Bilingualismus; Korrelation; Wortschatzarbeit; Abberufung; Language skill; Sprachkompetenz; Language test; Sprachtest; Fonologie; Intelligence test; Intelligenztest; Africa; Language; Languages; Afrika; Sprachen; Afrikanische Sprache; School year 01; 1. Schuljahr; Schuljahr 01; Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; Statistische Analyse; Südafrika; Süd-Afrika; Republik Südafrika; Südafrikanische Republik
Abstract	This study compared bilingual and monolingual school beginners on measures of simple and complex verbal working memory and receptive and expressive vocabulary. The aim was to determine whether the tests of working memory are fairer measures of language ability than the vocabulary tests for bilingual children when tested in their second language. Participants were 120 school beginners, comprising English first- (monolingual) and second-language (bilingual) speakers, matched for age, grade and socio-economic background. All were being educated in English. Results showed that (1) the monolinguals outperformed the bilinguals on both expressive and receptive vocabulary; (2) there were no significant differences between the language groups on any of the working memory tests, when receptive and expressive vocabulary both were and were not statistically controlled; and (3) from the working memory measures, Digit Span tasks were significantly associated with vocabulary for both language groups, while Non-word Recall and Counting Recall were only related to vocabulary for the monolinguals. The findings have theoretical and practical implications for the functioning of verbal working memory in bilinguals and the types of verbal working memory measures suitable for assessing the language abilities of bilingual children. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01