In Few Words: Linguistic Gap but Adequate Narrative Structure in Preschool Bilingual Children

Autor/inn/en	Bonifacci, Paola; Barbieri, Margherita; Tomassini, Marta; Roch, Maja
Titel	In Few Words: Linguistic Gap but Adequate Narrative Structure in Preschool Bilingual Children
Quelle	In: Journal of Child Language, 45 (2018) 1, S.120-147 (28 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0305-0009
Schlagwörter	Comparative Analysis; Language Skills; Monolingualism; Bilingualism; Preschool Children; Predictor Variables; Italian; Vocabulary; Phonological Awareness; Morphology (Languages); Syntax; Memory; Alphabets; Story Telling; Sequential Approach + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Language skill; Sprachkompetenz; Bilingualismus; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Prädiktor; Italienisch; Wortschatz; Morphology; Morphologie; Gedächtnis; Buchstabenschrift; Schrittfolge
Abstract	The aim of this study was to compare linguistic and narrative skills of monolingual and bilingual preschoolers and to estimate linguistic predictors of the macro-structural level of narratives. A battery of linguistic measures in Italian was administered to sixty-four Monolinguals and sixty-four Early Bilinguals; it included Vocabulary, Phonological Awareness, Morphosyntactic Comprehension, Phonological Memory, Letter Knowledge, and Story Sequencing tasks. The narratives produced in the Story Sequencing task were coded. Bilinguals underachieved, compared to monolinguals, in vocabulary, phonological awareness and morphosyntactic comprehension; they also differed in Type and Token indexes and in free morphology, but not in the level of macro-structural complexity. Macro-structural parameters were predicted by Mean Length of Utterances in monolinguals, but not in bilinguals. Bilingual children are able to structure stories in their L2 with monolingual-like cohesive complexity, although 'in few words', that is, with weak L2 linguistic skills. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01