Using Parental Questionnaires to Investigate the Heritage Language Proficiency of Bilingual Children

Autor/inn/en	Abbot-Smith, Kirsten; Morawska-Patera, Patrycja; Luniewska, Magdalena; Spruce, Megan; Haman, Ewa
Titel	Using Parental Questionnaires to Investigate the Heritage Language Proficiency of Bilingual Children
Quelle	In: Child Language Teaching and Therapy, 34 (2018) 2, S.155-170 (16 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0265-6590
DOI	10.1177/0265659018780958
Schlagwörter	Questionnaires; Parent Attitudes; Bilingualism; English; Monolingualism; Linguistic Input; Check Lists; Language Proficiency; Polish; Children; English (Second Language); Task Analysis; Native Language; Receptive Language; Expressive Language; Matched Groups; Pictorial Stimuli; Risk; Language Skills; Prediction; Language Processing; Foreign Countries; Measures (Individuals); Statistical Analysis; Hierarchical Linear Modeling; United Kingdom (England) + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Fragebogen; Elternverhalten; Bilingualismus; English language; Englisch; Sprachbildung; Checkliste; Language skill; Language skills; Sprachkompetenz; Polnisch; Child; Kind; Kinder; English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Aufgabenanalyse; Rezeptive Kommunikationsfähigkeit; Fantasieanregung; Risiko; Vorhersage; Sprachverarbeitung; Ausland; Messdaten; Statistische Analyse
Abstract	We asked whether parental questionnaires on the heritage language proficiency of bilingual children might elucidate how proficient bilingual children are in their heritage language. We tested 20 UK-based Polish-English bilingual children between 4;5 and 5;9 years on Polish and English versions of the Cross-linguistic Lexical Tasks (CLTs). These comprise receptive and expressive picture tasks. Our bilingual group performed significantly worse on the Polish CLTs than on the English CLTs overall. They also performed significantly worse on the English CLTs than did an age- and gender-matched group of monolingual English-speaking children. Therefore our bilingual sample represent the type of bilinguals for whom education professionals have difficulty determining whether weak English is due to diminished English input vs. an underlying speech, language or communication need. Parents of the bilinguals completed a Polish adaptation of the Children's Communication Checklist 2. They also completed the Parents of Bilingual Children Questionnaire (PaBiQ), which includes risk factor measures ('No Risk Index' and children's 'Current Language Skills'). The PaBiQ also includes measures of the Amount and Length of Exposure to the majority language (English) prior to age four as well as the Proportion of English in the current input. For the bilingual sample the CCC2 General Communication Composite (GCC), which measures structural language, significantly predicted Polish CLT production, uniquely accounting for 25% of the variance. The parent-rated PaBiQ 'Current Polish Skills' section predicted the Polish CLT comprehension. While the PaBiQ measure of Amount and Length of English Exposure was related to both Polish comprehension and production, it did not retain significance in a regression analysis. Therefore, parental questionnaires of the heritage language could provide a useful first step for education professionals when deciding whether to refer bilingual children for speech and language assessment. Large scale studies are needed to further develop these parental questionnaires. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01