Which Measure of Socioeconomic Status Best Predicts Bilingual Lexical Abilities and How? A Focus on Four-Year-Olds Exposed to Two Majority Languages

Autor/inn/en	Gatt, Daniela; Baldacchino, Roberta; Dodd, Barbara
Titel	Which Measure of Socioeconomic Status Best Predicts Bilingual Lexical Abilities and How? A Focus on Four-Year-Olds Exposed to Two Majority Languages
Quelle	In: Journal of Child Language, 47 (2020) 4, S.737-765 (29 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Gatt, Daniela)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0305-0009
DOI	10.1017/S0305000919000886
Schlagwörter	Socioeconomic Status; Young Children; Bilingualism; Preschool Children; Receptive Language; Naming; Semitic Languages; English; Expressive Language; Predictor Variables; Language Skills; Phonological Awareness; Parent Background + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Socio-economic status; Sozioökonomischer Status; Frühe Kindheit; Bilingualismus; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Rezeptive Kommunikationsfähigkeit; Arabisch; Hebräisch; English language; Englisch; Prädiktor; Language skill; Sprachkompetenz; Elternhaus
Abstract	This study evaluates the ability of different measures of socioeconomic status (SES) to predict lexical outcomes for preschoolers raised in a context of nationwide bilingualism. The participants were 58 children aged 3;11-4;3 from Maltese-dominant homes who attended state preschools. Receptive picture name judgement and picture naming, in Maltese and English, were employed to measure receptive and expressive lexical abilities, respectively. Lexical outcomes for four individual SES variables and a single composite SES measure were similar but not directly interchangeable. The composite SES variable emerged as most strongly predictive of children's lexical performance. Receptive judgement of phonological accuracy improved similarly in both languages with higher composite SES. Naming skills increased significantly in English but not in Maltese, suggesting differences in English input related to parental SES. A focus on SES in relation to lexical skills in two majority languages is novel and adds to current understanding of normative bilingual acquisition. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01