The Influence of Older Siblings on Language Use Among Second-Generation Latino Preschoolers

• In Event: Roundtable Session 10
  In Roundtable Session: Culturally Related Issues

Abstract

As numbers of language-minority children in English-medium schools continue to grow, one notable trend is the growth of U.S.-born preschool-age children in Spanish-speaking families, composing the fastest growing percentage of English Language Learners nationwide (Russakoff, 2011). While these children and their families have been the subject of numerous studies of home language learning (e.g., Caspe, 2009; Duursma et al., 2007), the influence of older siblings on language development has been largely neglected. This paper draws from survey responses gathered in face-to-face interviews with Latino families in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region to examine the extent to which older siblings predict focal child (FC) Spanish and English language use with the mother, father, and children inside and outside of the home.

Authors

• Amanda Kibler, University of Virginia

• Natalia Palacios, University of Virginia

• Ashley Elizabeth Simpson Baird, University of Virginia