An Examination of Language Practices During Mother–Child Play Activities Among Mexican Immigrant Families

• In Event: 26.080 - Roundtable Session 8
  In Roundtable Session: 26.080-21 - Hispanic Issues: Language and Other Topics

Abstract

We examined the language practices of five mother-child dyads during a structured play activity. The study includes second-generation, four year-old children of Mexican immigrants who demonstrate either high levels of proficiency in English and Spanish or low levels of proficiency in both languages. Examination of field notes, videotapes, and transcriptions, yielded differences in maternal use of perceptual and conceptual questions between children in the high and low proficiency groups. Children with higher English/Spanish vocabulary profiles experience and produce more complex language (e.g., greater variety in the form of perceptual questions that produce abstract child responses; more likely to experience clarification or explanation questions).

Authors

• Natalia Palacios, University of Virginia

• Ashley Elizabeth Simpson Baird, University of Virginia

• Alyssa Parr, University of Virginia

• Rebecca Bergey, University of Virginia