Trajectories of Child Language Use With Spanish-Speaking Caregivers Spanning the First Two Years of School

• In Event: Using Innovative Methodological Approaches to Explore the Heterogeneity of Latinx Dual Language Learners Within Early Childhood Classrooms

Abstract

Dual language learners (DLLs) whose families speak Spanish at home are the fastest-growing group of school-aged children in the U.S. (de Brey et al., 2019). Spanish-English DLLs are a heterogeneous group that vary in immigration history, language practices, and social circumstances. One way that Spanish-English DLLs vary is in the degree to which they use Spanish and English with Spanish-speaking caregivers. Previous research has found that a majority of DLLs prefer to use English with Spanish-English bilingual parents (López et al., 2020) and DLLs tend to increase in their English use over time (Hammer et al., 2011). Gaps remain in our understanding of individual trajectories of language use and factors that can explain why some children continue to use Spanish with caregivers while others increasingly use English. Grounded in conceptual models emphasizing the importance of culture and context in child development (Garcia Coll & Lamberty, 1996; Vélez-Agosto et al., 2017), the current study aims to 1) identify distinct profiles of trajectories of change in Spanish and English use spanning school entry and the first two years of school, and 2) identify contextual factors related to each profile.
Observations of Spanish-speaking parent-child dyads in Boston were conducted over two years (wave 1, n = 35, M age = 3.83 years; wave 2, n = 32; M age = 4.64 years; wave 3, n = 24, M age = 5.94 years). All parents (34 mothers and 1 father) spoke primarily Spanish with their child (> 96% Spanish words) and all had immigrated to the U.S. from a Spanish-speaking country (11 from Guatemala, 9 from El Salvador, 8 from Mexico, 2 from Colombia, 1 each from Honduras, Chile, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela). At each home visit, parents shared a wordless picture book with their child and completed an oral questionnaire. Children completed brief assessments in Spanish and English. Parent-child interactions were transcribed to obtain the number of word types children used per minute in each language. Following Luo et.al. (2020), group-based trajectory modeling was used to identify subgroups of children with similar patterns of change over time in their Spanish and English use.
Two profiles were identified (see Figure 1). The first group (59% of the sample) was characterized by high-increasing Spanish use and low-stable English use. The second group (41% of the sample) was characterized by mid-level, variable Spanish use and increasing English use. Unexpectedly, parent education, English proficiency, and language use, and children’s school language experiences did not differ significantly across groups. There were significant differences in parent immigration history, whether the child was born abroad, and child Spanish expressive vocabulary and code-switching at wave 1. Children whose parents had lived in the U.S. for longer, scored lower in Spanish expressive vocabulary, and who initiated more code-switches to English were significantly more likely to be in the increasing English profile group. These findings suggest that DLL language use trajectories may be shaped by parent immigration history and features of child language repertoires that emerge by school entry.

Author

• Sarah Surrain, The University of Texas - Health Science Center at Houston
  Presenting Author