Does Phonological Working Memory Predict Vocabulary Development Differently in Single Versus Dual Language Learning Preschoolers?

• In Event: Executive Functioning and Metacognitive Skills as ‘Motor and Consequence’ of Early Dual Language Learning

Abstract

Vocabulary-learning represents one of the most crucial undertakings in child-development and constitutes an important predictor of academic achievement (Verhagen et al., 2019). Vocabulary-acquisition is especially challenging for children learning two languages as they must partition their language-acquisition resources (Maier et al., 2016). To determine children’s vocabulary-skills their ability to repeat novel words—nonwords—is particularly relevant (Baddeley et al., 1998). Nonword-repetition taps into phonological-working-memory (PWM) skills; these relate to better vocabulary-development presumably because with greater PWM-capacity novel words can be better anchored within semantic long-term memory and are processed more precisely on a phonological-level (Farabolini et al., 2022).
Indeed, PWM has been shown to predict vocabulary-development—concurrently and longitudinally—both in studies examining single- or dual-language-learning children (abbreviated as SLL and DLL, respectively; Parra et al., 2011; Verhagen et al., 2019). However, research is missing that examines whether PWM predicts future vocabulary-learning-development similarly in SLL for their single language as for DLL children in both of their languages. Acquiring two instead of only one language comes along with reduced language-input and language-use opportunities in either language, as well as with an increased amount of phonological diversity (Hoff, 2018). PWM may hence potentially play a more superior role within DLLs’ than SLLs’ vocabulary-learning. The extent to which this assumed difference in a PWM-prediction-effect is evident both at the receptive and expressive level of vocabulary-development could further help determine the magnitude in which PWM facilitates vocabulary-development at an encoding or retrieving level, respectively.
The present study aimed to address these research gaps by employing longitudinal multilevel modelling to disentangle the PWM-influences onto both concurrent and subsequent receptive- and expressive-level vocabulary-growth in preschool-aged SLL- and DLL-children.
Data were analyzed from 317 SLL- (speaking either German or French as the societal- language (SLA)) and 214 DLL-children (who additionally were learning either Turkish or Italian as their heritage-language (HLA)) aged 3 to 6 years. Receptive- and expressive-vocabulary-skills were assessed at three measurement time-points via an adaptive-testing-battery containing parallelized and standardized language-test-items for SLA and HLA, respectively. All children performed an adapted version of Chiat’s (2015) quasi-universal-nonword-repetition-PWM-task at t1.
As expected, cross-sectional data-examination revealed that SLLs held larger receptive and expressive SLA-vocabularies than their DLL peers (b=-0.63; p<.001; b=-0.91; p<.001). Over all SLL and DLL children, PWM denoted concurrent receptive SLA-vocabulary (b=0.18; p=.002) and, at trend-level, also expressive SLA-vocabulary (b=0.09; p=.063). However, PWM was not indicative for DLLs’ HLA-vocabulary-skills (ps>.17). Longitudinal growth-curve models showed that high PWM-skills positively predicted expressive but not receptive SLA-vocabulary-development (b=0.008; p=.007; b=0.003; p=.312). Notwithstanding, this effect of PWM on expressive-level SLA-vocabulary-growth was stronger for DLL-children (b=0.008; p=.007). Yet, PWM led to no substantial receptive- or expressive HLA-vocabulary-growth in DLLs (both ps>.10).
The present findings show that the anticipated superior importance of PWM can at best become visible in SLA-specific expressive vocabulary tasks. This suggests that PWM is particularly important for word-retrieval and word-utterance in the SLA of DLL-children but less during receptive-level encoding. The greater relevance of our findings for educational contexts shall be discussed.

Group Authors

Weiner-Bühler, J. C., Schächinger Tenés, L. T., Grob, A., & Segerer, R. K.

Authors

• Jessica Carolyn Weiner, University of Basel
  Presenting Author

• Leila Teresa Schächinger Tenés, University of Basel, Switzerland

• Alexander Grob, University of Basel

• Robin Klaus Segerer, University of Basel