Dual Language Development in the U.S. and Singapore: Multifaceted Experiences, Multifaceted Effects During Early Childhood

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

In the U.S., over 12 million children speak a language other than English. In Singapore, a country with four official languages, children learn English and their ethnic language at school. Dual language learners’ (DLLs) language skills are influenced by multiple factors, including parents’ language use and proficiency, bilingualism beliefs, and parent-child discourse behaviors (Fibla et al., 2022). Past research has not systematically examined how these sources of variability are related to DLLs’ language skills during the early years, which has a substantial impact on educational outcomes (Hammer et al., 2011; Hoff, 2018). This symposium addresses the gap by holistically examining the characteristics of parents and parent-child interactions in dual language homes and how these characteristics relate to dual language development.

Study 1 tests the influences of parents’ bilingual proficiency and perception and language use on English-Mandarin Singaporean bilingual preschoolers’ vocabulary and social-emotional skills. Study 2 focuses on the associations between parental knowledge of dual language development and children’s Spanish/Chinese-English dual language use and exposure between 0 and 6 years. Study 3 explores parents’ reported and observed bilingualism practices and relation to Spanish-English bilingual preschoolers’ Spanish vocabulary. And study 4 zooms in on the English-Spanish code-switching behaviors observed during parent-toddler play sessions and associations with toddlers’ English and Spanish vocabulary.

Overall, these studies highlight the multifaceted language experiences of DLLs and the dynamic relations between their experiences and dual language development. Early intervention and parenting programs should provide more resources for parents to understand and support bilingual development during early childhood.

Sub Unit

• Language, Communication

Chair

• Yu Chen, New York University School of Medicine

Individual Presentations

• Harmonious Bilingual Experience and Child Wellbeing: A Conceptual Framework - Presenting Author: He Sun, Nanyang Technological University

• Parental Knowledge About Dual Language Development Predicts Children’s Dual Language Experiences at Home - Presenting Author: Rufan Luo, Arizona State University; Aniyah Davis-Hilton, Rutgers University - Camden; Lulu Song, Brooklyn College CUNY

• “Si le Entiendo, le Respondo”: Parents’ Practices to Support Bilingual Development During Transition to School - Presenting Author: Sarah Surrain, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

• Hispanic Mothers’ and Fathers’ English-Spanish Code-Switching During Interactions with Toddlers: Relation to Toddlers’ Expressive Vocabulary - Presenting Author: Yu Chen, New York University School of Medicine; Angelica Alonso, University of Maryland - College Park; Natasha J Cabrera, University of Maryland - College Park; Milagros Urioste Resta, University of Maryland - College Park; Catherine S Tamis-Lemonda, New York University; Melissa E Libertus, University of Pittsburgh