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Children master language quickly and with relative ease, supported by both biological predisposition and reinforcement. B. F. Skinner (1957) proposed that language is learned through reinforcement, while Noam Chomsky (1965) argued that language acquisition mechanisms are biologically determined.
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Simultaneous Bilingual Development Is Additive Except in Early Expressive Vocabulary Growth: Longitudinal Evidence

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Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Bilingualism
  • Language Acquisition

Background:

  • Understanding how acquiring two languages impacts development is crucial.
  • Previous research on this topic has yielded mixed results.
  • This study investigates the interplay between English and Spanish acquisition in young children.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the relationship between the acquisition of English and Spanish in children.
  • To determine if language acquisition is a competitive or additive process.
  • To identify the influence of home language exposure on bilingual development.

Main Methods:

  • Longitudinal study of 149 children from Spanish-speaking immigrant families (ages 2.5-12).
  • Assessed expressive and receptive vocabulary in English and Spanish using standardized tests.
  • Collected caregiver estimates of home exposure to each language.

Main Results:

  • A tradeoff in expressive vocabulary growth between English and Spanish was observed only up to age 4.
  • No competitive relation was found between English and Spanish receptive vocabulary development at any age.
  • English vocabulary linked to home exposure until age 6; Spanish vocabulary linked to home exposure until age 12.

Conclusions:

  • Bilingual development is subtractive only in early childhood (first 4 years) for expressive skills.
  • Receptive language development in bilingual children becomes additive earlier than expressive development.
  • Home language exposure remains a limiting factor for minority language growth throughout childhood.