Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-d8cs5 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-09T00:01:32.425Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The role of majority and minority language input in the early development of a bilingual vocabulary*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 February 2015

JELSKE DIJKSTRA ,
FOLKERT KUIKEN ,
RENÉ J. JORNA  and
EDWIN L. KLINKENBERG
JELSKE DIJKSTRA*
Affiliation:
Fryske Akademy, Leeuwarden, University of Amsterdam
FOLKERT KUIKEN
Affiliation:
University of Amsterdam
RENÉ J. JORNA
Affiliation:
Fryske Akademy, Leeuwarden, University of Groningen
EDWIN L. KLINKENBERG
Affiliation:
Fryske Akademy, Leeuwarden
*
Address for correspondence: Jelske Dijkstra, Fryske Akademy, PO Box 54, 8900 AB Leeuwarden, the Netherlands[email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The current longitudinal study investigated the role of home language and outside home exposure in the development of Dutch and Frisian vocabulary by young bilinguals. Frisian is a minority language spoken in the north of the Netherlands. In three successive test rounds, 91 preschoolers were tested in receptive and productive vocabulary in both languages. Results showed a home language effect for Frisian receptive and productive vocabulary, and Dutch productive vocabulary, but not for Dutch receptive vocabulary. As for outside home exposure, an effect was found on the receptive vocabulary tests only. The results can be explained by the amount of L2-input that participants received. The Dutch input is higher for participants with Frisian as home language compared to the Frisian input for participants with Dutch as home language. The conclusions lead to further implications for language professionals working in language minority contexts.

Keywords

bilingual vocabularylanguage inputminority languagepreschoolerslongitudinal
Type
Research Article
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , January 2016 , pp. 191 - 205
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

*

We are grateful to publisher Bohn Stafleu van Loghum, Liesbeth Schlichting and Henk Lutje Spelberg for making a pre-published version of the Dutch subtest Woordontwikkeling of the Schlichting Test voor Taalproductie II available to us. Further we would like to express our gratitude to our test assistants Irene Brinkman, Maaike Denissen, Brenda Kuipers, Marita Oosterheerd, Tineke Smeding and Tineke Visser. Finally, we want to say a special word of thanks to Henk Guldemond for his assistance in multilevel analysis.

References

Bialystok, E., Luk, G., Peets, K. F., & Yang, S. (2010). Receptive vocabulary differences in monolingual and bilingual children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13, 525–531.Google Scholar
De Houwer, A. (2009). Bilingual first language acquisition. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
de Jager, B., Klunder, M., & Ytsma, J. (2002a). Naar school in Harlingen. Onderzoek naar de schoolprestaties in de gemeente Harlingen. Leeuwarden/Ljouwert, the Netherlands: Fryske Akademy.Google Scholar
de Jager, B., Klunder, M., & Ytsma, J. (2002b). Naar school in Heerenveen. Onderzoek naar de schoolprestaties in de gemeente Heerenveen. Leeuwarden/Ljouwert, the Netherlands: Fryske Akademy.Google Scholar
de Jager, B., Klunder, M., & Ytsma, J. (2002c). Naar school in Smallingerland. Onderzoek naar de schoolprestaties in de gemeente Smallingerland. Leeuwarden/Ljouwert: Fryske Akademy.Google Scholar
Dijkstra, J. (2013). Growing up with Frisian and Dutch. The role of language input in the early development of Frisian and Dutch among preschool children in Friesland. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Amsterdam.Google Scholar
Dixon, L. Q., Zhao, J., Quiroz, B. G., & Shin, J. Y. (2012). Home and community factors influencing bilingual children's ethnic language vocabulary development. International Journal of Bilingualism, 16, 541–565.Google Scholar
Döpke, S. (1992). One parent-one language: An interactional approach. Amsterdam: John Benjamins.Google Scholar
Dunn, L. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1997). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Third edition. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Services.Google Scholar
Duursma, E., Romero-Contreras, S., Szuber, A., Proctor, P., Snow, C., August, D., & Calderón, M. (2007). The role of home literacy and language environment on bilinguals’ English and Spanish vocabulary development. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28, 171–190.Google Scholar
Gathercole, V. C. M., & Thomas, E. M. (2009). Bilingual first-language development: Dominant language takeover, threatened minority language take-up. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 12, 213–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F., & Hamayan, E. (1980). Individual differences in second language learning. Applied Psycholinguistics, 1, 95–110.Google Scholar
Gorter, D., & Jonkman, R. J. (1995). Taal yn Fryslân: op ’e nij besjoen. Ljouwert/Leeuwarden: Fryske Akademy.Google Scholar
Hammer, C. S., Davison, M. D., Lawrence, F. R., & Miccio, A. W. (2009). The effect of maternal language on bilingual children's vocabulary and emergent literacy development during Head Start and kindergarten. Scientific Studies of Reading, 13, 99–121.Google Scholar
Hickey, T. (1997). Early immersion education in Ireland. Na Naíonraí. Ireland: Institiúid Teangeolaíochta Éireiann/Linguistics Institute of Ireland.Google Scholar
International Test Commission (2010). International Test Commission guidelines for translating and adapting tests. Retrieved from http://www.intestcom.org/upload/sitefiles/40.pdf Google Scholar
Nap-Kolhoff, E., van Schilt-Mol, T., Simons, M., Sontag, L., van Steensel, R., & Vallen, T. (2008). VVE Onder de loep: Een studie naar de uitvoering en effectiviteit van voor- en vroegschoolse educatieve programma's. Tilburg, the Netherlands: IVA beleidsonderzoek en advies, Babylon – Centrum voor studies van de Multiculturele samenleving.Google Scholar
Oller, D. K. (2005). The distributed characteristic in bilingual learning. In Cohen, J., McAlister, K.T., Rolstad, K. & MacSwan, J. (eds.), ISB4: Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium on Bilingualism, pp. 1744–1749. Somerville, MA: Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Oller, D. K., & Pearson, B. Z. (2002). Assessing the effects of bilingualism: A background. In Oller, D. K. & Eilers, R. E. (eds.), Language and literacy in bilingual children, pp. 3–21. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Paradis, J. (2011). Individual differences in child English second language acquisition. Comparing child-internal and child-external factors. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 1, 213–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paradis, J., & Nicoladis, E. (2007). The influence of dominance and sociolinguistic context on bilingual preschoolers’ language choice. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 10, 277–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Provinsje Fryslân (2011). De Fryske taalatlas 2011. De Fryske taal yn byld. Ljouwert/Leeuwarden: Provinsje Fryslân.Google Scholar
Quené, H., & van den Bergh, H. (2008). Examples of mixed-effects modeling with crossed random effects and with binomial data. Journal of Memory and Language, 59, 413–425.Google Scholar
Rhys, M., & Thomas, E. M. (2013). Bilingual Welsh-English children's acquisition of vocabulary and reading: implications for bilingual education. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 16, 633–656.Google Scholar
Scheele, A. F., Leseman, P. P. M., & Mayo, A. Y. (2010). The home language environment of monolingual and bilingual children and their language proficiency. Applied Psycholinguistics, 31, 117–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schlichting, L. (2005). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III-NL. Amsterdam: Harcourt Assessments.Google Scholar
Schlichting, L., & Lutje Spelberg, H. (2010). Schlichting Test voor Taalproductie II. Houten: Bohn, Stafleu van Loghum.Google Scholar
Snijders, T. A. B., & Bosker, R. J. (2011). Multilevel analysis: An introduction to basic and advanced mutilevel modeling (2nd ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Sage publishers.Google Scholar
Tellegen, P. J., Winkel, M., Wijnberg-Williams, B. J., & Laros, J. A. (2005). Snijders-Oomen Niet-verbale intelligentietest SON-R 2,5-;7. Göttingen: Hogreve.Google Scholar
van Ruijven, E. C. M. (2006). Leervorderingen in het Friese basisonderwijs. Onderzoek naar het onderwijsniveau en de leervorderingen van de leerlingen in het Friese basisonderwijs. Ljouwert/Leeuwarden: Fryske Akademy.Google Scholar
Verhoeven, L., Narain, G., Extra, G., Konak, Ö. A., & Zerrouk, R. (1995). Toets Tweetaligheid. Arnhem: Cito.Google Scholar
Ytsma, J. (1995). Frisian as first and second language. Sociolinguistic and socio-psychological aspects of the acquisition of Frisian among Frisian and Dutch primary school children. Ph.D. dissertation, Tilburg University.Google Scholar
Ytsma, J. (1999). Tweetaligheid bij kleuters in Friesland. In Huls, E. & Weltens, B. (eds.), Artikelen van de derde Sociolinguistische conferentie, pp. 497–508. Delft: Eburon.Google Scholar