ERIC Number: EJ1327059
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Language Acquisition in a Multilingual Society: English Vocabulary Norms and Predictors in Singaporean Children
Singh, Leher; Cheng, QiQi; Tan, Seok Hui; Tan, Agnes; Low, Yen Ling
Child Development, v93 n1 p288-305 Jan-Feb 2022
In this study, infant vocabulary development was tracked in a multilingual society (Singapore) within a socioeconomically diverse sample. The sample comprised 1316 infants from 17.4 to 27.7 months (669 females, 647 males; 88% Chinese race, 4% Malay, 4% Indian, and 0.004% mixed-race [4% declined to provide race information]). Children varied in English language exposure and socioeconomic status. Analyses focused on identifying demographic predictors of English vocabulary size in multilingually exposed infants. Adaptations of the Macarthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory for English, Mandarin, and Malay are provided as well as English vocabulary norms that account for variation in English exposure. This manuscript reports the first set of English language norms--calibrated to English exposure--for multilingual infants in a non-Western setting.
Descriptors: Infants, Child Development, Language Acquisition, Socioeconomic Status, Vocabulary Development, Predictor Variables, Multilingualism, Language Skills, Measures (Individuals), English, Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian Languages, Foreign Countries
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Singapore
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A