ERIC Number: EJ1338506
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1522-7227
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Reading to Bilingual Preschoolers: An Experimental Study of Two Book Formats
Infant and Child Development, v31 n3 e2294 May-Jun 2022
Reading stories to children provides opportunities for word learning. Bilingual children, however, encounter new words in each of their languages during shared storybook reading, and the way in which these words are presented can vary. We compared learning from two types of bilingual book materials: single-language books and bilingual books. Five-year-old English-French bilinguals (n = 67) were randomly assigned to hear an original story from a balanced bilingual experimenter in one of the two book formats. Children's learning of English and French labels for five novel objects embedded in the story was assessed via a pointing task. Children were successful at learning words in both languages, and performance was not affected by book format nor children's language proficiency. These results suggest that children are flexible word learners and that shared book reading -- regardless of book format -- is an effective way to teach bilingual children new words in two languages.
Descriptors: English, French, Books, Reading Materials, Childrens Literature, Multilingual Materials, Vocabulary, Bilingualism, Preschool Children, Preschool Education
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: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A