Cross-linguistic transfer of academic language in multilingual adolescents
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Joana Duarte
Abstract
Competence in the academic register of the language of instruction is a fairly solid indicator for the educational success of migrant pupils. The present article addresses the role of family languages for academic language performance in German, aiming at pinpointing linguistic features of this register in the phase of later language development and at identifying possible predictors for academic language performance of multilingual speakers. Based on written samples from 94 Turkish/German and Russian/German bilingual adolescents, OLS regression analyses were conducted to find adequate predictors for variation in academic language performance. The results suggest the relevance of productive written skills in the family languages in predicting German academic language performance of multilingual adolescents. In contrast, measures of socio-economic status and working memory skills seem to predict less strongly.
Abstract
Competence in the academic register of the language of instruction is a fairly solid indicator for the educational success of migrant pupils. The present article addresses the role of family languages for academic language performance in German, aiming at pinpointing linguistic features of this register in the phase of later language development and at identifying possible predictors for academic language performance of multilingual speakers. Based on written samples from 94 Turkish/German and Russian/German bilingual adolescents, OLS regression analyses were conducted to find adequate predictors for variation in academic language performance. The results suggest the relevance of productive written skills in the family languages in predicting German academic language performance of multilingual adolescents. In contrast, measures of socio-economic status and working memory skills seem to predict less strongly.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Transfer effects in multilingual language development 1
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Psycholinguistic Approaches to Language Transfer
- The relationship between L3 transfer and structural similarity across development 21
- Segmental targets versus lexical interference 53
- Foreign accent in heritage speakers of Turkish in Germany 87
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Transfer in Language Learning and Language Contact
- Lexical cross-linguistic influence in third language development 111
- Effects of cross-linguistic influence in word formation 129
- Transfer effects in the acquisition of English as an additional language by bilingual children in Germany 147
- Let’s fix it? Cross-linguistic influence in word order patterns of Russian heritage speakers in Germany 161
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Transfer in Applied Linguistics
- Assessing foreign language speech rhythm in multilingual learners 191
- Cross-linguistic transfer of academic language in multilingual adolescents 221
- Bilingual resources and school context 249
-
Methodology on Transfer
- Do immigrant children profit from heritage language proficiencies? 277
- Automated L1 identification in English learner essays and its implications for language transfer 297
- The nature of the initial state of child L2 grammar 323
- List of Indices 345
- Name Index 349
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents vii
- Acknowledgements ix
- Transfer effects in multilingual language development 1
-
Psycholinguistic Approaches to Language Transfer
- The relationship between L3 transfer and structural similarity across development 21
- Segmental targets versus lexical interference 53
- Foreign accent in heritage speakers of Turkish in Germany 87
-
Transfer in Language Learning and Language Contact
- Lexical cross-linguistic influence in third language development 111
- Effects of cross-linguistic influence in word formation 129
- Transfer effects in the acquisition of English as an additional language by bilingual children in Germany 147
- Let’s fix it? Cross-linguistic influence in word order patterns of Russian heritage speakers in Germany 161
-
Transfer in Applied Linguistics
- Assessing foreign language speech rhythm in multilingual learners 191
- Cross-linguistic transfer of academic language in multilingual adolescents 221
- Bilingual resources and school context 249
-
Methodology on Transfer
- Do immigrant children profit from heritage language proficiencies? 277
- Automated L1 identification in English learner essays and its implications for language transfer 297
- The nature of the initial state of child L2 grammar 323
- List of Indices 345
- Name Index 349
