John Benjamins Publishing Company
Heritage and non-heritage bilinguals
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Abstract
The present study explores the effects of literacy support in the languages of the bilingual child on the linguistic and cognitive skills of (non-)heritage speakers. 70 children speaking Albanian (L1) and Greek (L2) are divided into three groups according to whether they receive literacy support in their L1, L2 or in both languages. To test the children's proficiency in Greek, we used an expressive vocabulary task, two working memory tasks, a non-verbal intelligence task and a sentence repetition task (SRT). The findings suggest that good levels of biliteracy established through bilingual education positively influence the child’s linguistic and cognitive performance. Furthermore, the lack of working memory effects on the children’s SRT performance emphasizes the importance of biliteracy development and its educational support, which together with vocabulary knowledge contribute to bilingual development.
Abstract
The present study explores the effects of literacy support in the languages of the bilingual child on the linguistic and cognitive skills of (non-)heritage speakers. 70 children speaking Albanian (L1) and Greek (L2) are divided into three groups according to whether they receive literacy support in their L1, L2 or in both languages. To test the children's proficiency in Greek, we used an expressive vocabulary task, two working memory tasks, a non-verbal intelligence task and a sentence repetition task (SRT). The findings suggest that good levels of biliteracy established through bilingual education positively influence the child’s linguistic and cognitive performance. Furthermore, the lack of working memory effects on the children’s SRT performance emphasizes the importance of biliteracy development and its educational support, which together with vocabulary knowledge contribute to bilingual development.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Two sides of one coin? 1
- Definiteness in Wenzhounese Chinese in the Netherlands and in China 15
- Effects of first language attrition on heritage language input and ultimate attainment 33
- Not in the mood 71
- Word order variation in heritage languages 99
- Language contact 125
- How do parental input and socio-economic status account for differences within and between the cohorts? 151
- Heritage and non-heritage bilinguals 171
- High sensitivity to conceptual cues in Turkish heritage speakers with dominant German L2 197
- The Frequency Code and gendered attrition and acquisition in the German-English heritage language community in Vancouver, Canada 229
- Does extensive L2 exposure trigger L1 attrition of perfective and durative aspect marking in Mandarin Chinese? 255
- Author Index 271
- Language Index 273
- Subject Index 275
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Acknowledgements vii
- Two sides of one coin? 1
- Definiteness in Wenzhounese Chinese in the Netherlands and in China 15
- Effects of first language attrition on heritage language input and ultimate attainment 33
- Not in the mood 71
- Word order variation in heritage languages 99
- Language contact 125
- How do parental input and socio-economic status account for differences within and between the cohorts? 151
- Heritage and non-heritage bilinguals 171
- High sensitivity to conceptual cues in Turkish heritage speakers with dominant German L2 197
- The Frequency Code and gendered attrition and acquisition in the German-English heritage language community in Vancouver, Canada 229
- Does extensive L2 exposure trigger L1 attrition of perfective and durative aspect marking in Mandarin Chinese? 255
- Author Index 271
- Language Index 273
- Subject Index 275
