Bilingualism in Young Children: Methods of Acquisition Janese Botelho

According to the US Census in 2005 interracial marriages have risen from under 2% in 1970 to over 7% in One in six adolescents in the United States speaks another language at home, was born in a foreign country, or both.

Three is the Magic Age Simultaneous Language Acquisition Dual language acquisition that is begun before the age of three creates two first languages. Temporary language delays may occur in both languages as the child creates the linguistic foundations for both languages. Simultaneous language acquisition allows the child to see the world through multiple lenses as they have two first languages. Consecutive Language Acquisition When dual language is introduced after the age of three it is considered to be a second language because the child already has a strong linguistic foundation of their first language. Consecutive language acquisition is seen as putting less unnecessary stress on the child. Children at the age of three are still in the “critical age range” for language learning.

Methodology There are many variables that affect language acquisition. For this reason we will limit these by: Creating two groups of 30 expectant parents who each have a native-like proficiency in at least one of the two languages they want to teach their children.

Group 1 The first group will start from birth having one parent speak only the first language to the child, and the other parent will speak only the second language to the child. At the age of one year the parents and the child will come in to be observed and video-taped for one hour of play-time interaction with each parent. Data will be taken and transcribed into the CHILDES format so that an accurate assessment of the child’s language proficiency can be analyzed. This monthly observations will take place until the child reaches the age of 5 years old.

Group 2 The second group will have both parents speak only the first language to the child until the child reaches the age of three. At the age of three one parent will stop speaking the first language, and only use the second language with their child. At the age of one year the parents and the child will come in to be observed and video-taped for one hour of play-time interaction with the parents to see that their language is developing on schedule. Data will be taken and transcribed into the CHILDES format so that an accurate assessment of the child’s language proficiency can be analyzed. At the age of three data will begin to be taken in both languages. This monthly observations will take place until the child reaches the age of 5 years old.

Separate the Data: Vocabulary: receptive vs. expressive Compare language usage to the “norm” for their age. Assign a numerical value to each of the outcomes studied. Run a statistical analysis on the data taken to see if there is a significant difference.

Possible Outcomes A Significant Difference The Consecutive Language Acquisition method will give the child better control of both languages than the Simultaneous Method. The Simultaneous Language Acquisition method will give the child better control of both languages than the Consecutive Method. No Difference There will be no difference in the effectiveness of the two types of language acquisition, and both groups of children will learn to control both languages with ease.

Future Work Create a similar observational study only limit it to two specific languages. Create several of these studies of several language pairs to see if sister languages are easier to acquire bilingually than non-sister languages.