This study examines language mixing in 26 Spanish–English dual language learners over the course of their first year of preschool. The children's patterns of language choice while interacting in monolingual language contexts were analyzed at age 3;6 and 4;5 to examine: (1) whether the frequency of language mixing changed during the year; (2) whether mixing was related to proficiency as measured by utterance length and lexical diversity; and (3) whether there were different subgroups of children, among the participants, with similar proficiency and language use patterns. The results indicate that language mixing, which was low at both ages, was related to limited lexical resources only at 3;6. However, by age 4;5, language choice was more constrained by sociolinguistic variables – children's awareness of the language prescribed by the majority culture – than by proficiency. An exploratory cluster analysis further reveals different profiles of learners sharing similar proficiency and language mixing characteristics.

This study examines pragmatic differentiation in early trilingual development through a longitudinal analysis of language choice in a developing Tagalog–Spanish–English trilingual child. The child's patterns of language choice with different language users are analyzed at age 1 ; 10 and 2 ; 4 to examine: (1) whether evidence for pragmatic differentiation can be found even before age two and in simultaneous interactions with distinct language users; (2) whether lexical gaps determine the child's choice of one language over another; and (3) whether her patterns of language choice are affected by the interlocutors language use and their responses to mixing. The results indicate that the child was capable of selecting the appropriate language according to the interlocutors' language from the earliest sessions. However, switches to inappropriate languages were common due to vocabulary gaps, the interlocutors' acceptance of mixing and the possibilities determined by the existence of multiple lexical resources and multiple language users.

This study examines the content and function of parent-child talk while engaging in shared storybook reading with two narrative books: a wordless book versus a book with text. Thirty-six parents audio-recorded themselves reading one of the books at home with their 3.5–5.5-year-old children. Pragmatic and linguistic measures of parental and child talk during both narrative storytelling and dialogic interactions were compared between the wordless and book-with-text conditions. The results show that the wordless book engendered more interaction than the book-with-text, with a higher rate of parental prompts and responsive feedback, and significantly more child contributions, although lexical diversity and grammatical complexity of parental language were higher during narration using a book-with-text. The findings contribute to research on shared storybook reading suggesting that different book formats can promote qualitatively different language learning environments.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate typical Spanish–English speech sound development longitudinally in a group of bilingual preschoolers enrolled in a Head Start Program and to examine the extent to which such development is linked to language proficiency. The study also aimed to identify whether speech development is related cross-linguistically and to improve our understanding of error patterns in this population. Method Thirty-five bilingual preschool children produced single-word speech samples in Spanish and English both at the beginning of their first and their second year in a Head Start Program. Conversational samples in both languages were also collected at these data points to calculate mean length of utterance in words (MLUw) and thus assess the children's linguistic proficiency. The phonetically transcribed speech samples were compared over time in terms of segmental accuracy measures and error pattern frequencies. Correlation analyses were run to examine the relation between segmental accuracy measures across languages and between speech sound production and MLUw. Results One-way within-subject analysis of variance revealed significant improvements in accuracy over time in both languages, but not always for cross-linguistically unshared segments, nor for all consonant manner classes. Overall error rates decreased over time in both languages; although, certain error types showed no change. Cross-linguistic interactions were low in both languages. The results also revealed significant cross-linguistic correlations in segmental accuracy between Spanish and English, as well as between MLUw and speech sound production in both languages on a range of measures, with language-specific differences in Year 2 of the Head Start Program, but not in Year 1. Conclusions This study is the first to document developmental changes in the speech patterns of Spanish–English bilingual preschool children over 1 year. Accuracy rates improved significantly in both languages, suggesting that enhanced exposure to the majority language at school may not impede phonological development in the home language. Bootstrapping effects were particularly pronounced on cross-linguistically shared sounds, which suggests that the same underlying skills are utilized in both languages, whereas language-specific singleton consonants and consonant clusters did not appear to benefit from exposure to the other language. The results also suggest an intricate link between phonological skills and morphosyntactic performance at the early stages of development, but a more complex pattern thereafter with differences that may be based on language-specific phonological properties.

This study examines bi-literacy development among 60 children enrolled in an Italian–English dual language (DL) program in Southern California. Using a variety of measures including (1) oral reading fluency (ORF), (2) accuracy scores, and (3) standardized test for the assessment of reading (STAR) test's estimates of reading ability for English, the study investigates how Italian and English literacy skills emerged and developed among first-, second-, and third- graders – and among English speakers and learners – educated via Italian immersion. The study also examines the extent to which ORF was correlated, and therefore transferred, between languages. The results indicate that reading fluency emerged first in Italian for all students. However, in a relatively short period of time, it became comparable across languages and even higher in English for English-speaking students. Correlations between Italian and English reading fluency scores were statistically significant and moderately high. This finding suggests that Italian decoding skills transferred to English, possibly helping children develop English literacy while primarily instructed in Italian. STAR test results further indicate that after a brief, initial lag in English reading skills, students caught up to and eventually read increasingly better than grade level in English. This finding confirms the possible long-term benefits of DL instruction on English reading development.

This study examines word order differentiation in early trilingual development through an analysis of the combinations produced by a Tagalog–Spanish–English trilingual child with an MLU of less than 1.5. Same- and mixed-language combinations were tracked down from diary data and weekly recordings to assess (i) whether word order significantly varied cross-linguistically, and (ii) whether mixed utterances originated from vocabulary gaps rather than from an undifferentiated syntax. The results indicate that (a) argument/predicate sequences were differentially ordered depending on their language and following input-dependent preferences, (b) mixed utterances were generally caused by vocabulary gaps, and (c) they displayed the same order as those single-language combinations produced in the same language context. These findings suggest that evidence for early word order differentiation can be found before the appearance of inflectional morphology and even when three – rather than two – languages are being acquired, indicating that trilingual exposure does not slow down the process of differentiation.