ERIC Number: EJ899235
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Jan
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-7164
EISSN: N/A
The Role of Home Literacy and Language Environment on Bilinguals' English and Spanish Vocabulary Development
Duursma, Elisabeth; Romero-Contreras, Silvia; Szuber, Anna; Proctor, Patrick; Snow, Catherine; August, Diane; Calderon, Margarita
Applied Psycholinguistics, v28 n1 p171-190 Jan 2007
For the monolingual population, research has shown that vocabulary knowledge is closely related to reading achievement. However, the role of vocabulary has not been studied as extensively in the bilingual population. It is important to look at vocabulary to better understand reading achievement in the bilingual population in the United States. This study investigated the predictors of Spanish and English vocabulary for 96 fifth-grade Latino English language learners. Our results suggest that becoming or staying proficient in English did not require parental use of English in the home. However, proficiency in Spanish required both instructional support at school and social support at home; it is likely that the low social status of Spanish is related to its greater dependence on home support.
Descriptors: Social Status, Reading Achievement, Second Language Learning, Vocabulary Development, English (Second Language), Bilingualism, Family Environment, Educational Environment, Family Influence, Elementary School Students, Hispanic American Students, Bilingual Students, Spanish Speaking, Language Proficiency, Language Usage
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 5
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A