ERIC Number: EJ1426882
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2024-Jun
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0142-7237
EISSN: EISSN-1740-2344
What Else Will I Do When I Start School? Preschoolers' "Wh"-Questions in Dinnertime Conversations and Their Language Development
Junyi Yang; Joshua F. Lawrence; Vibeke Grøver
First Language, v44 n3 p301-323 2024
While it is established that parental "wh"-questions, as a high-quality language input, are associated with child language outcome, less is known about the role of children's "wh"-questions in their language development. This study examines whether children's "wh"-questions during a dinnertime conversation are associated with their receptive and expressive language skills. The sample consists of a unique group of bilingual children: 32 Chinese preschoolers (aged 3-5 years) in Norway. At the onset of the study, parents self-recorded a dinnertime conversation with the target child and other family members present. Over the following year, we assessed children's receptive vocabulary, expressive vocabulary, and narrative skills in Chinese three times. Individual growth modeling revealed that concurrently, the density of children's "wh"-questions was associated with children's expressive vocabulary and narrative skills, but the association faded when controlling for family demographics. Significantly, even when accounting for all control variables, children's "wh"-questions predicted their receptive vocabulary growth across one year. These findings underline children's active role in shaping their language learning and development. This study also contributes to our understanding of bilingual children's home language development. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.
Descriptors: Questioning Techniques, Parent Child Relationship, Family Characteristics, Expressive Language, Vocabulary Development, Child Language, Language Acquisition, Longitudinal Studies, Receptive Language, Preschool Children, Bilingualism, Chinese, Norwegian, Linguistic Input, Narration, Language Skills, Foreign Countries, Native Language, Second Language Learning, Food, Family Environment, Educational Environment, Immigrants
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Norway
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A