ERIC Number: EJ1343676
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Sep
Pages: 16
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0305-0009
EISSN: EISSN-1469-7602
Collocational Knowledge in Children: A Comparison of English-Speaking Monolingual Children, and Children Acquiring English as an Additional Language
Riches, Nick; Letts, Carolyn; Awad, Hadeel; Ramsey, Rachel; Dabrowska, Ewa
Journal of Child Language, v49 n5 p1008-1023 Sep 2021
Collocations, e.g., apples and pears, hard worker, constitute an important avenue of linguistic enquiry straddling both grammar and the lexicon. They are sensitive to language experience, with adult L2 learners and children learning English as an Additional Language (EAL) exhibiting poor collocational knowledge. The current study piloted a novel collocational assessment with children (mean age 6;3, 40 monolingual, 32 EAL). It investigated (1) the feasibility of a collocational assessment at this age, (2) whether collocational knowledge is associated with other language domains (receptive grammar and vocabulary), and (3) whether collocational knowledge is more affected than other domains. The assessment demonstrated good psychometric properties and was highly correlated with performance in other domains, indicating shared psycholinguistic mechanisms. Unlike adult counterparts, the EAL children performed equally poorly across domains. Given the role played by collocations in vocabulary development and reading, a focus on this domain may be beneficial for EAL children.
Descriptors: Child Language, Language Acquisition, Monolingualism, Bilingualism, Second Language Learning, English (Second Language), Grammar, Receptive Language, Vocabulary, Psychometrics, Psycholinguistics, Vocabulary Development, Reading
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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
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A