ERIC Number: EJ1025756
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1367-0050
EISSN: N/A
The Relation between Language Experience and Receptive-Expressive Semantic Gaps in Bilingual Children
Gibson, Todd A.; Peña, Elizabeth D.; Bedore, Lisa M.
International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, v17 n1 p90-110 2014
The purpose of the current study was to explore the influence of language experience on the presence of the receptive-expressive gap. Each of 778 Spanish-English bilingual children screened pre-kindergarten in Utah and Texas were assigned to one of five language experience groups, ranging from functionally monolingual to balanced bilingual. Children's scores from the language screener semantics subtest administered in both Spanish and English were standardized, and receptive and expressive semantic scores were compared. Children presented with a meaningful gap between receptive and expressive semantic knowledge in English but not Spanish. This gap increased as target-language exposure decreased. Results indicate that current language experience plays a dominant role in influencing the appearance and magnitude of the receptive-expressive gap.
Descriptors: Correlation, Receptive Language, Expressive Language, Semantics, Spanish, English (Second Language), Bilingualism, Scores, Preschool Children, Comparative Analysis, Interviews, Questionnaires
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Preschool Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Texas; Utah
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A