ERIC Number: EJ1184215
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jul
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0161-1461
EISSN: N/A
The Development of Bilingual Narrative Retelling among Spanish-English Dual Language Learners over Two Years
Lucero, Audrey
Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, v49 n3 p607-621 Jul 2018
Purpose: This exploratory study investigates the development of oral narrative retell proficiency among Spanish-English emergent bilingual children longitudinally from kindergarten to second grade in Spanish and English as they learned literacy in the 2 languages concurrently. Method: Oral narrative retell assessments were conducted with children who spoke Spanish at home and were enrolled in a dual language immersion program (N = 12) in the spring of kindergarten and second grade. Retells were transcribed and coded for vocabulary and grammar at the microlevel (Miller, Andriacchi, & Nockerts, 2015, 2016) and story structure at the macrolevel (Heilmann, Miller, Nockerts, & Dunaway, 2010). Results: In microstructure paired-sample "t" tests, children showed significant improvements in vocabulary in both languages (Spanish total number of words ?[superscript 2] = 0.43, Spanish number of different words ?[superscript 2] = 0.44, English total number of words ?[superscript 2] = 0.61, English number of different words ?[superscript 2] = 0.62) but not grammar by second grade. At the macrostructure level, children showed significantly higher performance in English only (English narrative scoring scheme ?[superscript 2] = 0.47). Conclusions: The finding that children significantly improved in vocabulary in both languages but in overall story structure only in English suggests that discourse skills were being facilitated in English whereas Spanish discourse development may have stagnated even within a dual language immersion program. Results contribute to what is currently known about bilingual oral narrative development among young Spanish speakers enrolled in such programs and can inform assessment and instructional decisions.
Descriptors: Spanish, Bilingual Students, Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, Personal Narratives, Vocabulary, Grammar, Immersion Programs, English (Second Language), Second Language Learning, Emergent Literacy
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: lshss@asha.org; Web site: http://lshss.pubs.asha.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Kindergarten
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A