NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Back to results
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1379579
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1522-7227
EISSN: EISSN-1522-7219
Keeping Track of Language: Can Monolingual and Bilingual Infants Associate a Speaker with the Language They Speak?
Schott, Esther; Tamayo, Maria Paula; Byers-Heinlein, Krista
Infant and Child Development, v32 n3 e2403 May-Jun 2023
Bilingual infants acquire languages in a variety of language environments. Some caregivers follow a one-person-one-language approach in an attempt to not "confuse" their child. However, the central assumption that infants can keep track of what language a person speaks has not been tested. In two studies, we tested whether bilingual and monolingual 5-, 12- and 18-month-olds spontaneously form language-person associations. In both studies, infants were familiarized with a man and a woman, each speaking a different language, and tested on trials where they either spoke the same language or switched to a different language. In Study 1, infants only heard the speaker, and in Study 2, infants saw and heard the speaker. Bilinguals and monolinguals did not look longer for Switch compared to Same trials; there was no evidence in this task that infants form person-language associations spontaneously. Thus, our results did not support a central assumption of the one-person-one-language approach, although we cannot rule out that infants do form this association in more naturalistic contexts.
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2191/en-us
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