DLL children can catch up to monolingual norms in English vocabulary, but need substantial time and exposure to do so¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2–r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2014 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · overdue for a recheck since 2019: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Five-year-old DLLs in Canada caught up to monolingual PPVT-III norms after an average of 34 months of English exposure. → Hammer 2014 q2 i? DLL preschoolers' standardized vocabulary scores increased over two years in Head Start, with gains relative to monolingual norms in English. → Hammer 2014 (2)

Evidence¶

Hammer 2014¶

Hammer, C. S., Hoff, E., Uchikoshi, Y., Gillanders, C., Castro, D., & Sandilos, L. E. (2014). The Language and Literacy Development of Young Dual Language Learners: A Critical Review. Early childhood research quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.05.008

q2 · i? · review · r2

The review reports, citing Goldberg, Paradis, and Crago (2008), that DLL children in Canada "caught up to monolingual norms of the PPVT-III after an average of 34 months of exposure to English," while Dutch-Turkish DLLs entering school at ages three to four accelerated but did not catch up by study's end.

"five-year-old DLL children from a variety of home language backgrounds and who lived in Canada caught up to monolingual norms of the PPVT-III after an average of 34 months of exposure to English."

Hammer 2014 (2)¶

Hammer, C. S., Hoff, E., Uchikoshi, Y., Gillanders, C., Castro, D., & Sandilos, L. E. (2014). The Language and Literacy Development of Young Dual Language Learners: A Critical Review. Early childhood research quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.05.008

q2 · i? · review · r3

The review reports that in Hammer et al.'s longitudinal Head Start study, both learner groups' standardized vocabulary scores increased over two years; simultaneous learners moved from below-average to the lower end of the average English range, and sequential learners reached the average Spanish range.

"Hammer et al. (2008a) observed that both sequential and simultaneous learners’ standardized vocabulary scores increased over their two years in Head Start."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• DLLs have smaller vocabularies and slower growth in each language than monolinguals, but comparable conceptual vocabularies — related
• Simultaneous and sequential DLL learners show opposite vocabulary patterns in English versus the home language — related
• Controlling for SES, monolingual children outperform both simultaneous and sequential bilinguals on single-language English receptive and expressive vocabulary measures — related
• Bilingual children's English and Spanish receptive vocabulary and oral comprehension both increased across two years of Head Start, with group advantages in the language of prior exposure — related
• Bilingual children show faster trail-making B performance, while Indian bilinguals are faster on Trails A and monolinguals score higher on receptive vocabulary — related
• Spanish use at home does not limit English learning: young Spanish–English bilinguals with more Spanish at school entry show higher English skills by year's end — related