Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
Center for Research in International Education, Tokyo Gakugei University, Koganei-shi, Tokyo.
J Genet Psychol. 2021 Nov-Dec;182(6):375-390. doi: 10.1080/00221325.2021.1930994. Epub 2021 Jun 7.
The present study investigated school readiness in Brazilian (Portuguese-Japanese dual language learner or DLL) 5-year-olds in Japan (1) by examining their language skills, executive function (EF), and theory of mind (ToM) in comparison to their monolingual peers and (2) by investigating the developmental relations between these three skills. DLLs scored lower than monolinguals in Japanese language skills, specifically in receptive vocabulary and the understanding of complement clauses in Japanese. DLLs and monolinguals performed similarly in EF, particularly in inhibitory control tasks measuring interference suppression and response inhibition. However, monolinguals outperformed DLLs in ToM tasks assessing false belief understanding. Finally, DLLs' interference suppression and understanding of complement clauses were both positively related to their false belief understanding. In conclusion, DLLs had school readiness difficulties in Japanese language skills and ToM, but not in EF, compared to their Japanese monolingual peers. Furthermore, the positive relationship of language and EF skills with ToM development, which is commonly reported in monolingual children, extended to an understudied population of DLLs in this study.
本研究通过考察巴西（葡日双语学习者或 DLL）5 岁儿童的语言技能、执行功能（EF）和心理理论（ToM），与他们的单语同龄人进行比较，（1）调查了他们在日本的入学准备情况；（2）调查了这三种技能之间的发展关系。与单语儿童相比，DLL 在日语语言技能方面的得分较低，特别是在日语接受性词汇和对日语补语从句的理解方面。DLL 和单语儿童在 EF 方面表现相似，特别是在抑制控制任务中，衡量干扰抑制和反应抑制。然而，单语儿童在评估错误信念理解的 ToM 任务中表现优于 DLL。最后，DLL 的干扰抑制和补语从句理解都与他们的错误信念理解呈正相关。总之，与他们的日本单语同龄人相比，DLL 在日语语言技能和 ToM 方面存在入学准备困难，但在 EF 方面没有。此外，在这项研究中，与单语儿童普遍报告的语言和 EF 技能与 ToM 发展的积极关系一样，延伸到了一个研究较少的 DLL 人群。
