Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Department of Teaching, Learning & Culture, Texas A&M University, College Station.
J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2023 Sep 13;66(9):3486-3499. doi: 10.1044/2023_JSLHR-22-00573. Epub 2023 Aug 4.
This study explored approaches for measuring vocabulary among bilingual children with varying levels of proficiency in Spanish and English.
One hundred fifteen kindergarten and first-grade Spanish-English-speaking children completed measures of vocabulary and sentence repetition in Spanish and English. Scores were derived from their responses to the vocabulary measure: Spanish-only vocabulary, English-only vocabulary, conceptual vocabulary, and total vocabulary. Best language sentence repetition was also obtained. Using both visualization of data and statistical analysis, we tested for potential associations between children's relative language skills in Spanish and English and the scores they received on each of the vocabulary metrics.
Participants' single-language vocabulary scores were linearly associated with their relative language scores. Higher relative Spanish language skills corresponded with higher Spanish-only vocabulary scores, and higher English language skills corresponded with higher English-only vocabulary scores. A quadratic association between children's relative language and their conceptual vocabulary scores was observed. Children with more balanced skills in Spanish and English received lower scores for conceptual vocabulary. No association between total vocabulary and relative language was observed.
Results revealed evidence of differential test bias for single-language vocabulary scores and conceptual vocabulary scores. Spanish-only vocabulary underestimated knowledge of participants with higher English proficiency, whereas English-only vocabulary underestimated knowledge of participants with higher Spanish proficiency. Conceptual scoring yielded lower values for participants with relatively balanced proficiency in Spanish and English. There is need for further consideration of score and test functioning across the full continuum of bilinguals with dynamic proficiencies in each of their languages.
本研究探讨了衡量西班牙语和英语水平不同的双语儿童词汇量的方法。
115 名幼儿园和一年级的西班牙语-英语双语儿童完成了西班牙语和英语词汇和句子重复的测量。分数是根据他们对词汇测量的反应得出的：西班牙语词汇、英语词汇、概念词汇和总词汇。还获得了最佳语言句子重复的分数。通过数据可视化和统计分析，我们测试了儿童西班牙语和英语相对语言技能与他们在每个词汇指标上的得分之间的潜在关联。
参与者的单语词汇得分与他们的相对语言得分呈线性相关。较高的相对西班牙语语言技能对应于较高的西班牙语词汇得分，而较高的英语语言技能对应于较高的英语词汇得分。观察到儿童相对语言和概念词汇得分之间存在二次关联。西班牙语和英语技能相对平衡的儿童的概念词汇得分较低。总词汇量与相对语言之间没有关联。
结果表明，单语词汇得分和概念词汇得分存在测试偏倚的证据。西班牙语词汇低估了英语水平较高的参与者的知识，而英语词汇则低估了西班牙语水平较高的参与者的知识。对于西班牙语和英语相对能力平衡的参与者，概念评分的数值较低。需要进一步考虑在每种语言的动态能力的双语者的整个连续体上的分数和测试功能。
