Neveu Anne, Gangopadhyay Ishanti, Weismer Susan Ellis, Kaushanskaya Margarita
University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA.
Indiana University, Bloomington.
Int J Billing. 2023 Oct;27(5):815-841. doi: 10.1177/13670069221122679. Epub 2022 Sep 15.
The benefits of dual-language immersion (DLI) versus English-only classrooms for minority-language speakers' acquisition of English have been well documented. However, less is known about the effect(s) of DLI on majority-language speakers' native English skills. Prior studies largely used accuracy-focused measures to index children's language skills; it is possible that processing-based tasks are more sensitive to the effects of DLI experience.
Thirty-three monolingual native English-speaking children attending English-only classrooms and thirty-three English-speaking children attending English-Spanish DLI matched in age, gender, nonverbal IQ, and socio-economic status were tested twice, 1 year apart, on standardized and processing-based measures of English vocabulary and morphosyntax.
We ran linear mixed-effects models to examine the extent to which group and time would predict scores on knowledge-based measures of vocabulary and morphosyntactic knowledge, as well as accuracy and reaction times on processing-based measures of English vocabulary and morphosyntax.
Results revealed comparable levels of growth in English for both groups. A subtle effect of DLI was observed on a lexical-decision task: bilinguals were slower in Year 1 but both groups were equally efficient in Year 2. These results indicate that DLI programs have minimal impact on majority-language speakers' native-language skills in the age-range tested.
This study is the first to longitudinally examine processing-based native language outcomes in bilingual children in DLI classrooms.
We do not find evidence that DLI exposure carries a cost to native language development, even when indexed by processing measures. This should reassure parents, educators, and policymakers in that there are no downsides to DLI.
对于少数族裔语言使用者而言，双语沉浸式教学（DLI）相较于仅用英语授课的课堂在英语习得方面的优势已有充分记录。然而，关于DLI对多数族裔语言使用者的英语母语技能的影响，我们了解得较少。先前的研究大多使用以准确性为重点的指标来衡量儿童的语言技能；基于处理能力的任务可能对DLI经历的影响更为敏感。
选取33名在仅用英语授课的课堂学习的单语英语母语儿童，以及33名年龄、性别、非言语智商和社会经济地位相匹配，在英语-西班牙语双语沉浸式教学课堂学习的英语母语儿童，相隔1年进行两次测试，测试内容包括英语词汇和形态句法的标准化测试以及基于处理能力的测试。
我们运行线性混合效应模型，以检验分组和时间对基于知识的词汇和形态句法知识测试成绩的预测程度，以及对基于处理能力的英语词汇和形态句法测试的准确性和反应时间的预测程度。
结果显示两组在英语学习方面的增长水平相当。在词汇判断任务中观察到DLI的细微影响：双语儿童在第一年反应较慢，但两组在第二年效率相当。这些结果表明，在测试的年龄范围内，DLI项目对多数族裔语言使用者的母语技能影响极小。
本研究首次纵向考察了双语沉浸式教学课堂中双语儿童基于处理能力的母语学习成果。
我们没有发现证据表明接触双语沉浸式教学会对母语发展产生负面影响，即使是以处理能力测试为指标。这应该会让家长、教育工作者和政策制定者放心，因为双语沉浸式教学没有不利之处。
