Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder.
Am J Speech Lang Pathol. 2024 Nov 4;33(6):2746-2766. doi: 10.1044/2024_AJSLP-23-00489. Epub 2024 Oct 7.
The purpose of this study was to compare the novel word learning skills between Cantonese-English bilingual children at risk for developmental language disorder (DLD) and their typically developing (TD) peers.
Participants were 24 Cantonese-English bilingual preschool children at risk for DLD and 38 TD children. Each participant was presented with eight novel words in Cantonese (first language [L1]) and eight in English (second language [L2]) over eight weekly sessions. Children's existing lexical knowledge was measured using the moving-average number of different words in language samples in L1 and L2.
Bilingual children at risk for DLD were scored lower than their TD peers for both languages over time. The role of lexical knowledge in children's word learning differed between the TD and DLD groups: Lexical knowledge in L1 was a predictor of L1 word learning in TD children, while lexical knowledge in L2 predicted L2 word learning in children at risk for DLD. In addition, significant cross-linguistic effects were found from L2 to L1 for both groups.
This study underscores the complexity of novel word learning in bilingual children at risk for DLD. Clinically, these findings suggest the value of tracking learning trajectories in bilingual children across both languages.
本研究旨在比较有发展性语言障碍（DLD）风险的粤语-英语双语儿童与典型发展（TD）儿童的新单词学习技能。
参与者为 24 名有粤语-英语双语发展性语言障碍风险的学龄前儿童和 38 名 TD 儿童。每位参与者在八周的时间内接受了八个粤语（第一语言 [L1]）和八个英语（第二语言 [L2]）的新单词。通过 L1 和 L2 语言样本中的平均不同词汇数来衡量儿童现有的词汇知识。
随着时间的推移，有 DLD 风险的双语儿童在两种语言上的得分均低于 TD 同龄人。词汇知识在 TD 儿童的 L1 单词学习和有 DLD 风险的儿童的 L2 单词学习中的作用不同：L1 中的词汇知识是 TD 儿童 L1 单词学习的预测因素，而 L2 中的词汇知识则预测了有 DLD 风险的儿童的 L2 单词学习。此外，两个组都发现了从 L2 到 L1 的显著跨语言影响。
本研究强调了有 DLD 风险的双语儿童新单词学习的复杂性。从临床角度来看，这些发现表明在双语儿童的两种语言中跟踪学习轨迹的价值。
