I work at a large elementary school (1,200 children on 4 tracks). This diversity includes a large population of children that fit the following profile:
Their dominant language at age 5 (kinder) is English. Their parents say "he's English only"; and does not speak the home language. But the language history often includes:
1)first words in a home language other than English;
2)history of being in daily daycare with a home language speaking relative when the child was a toddler;
3)as the child used more language, English became dominant because the household (siblings, cousins, parents) all spoke English
4)parents report minimal oral language "exchange"; (true give and take conversations) between the child and adults;
5)and the child's parents often speak to one another in the second language (which I would think reduces exposure to "adult"; English modeling).
Is there any emerging research to establish a timeline for English acquisition with such a mix of experiences? Or is the whole concept of ELLs everything and everything and nothing is clear cut? Parents often want to know why their "English only"; child is struggling as they're compared to their monolingual peers.
I wish I could reference more research to support the difference between "English only" as a monolingual vs. "English only"; as a child who has experience/exposure with another language.
Nancy
Comments
Good work, webmaster! Nice site!
Posted by: Aliza | June 16, 2007 3:12 PM
Hello Nancy ~
Just to gather a bit more information...Would you say that the majority of the parents of the children you mention are bilingual themselves? Does the goal of the families seem to be monolingual English-speaking children? Are there other immediate (or extended) family members that are monolingual in the home language? I am just curious. I do understand the situation you are describing, but I would hesitate to refer to this group as any type of 'English-only' since they have not had only English input. Even children who do not have expressive use of a home language (that is heard regularly) may (and probably will) still have receptive abilities that are more developed than one might expect. There are several studies which have examined individuals who 'overheard' a language in childhood and then started learning it formally as an adult. Even in these situations of sporadic 'overhearing' benefits were often seen (see Au et al, 2002 and Oh et al, 2003). However, one exception to this idea are the children who are adopted internationally and experience no maintenance of their original first language. Over time they have been shown to develop skills very similar to native English monolinguals (see Glennen & colleagues and Roberts & colleagues).
Other literature you may find helpful is that of Hart & Risley, who looked at the role of input in the development of a child's language. Considering that the children you mention would have substantially less English input than truly English-only peers it would make sense from many theoretical backgrounds that these children would have less-developed skills. Overall I think it is very hard to have a timeline of when you can only look at English in a child from a bilingual background. Safely, if English is WNL then we don't need to evaluate the home language to rule out a disorder. However, considering a child's bilingual background I would evaluate the home language if English skills are decreased compared to peers. This is the only way to know whether you are looking at a difference or a disorder.
I hope that helps.
Posted by: Kelly Nett Cordero | March 29, 2007 12:04 AM