Tag: Stephanie De Anda

Comparing Language Exposure Measures in Dual Language Contexts

Comparing Language Exposure Measures in Dual Language Contexts

Brandon Zuel − Communication Disorders & Sciences

Co Presenter(s): Melanie Bethancourt

Faculty Mentor(s): Stephanie De Anda, Lauren Cycyk

Poster 130

Research Area: Social Science

Parent report is a common method for quantifying language exposure in bilingual children however it is not always reliable. A less studied method is analyzing real-world language input. The present study seeks to fill the gap of quantifying language exposure by examining the amount of language input in each language through real-world audio recording in the everyday lives of bilingual toddlers. This preliminary study presents data on 2 participants from Spanish-speaking homes (Participant A: 18;0, male; Participant B: 18;25, female). Audio recordings were captured using the Language Environment Analysis device (Ford, Baer, Xu, Yapanel & Gray, 2009). 16 hours of language input data were collected over three days. The data was then analyzed in 5-minute increments to quantify exposure to English and Spanish. We calculated exposure during periods when the child had the highest amount of (a) adult words in the environment, (b) linguistically meaningful interactions, and (c) child-directed speech. Results indicated that full-day audio recordings and all discrete segments demonstrated comparable calculations of language exposure. That is, language exposure captured in the three afromentioned methods demonstrated similar measurements, and these mirrored parent estimates as well. Together these results show that several methods of calculating language exposure within language samples yield relatively similar estimates. However, this is based on two participants with relatively stable exposure to Spanish. We plan to provide data on an additional 6 participants at the time of the poster presentation to ask whether children with more exposure to English demonstrate a similar pattern of results.

Comparing Language Input Measures with TV Exposure in Dual Language Learners

Presenter(s): Brandon Zuel

Co Presenter(s): Rachael Dahlen, Sean Galka

Faculty Mentor(s): Stephanie De Anda & Lauren Cycyk

Poster 157

 Session: Social Sciences & Humanities

The use of parent report is a common method for quantifying language exposure in bilingual children. A less studied method is analyzing real-world language input. Additionally, there is a lack of research that examines how English and Spanish language input from television (TV) can impact the linguistic experience of bilingual children. The present study seeks to fill the gap of quantifying language exposure by examining the amount of language input in each language through real-world audio recording in the everyday lives of bilingual toddlers.

The study presents data on participants from Spanish-speaking homes (N= 10 participants; 4 female, 6 male, median age = 19.5 months; range: 17 months to 22 months). Sixteen hours of language input data were collected over three days for each participant. From these recordings, we calculated exposure to Spanish and English via TV sources during periods when the child had the highest amount of (a) adult words, (b) linguistically meaningful interactions (highest amount of human input within six feet), and (c) child-directed speech (versus overheard speech).

Results showed that TV exposure is related to the segmentation method categories of highest adult words, linguistically meaningful interactions, and highest child-directed speech due to a lot of meaningful language being present within those language samples. Typically, we found that the moments of high TV exposure did not align with moments of high language exposure as a function of adult words, linguistically meaningful interactions, and child-directed speech. This work informs our understanding of the language environment of bilinguals across a variety of sources.

Language Proficiency and Lexical-Semantic Processing in Bilingual Toddlers

Presenter(s): Abbey Ward—Communication Disorders and Sciences; Spanish

Faculty Mentor(s): Stephanie De Anda

Session 6: Interact & React

Prior research suggests that language systems are not entirely separate but interact in bilingual individuals . The current study seeks to extend prior work by investigating whether or not bilingual toddlers organize vocabulary words and their meanings (i .e ., lexical-semantic networks) within and across languages as early as 2 years of age . Of interest is how the words a toddler hears (i .e ., language exposure) versus the words that they say (i .e ., language proficiency) influence this organization of dual vocabulary systems . This study presents findings from a group of Spanish- English bilingual toddlers (N = 20, Mage = 24 .65 months) to examine the association between (a) language exposure and (b) language proficiency with lexical-semantic processing . Four measures were used: the Language Exposure Assessment Tool (LEAT) captured exposure, whereas the Computerized Comprehension Task (CCT) and the English-Spanish Vocabulary Inventories (ESVI) measured vocabulary size in both languages . Lastly, eye-tracking measures assessed lexical- semantic processing within and across Spanish and English . Consistent with prior literature, results suggest that vocabulary systems interact in bilingual toddlers by 24 months of age . As a group, toddlers with larger vocabulary sizes and faster speed of word recognition in their stronger language (Spanish) demonstrated inhibition, such that they were more likely to efficiently discard words similar in meaning (i .e ., semantic competitors) in order to correctly identify the target . When processing semantic relationships between words in their weaker language (English), toddlers with slower speed of word recognition demonstrated facilitation in order to continue ongoing activation of their sparse vocabulary networks . However, language exposure was not associated with lexical- semantic processing . Together these findings demonstrate that the words bilingual toddlers say and understand (and not necessarily what they hear) influence the organization of dual language systems . Ultimately, our findings contribute to the current understanding of bilingual first language acquisition and emerging theoretical models on bilingual language development .