Panel Title

SLA: Panel

Studies in Narrative Competence: Bilingual Children Tell the Story in Two Languages

Paper Title

Interdependence of Japanese and English Knowledge in Language and Literacy Among Bilingual Children: A Study of Standardized Test Outcomes

Author's Name, E-mail Address and Institution

Masahiko Minami, mminami@sfsu.edu, San Francisco State University

Abstract

The claim that bilingual children of many language backgrounds show academic and intellectual deficiencies was widespread through most of the 20th century. At the same time, it has been stated that bilinguals possess significant and consistent advantages over monolinguals on a variety of metalinguistic and cognitive tasks. There are multiple ways to assess bilingual children's progress not only in language development but also in the development of language skills such as literacy. The present study explores narrative development using two alternative linguistic options — English and Japanese — available to children from bilingual homes, some of which are immigrant families. To measure each individual child's bilingual verbal ability, the Bilingual Verbal Ability Tests (BVAT) (Muñoz-Sandoval, Cummins, Alvarado, & Ruef, 1998) were administered. Also, interviews with bilingual children's mothers were conducted. The results of the BVAT revealed that children's English vocabulary usage was highly correlated with their vocabulary usage in Japanese. Scores obtained in the Japanese tasks, whether high or low, were mirrored in the scores of the corresponding English tasks. These results suggest that increasing language ability in either language used by bilingual children can accelerate their progress in the other language as well. The results imply that strong foundation in the first may facilitate second language development, which in turn may facilitate educational success, even in the second language. Nonetheless, the study also revealed that the children of Japanese parents performed better in English than in Japanese. Interviews with mothers further revealed that children of Japanese heritage preferred speaking English over Japanese despite their mothers' concerted efforts to maintain Japanese. The implications of these findings hold significant meaning in terms of promoting bilingualism, bilingual education, and biculturalism.
Panel Abstract
By Author
By Schedule
By Title

Back to ATJ Seminar 2004
Back to ATJ Seminar
Back to JapaneseTeaching.org Homepage