Minority Language Exposure Predicts Multilingual Receptive Abilities in Catalan-Spanish Bilingual Children
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| Title: | Minority Language Exposure Predicts Multilingual Receptive Abilities in Catalan-Spanish Bilingual Children |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Adriana Soto-Corominas (ORCID |
| Source: | International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. 2025 28(3):358-374. |
| Availability: | Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 17 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Education Level: | Elementary Education Early Childhood Education Grade 1 Primary Education |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Spanish, Romance Languages, English (Second Language), Multilingualism, Language Minorities, Profiles, Elementary School Students, Second Language Learning, Language Enrichment, Language Proficiency, Language Skills, Environmental Influences, Grade 1 |
| Geographic Terms: | Spain |
| DOI: | 10.1080/13670050.2024.2433139 |
| ISSN: | 1367-0050 1747-7522 |
| Abstract: | Bilingual profiles may be used to capture the absolute (i.e. not relative) levels of bilinguals' abilities across their two languages. This study investigates the profiles of 146 early Catalan-Spanish bilingual children at the beginning of primary schooling with three goals: (1) to investigate what subgroups of bilinguals exist based on their receptive lexical and grammatical abilities in the two languages, (2) to find the background and linguistic characteristics that distinguish the profiles, and (3) to determine whether or how their profile may relate to their abilities in L3-English. Results showed two main profiles in the sample: a high-abilities group, whose receptive vocabulary and grammar abilities were above the sample mean in both languages, and a low-abilities group, whose results were at or below the mean. The former profile was characterized by more frequent exposure to the minority language Catalan than the latter. In addition, the two profiles exhibited differential performance in their receptive abilities in L3-English, with the high-performing participants scoring significantly higher. Taken together, results demonstrate substantial variation in multilingual skills at the early stages of schooling, and that engaging with the minority language may result in overall multilingual gains due to the benefits conferred by balanced bilingual exposure. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Notes: | https://osf.io/aym98 |
| Entry Date: | 2026 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1500011 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Bilingual profiles may be used to capture the absolute (i.e. not relative) levels of bilinguals' abilities across their two languages. This study investigates the profiles of 146 early Catalan-Spanish bilingual children at the beginning of primary schooling with three goals: (1) to investigate what subgroups of bilinguals exist based on their receptive lexical and grammatical abilities in the two languages, (2) to find the background and linguistic characteristics that distinguish the profiles, and (3) to determine whether or how their profile may relate to their abilities in L3-English. Results showed two main profiles in the sample: a high-abilities group, whose receptive vocabulary and grammar abilities were above the sample mean in both languages, and a low-abilities group, whose results were at or below the mean. The former profile was characterized by more frequent exposure to the minority language Catalan than the latter. In addition, the two profiles exhibited differential performance in their receptive abilities in L3-English, with the high-performing participants scoring significantly higher. Taken together, results demonstrate substantial variation in multilingual skills at the early stages of schooling, and that engaging with the minority language may result in overall multilingual gains due to the benefits conferred by balanced bilingual exposure. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1367-0050 1747-7522 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/13670050.2024.2433139 |
