Spanish-speaking Latinos' Early Language Environments and Dual Language Development

项目总结 接触双语的拉丁裔学生经常被描述为阅读困难的风险，尽管双语者有两种可能的语言途径来成功阅读。严重的经济困难造成了这样的学术困难，美国双语的社会语言现实(减法双语教育)也是如此，这威胁到了拉丁裔儿童的双语地位。鉴于阅读困难与不健康的生活结果有关，很大一部分美国人的阅读困难是一个关键的国家健康问题。因此，更新R15应用程序的长期目标是识别说西班牙语的拉丁裔儿童早期语言环境的特征，这些环境与双语轨迹相关。研究结果将为旨在促进拉美裔儿童双语发展和学业福祉的干预措施和政策提供科学依据。我们最初的R15研究结果表明，“语言营养”或接触主要照顾者的不同语言可以促进双语儿童的“语言健康”，即双语发展。尽管对初级照顾者的直接输入的重要性达成了广泛的共识，但对促进双语发展的多重输入来源(超出初级照顾者的输入)和输入类型(超出直接输入，包括偷听的输入)的了解有限。这在一定程度上是因为该领域对双语儿童接触语言的数量的关注范围较窄，而且现有的语言发展模式绝大多数是基于特定文化的单语学习者。因此，在这次更新申请中，我们拓宽了研究的视角，以满足两个新的目标：1)确定多种语言输入来源(主要、次要、其他)和类型(多样性、数量；直接、偷听)是否以及如何对双语儿童的语言结果做出独特贡献；2)确定儿童和他们的多个对话者之间语言使用的双向依赖。我们将从接触双语的儿童和他们的多个对话者，包括小学(母亲)、中学(父亲)和其他照顾者(祖父母)收集视频和录音语音样本，包括一天的录音。我们将从拉丁裔家庭招募总共80名目标儿童，这些家庭代表了一系列西班牙语和英语接触水平。我们有目的地对多个输入和儿童输出(12、18、24、30和36个月的儿童)进行纵向采样，将允许对照顾者输入如何作为与学习者(口头和非口头)交易互动的动态系统的一部分进行细粒度分析。我们采取多方法的方法，用照顾者访谈(半结构和问卷)和输入的实验操作来补充自然观察，使用单词学习和语言建模范式。训练有素的学生研究人员将收集、转录和编码录音，管理研究人员开发的对儿童语言(词汇、句法)和非语言行为(手势)的标准化评估，以及开展校园实验。

PROJECT SUMMARY Bilingually exposed Latino students are often characterized as being at-risk for reading difficulties, despite there being two possible language pathways toward successful reading for bilinguals. Heightened economic hardship accounts for such academic difficulties as do the sociolinguistic realities of bilingualism in the US (subtractive bilingual schooling), which threaten Latino children's bilingual status. Reading difficulties for a large segment of the U.S. population represents a critical national health concern given the connection to unhealthy life outcomes. Thus, the long-term goal of this renewal R15 application is to identify the features of Spanish-speaking Latino children's early language environments that are associated with bilingual trajectories. The study findings would provide a scientific basis for interventions and policies aimed at promoting the bilingual development and academic well-being of Latino children. Our original R15 findings indicate that “language nutrition” or exposure to primary caregivers' diverse language promotes bilingual children's “language health,” that is, bilingual development. Despite widespread agreement on the critical importance of primary caregivers' directed input, there is a limited understanding of the multiple input sources (beyond primary caregivers) and input types (beyond direct input, including overheard input) that promote bilingual development. This is partly due to the field's narrowed focus on bilingual children's amount of language exposure and that existing models of language development are overwhelmingly based on culturally specific monolingual learners. Thus, in this renewal application, we broaden the research lens to meet two new aims: 1) establish whether and how multiple language input sources (primary, secondary, other) and types (diversity, amount; direct, overheard) contribute uniquely to bilingual children's language outcomes and 2) determine the bi-directional dependency of language use between children and their multiple interlocutors. We will collect video and audio recorded speech samples, including day-long recordings, from bilingually exposed children and their multiple interlocutors, including primary (mother), secondary (father), and other caregivers (grandparents). We will recruit a total of 80 target children from Latino homes that represent a range of Spanish and English exposure levels. Our purposeful longitudinal sampling of multiple inputs and child output (at child age 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 months) will allow for a fine-grained analysis of how caregiver input functions as part of a dynamic system of transactional interactions with learners (verbally, non-verbally). Taking a multi-method approach, we supplement naturalistic observations with caregiver interviews (semi-structured and questionnaires) and experimental manipulations of input, using word learning and language modeling paradigms. Highly trained student researchers will collect, transcribe, and code recordings, administer researcher-developed and standardized assessments of children's language (vocabulary, syntax) and nonverbal behaviors (gesture), as well as carry out on-campus experiments.