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Oral language skills of Spanish-speaking English language learners: The impact of high-quality native language exposure

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2012

PERLA B. GÁMEZ  and
SUSAN C. LEVINE
PERLA B. GÁMEZ*
Affiliation:
Harvard Graduate School of Education
SUSAN C. LEVINE
Affiliation:
University of Chicago
*
ADDRESS FOR CORRESPONDENCE Perla B. Gámez, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Larsen 316, 14 Appian Way, Cambridge, MA 02138. E-mail: perla@uchicago.edu
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Abstract

This study examined the relation between young English language learners’ (ELL) native oral language skills and their language input in transitional bilingual education kindergarten classrooms. Spanish-speaking ELLs’ (n = 101) Spanish expressive language skills were assessed using the memory for sentences and picture vocabulary subtests of the Woodcock Language Proficiency Battery—Revised. Samples of transitional bilingual education teachers’ (n = 21) speech were recorded and coded for syntactic complexity and vocabulary usage. Results revealed considerable variation in ELLs’ language scores, with overall performance below the normative sample. There was also wide variation in teachers’ speech across classrooms. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that gains in ELLs’ expressive language skills were positively related to the diversity of teachers’ vocabulary and teachers’ syntactic complexity. These findings suggest that the quality of teachers’ language input, not just the quantity of their input, plays a significant role in the language learning trajectories of ELLs.

Type
Articles
Information
Applied Psycholinguistics , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , July 2013 , pp. 673 - 696
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012 

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