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Bilingualism and receptive vocabulary achievement: Could sociocultural context make a difference?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2014

LISA SMITHSON ,
JOHANNE PARADIS  and
ELENA NICOLADIS
LISA SMITHSON*
Affiliation:
University of Alberta
JOHANNE PARADIS
Affiliation:
University of Alberta
ELENA NICOLADIS
Affiliation:
University of Alberta
*
Address for correspondence: Lisa Smithson, Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, P2-17 Biological Sciences Building, Edmonton AB, T6G 2E9, Canadasmithson@ualberta.ca
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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate receptive vocabulary achievement among French–English bilinguals in Canada. Standardized test scores of receptive vocabulary were measured in both languages from preschool, early-elementary, and late-elementary French–English bilingual children, and French–English bilingual adults. Mean vocabulary scores across all bilingual age groups were statistically equivalent to or above the standard mean in French and English with the exception of the early-elementary bilinguals who scored below the standard mean on the English vocabulary assessment. Mean vocabulary scores of the preschool and adult bilingual groups were not significantly different from those of their monolingual peers in either language. However, early-elementary and late-elementary bilingual children scored significantly lower than monolinguals on the English vocabulary assessment. The positive sociocultural context for French–English bilingualism in Canada as well as language input changes in school are discussed as underlying reasons for these findings.

Keywords

vocabularybilingualismsociocultural context
Type
Research Notes
Information
Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , Volume 17 , Issue 4 , October 2014 , pp. 810 - 821
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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