Does Exposure to Code-Switching Influence Language Performance in Bilingual Children?

• Kaushanskaya, Margarita ^[1] ; Crespo, Kimberly ^[1]
  1. [1] University of Wisconsin–Madison

     University of Wisconsin–Madison

     City of Madison, Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: Child development, ISSN 0009-3920, Vol. 90, Nº. 3, 2019, págs. 708-718
• Idioma: inglés
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• Resumen

  • This study investigated whether the effect of exposure to code-switching on bilingual children's language performance varied depending on verbal working memory (WM). A large sample of school-aged Spanish-English bilingual children (N = 174, Mage  = 7.78) was recruited, and children were administered language measures in English and Spanish. The frequency with which the children were exposed to code-switching was gathered through parent report. For children with high verbal WM, greater exposure to code-switching was associated with higher levels of language ability. In contrast, for children with lower verbal WM, greater exposure to code-switching was associated with lower levels of language ability. These findings indicate that children's cognitive processing capacity dictates whether exposure to code-switching facilitates or hinders language skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]