Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-27gpq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-29T09:16:11.543Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Predicting ethnic minority children's vocabulary from socioeconomic status, maternal language and home reading input: different pathways for host and ethnic language*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 September 2013

MARIËLLE J. L. PREVOO
Affiliation:
Leiden University, Netherlands
MAIKE MALDA
Affiliation:
Leiden University, Netherlands
JUDI MESMAN*
Affiliation:
Leiden University, Netherlands
ROSANNEKE A. G. EMMEN
Affiliation:
Leiden University, Netherlands
NIHAL YENIAD
Affiliation:
Leiden University, Netherlands
MARINUS H. VAN IJZENDOORN
Affiliation:
Leiden University, Netherlands
MARIËLLE LINTING
Affiliation:
Leiden University, Netherlands
*
Address for correspondence: Judi Mesman, Leiden University – Centre for Child and Family Studies, Wassenaarseweg 52 Leiden 2333 AK, Netherlands. e-mail: mesmanj@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

Abstract

When bilingual children enter formal reading education, host language proficiency becomes increasingly important. This study investigated the relation between socioeconomic status (SES), maternal language use, reading input, and vocabulary in a sample of 111 six-year-old children of first- and second-generation Turkish immigrant parents in the Netherlands. Mothers reported on their language use with the child, frequency of reading by both parents, and availability of children's books in the ethnic and the host language. Children's Dutch and Turkish vocabulary were tested during a home visit. SES was related to maternal language use and to host language reading input. Reading input mediated the relation between SES and host language vocabulary and between maternal language use and host language vocabulary, whereas only maternal language use was related to ethnic language vocabulary. During transition to formal reading education, one should be aware that children from low-SES families receive less host language reading input.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

[*]

Financial support from NORFACE (New Opportunities for Research Funding Agency Co-operation in Europe) research programme on Migration in Europe – Social, Economic, Cultural, and Policy Dynamics (Grant # NORFACE-292), and from Sardes Educational Services is acknowledged. We thank all parents, children, teachers, and school principals who participated in our study as well as all students who assisted in various phases of the ‘Social Integration of Migrant Children: Unravelling factors promoting Resilience’ (SIMCUR) project.

References

REFERENCES

Arriagada, P. A. (2005). Family context and Spanish-language use: a study of Latino children in the United States. Social Science Quarterly 86, 599619.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bentler, P. M. (2001). EQS 6 Structural Equations Program Manual. Encino, CA: Multivariate Software Inc.Google Scholar
Bialystok, E. (2004). The impact of bilingualism on language and literacy development. In Bhatia, T. K. & Ritchie, W. C. (eds.), Handbook of bilingualism, 577601. Malden: Blackwell Publishing.Google Scholar
Bradley, R. H., Corwyn, R. F., Burchinal, M., McAdoo, H. P. & García Coll, C. (2001). The home environments of children in the United States part II: relations with behavioral development through age thirteen. Child Development 72, 1868–86.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bradley, R. H., Corwyn, R. F., McAdoo, H. P. & García Coll, C. (2001). The home environments of children in the United States part I: variations by age, ethnicity, and poverty status. Child Development 72, 1844–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brownell, R. (2000). Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test. Novato, CA: Academic Therapy Publications.Google Scholar
Bus, A. G., Leseman, P. P. M. & Keultjes, P. (2000). Joint book reading across cultures: a comparison of Surinamese–Dutch, Turkish–Dutch, and Dutch parent–child dyads. Journal of Literacy Research 32, 5376.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bus, A. G., Van IJzendoorn, M. H. & Pellegrini, A. D. (1995). Joint book reading makes for success in learning to read: a meta-analysis on intergenerational transmission of literacy. Review of Educational Research 65, 121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Central Bureau of Statistics (2010). Bevolking; generatie, geslacht, leeftijd en herkomstgroepering, 1 januari [Population; generation, sex, age and origin, 1 January]. Available at: <http://statline.cbs.nl/StatWeb/publication/?DM=SLNL&PA=37325&D1=0&D2=0&D3=0-7&D4=0&D5=2-4,11,38,46,95-96,137,152,173,177,194,215,232&D6=14&HDR=T,G3,G5,G2&STB=G1,G4&VW=T> (last accessed 3 May 2012).+(last+accessed+3+May+2012).>Google Scholar
Collins, M. F. (2010). ELL preschoolers' English vocabulary acquisition from storybook reading. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 25, 8497.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conger, R. D. & Donnellan, M. B. (2007). An interactionist perspective on the socioeconomic context of human development. Annual Review of Psychology 58, 175–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Crosnoe, R., Leventhal, T., Wirth, R. J., Pierce, K. M., Pianta, R. C. & NICHD Early Child Care Research Network (2010). Family socioeconomic status and consistent environmental stimulation in early childhood. Child Development 81, 972–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cummins, J. (1991). Interdependence of first- and second language proficiency in bilingual children. In Bialystok, E. (ed.), Language processing in bilingual children, 7089. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davison, M. D., Hammer, C. & Lawrence, F. R. (2011). Associations between preschool language and first grade reading outcomes in bilingual children. Journal of Communication Disorders 44, 444–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dixon, L. Q., Wu, S. & Daraghmeh, A. (2012). Profiles in bilingualism: factors influencing kindergartners' language proficiency. Early Childhood Education Journal 40, 2534.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dixon, W. J. (1960). Simplified estimation from censored normal samples. Annals of Mathematical Statistics 31, 385–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dunn, L. M. & Dunn, D. M. (2007). Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Minneapolis, MN: Pearson Assessments.Google Scholar
Extra, G. & Yagmur, K. (2010). Language proficiency and socio-cultural orientation of Turkish and Moroccan youngsters in the Netherlands. Language and Education 24, 117–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gibson, T. A., Oller, D. K., Jarmulowicz, L. & Ethington, C. A. (2012). The receptive–expressive gap in the vocabulary of young second-language learners: robustness and possible mechanisms. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 15, 102–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Glück, C. W. (2009). Computerbased research version of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test 4, unpublished research version. Heidelberg: University of Education.Google Scholar
Guo, G. & Harris, K. M. (2000). The mechanisms mediating the effects of poverty on children's intellectual development. Demography 37, 431–47.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hakuta, K. & D'Andrea, D. (1992). Some properties of bilingual maintenance and loss in Mexican background high-school students. Applied Linguistics 13, 7299.Google Scholar
Hammer, C. S., Miccio, A. W. & Wagstaff, D. A. (2003). Home literacy experiences and their relationship to bilingual preschoolers' developing English literacy abilities: an initial investigation. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools 34, 2030.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hindman, A. H. & Morrison, F. J. (2012). Differential contributions of three parenting dimensions to preschool literacy and social skills in a middle-income sample. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly 58, 191223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoff, E. (2003). The specificity of environmental influence: socioeconomic status affects early vocabulary development via maternal speech. Child Development 74, 1368–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoff, E. (2006). How social contexts support and shape language development. Developmental Review 26, 5588.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoff, E., Core, C., Place, S., Rumiche, R., Señor, M. & Parra, M. (2012). Dual language exposure and early bilingual development. Journal of Child Language 39, 127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hood, M., Conlon, E. & Andrews, G. (2008). Preschool home literacy practices and children's literacy development: a longitudinal analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology 100, 252–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hulstijn, J. J. (2012). The construct of language proficiency in the study of bilingualism from a cognitive perspective. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 15, 422–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kalia, V. & Reese, E. (2009). Relations between Indian children's home literacy environment and their English oral language and literacy skills. Scientific Studies of Reading 13, 122–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kloosterman, R., Notten, N., Tolsma, J. & Kraaykamp, G. (2011). The effects of parental reading socialization and early school involvement on children's academic performance: a panel study of primary school pupils in the Netherlands. European Sociological Review 27, 291306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korat, O., Klein, P. & Segal-Drori, O. (2007). Maternal mediation in book reading, home literacy environment, and children's emergent literacy: a comparison between two social groups. Reading and Writing 20, 361–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leseman, P. P. M. (2000). Bilingual vocabulary development of Turkish preschoolers in the Netherlands. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 21, 93112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leseman, P. P. M. & Van den Boom, D. C. (1999). Effects of quantity and quality of home proximal processes on Dutch, Surinamese–Dutch and Turkish–Dutch pre-schoolers' cognitive development. Infant and Child Development 8, 1938.3.0.CO;2-7>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lonigan, C. J., Schatschneider, C. & Westberg, L. (2008). Identification of children's skills and abilities linked to later outcomes in reading, writing, and spelling. In National Early Literacy Panel (ed.), Developing early literacy: report of the National Early Literacy Panel, 55106. Washington, DC: National Institute for Literacy.Google Scholar
Mancilla-Martinez, J. & Lesaux, N. K. (2011). Early home language use and later vocabulary development. Journal of Educational Psychology 103, 535–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meulman, J. J. & Heiser, W. J. (1999). SPSS Categories 10.0 Regression with optimal Scaling (CATREG). Chicago, IL: SPSS Inc.Google Scholar
Mistry, R. S., Biesanz, J. C., Chien, N., Howes, C. & Benner, A. D. (2008). Socioeconomic status, parental investments, and the cognitive and behavioral outcomes of low-income children from immigrant and native households. Early Childhood Research Quarterly 23, 193212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mol, S. E., Bus, A. G., de Jong, M. T. & Smeets, D. J. H. (2008). Added value of dialogic parent–child book readings: a meta-analysis. Early Education & Development 19, 726.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). The NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Watching Television, Reading, and Computers at Home. Available at: <https://secc.rti.org/display.cfm?t=f&i=FLV23G3> (last accessed 13 October 2009).+(last+accessed+13+October+2009).>Google Scholar
NVLF (2006). Thuistaal van meertalige kinderen onterecht in negatief daglicht [Home language of multilingual children undeservedly in a negative light]. Woerden: NVLF.Google Scholar
Obied, V. M. (2009). How do siblings shape the language environment in bilingual families? International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 12, 705–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oh, J. S. & Fuligni, A. J. (2010). The role of heritage language development in the ethnic identity and family relationships of adolescents from immigrant backgrounds. Social Development 19, 202–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phinney, J. S., Horenczyk, G., Liebkind, K. & Vedder, P. (2001). Ethnic identity, immigration, and well-being: an interactional perspective. Journal of Social Issues 57, 493510.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prevoo, M. J. L., Mesman, J., Van IJzendoorn, M. H. & Pieper, S. (2011). Bilingual toddlers reap the language they sow: ethnic minority toddlers' childcare attendance increases maternal host language use. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 32, 561–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quiroz, B. G., Snow, C. E. & Zhao, J. (2010). Vocabulary skills of Spanish–English bilinguals: impact of mother–child language interactions and home language and literacy support. International Journal of Bilingualism 14, 379–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roberts, T. A. (2008). Home storybook reading in primary or second language with preschool children: evidence of equal effectiveness for second-language vocabulary acquisition. Reading Research Quarterly 43, 103–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roth, F. P., Speece, D. L. & Cooper, D. H. (2002). A longitudinal analysis of the connection between oral language and early reading. Journal of Educational Research 95, 259–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sastry, N. & Pebley, A. (2010). Family and neighborhood sources of socioeconomic inequality in children's achievement. Demography 47, 777800.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Scheele, A. F., Leseman, P. P. M. & Mayo, A. Y. (2010). The home language environment of monolingual and bilingual children and their language proficiency. Applied Psycholinguistics 31, 117–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schermelleh-Engel, K., Moosbrugger, H. & Müller, H. (2003). Evaluating the fit of structural equation models: tests of significance and descriptive goodness-of-fit measures. Methods of Psychological Research Online 8, 2374.Google Scholar
SCP (2009). Jaarrapport Integratie 2009 [Annual report integration 2009]. Gijsberts, M. & Dagevos, J. (eds.), Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.Google Scholar
SCP (2011). Jaarrapport Integratie 2011 [Annual report integration 2011]. Gijsberts, M., Huijnk, W. & Dagevos, J. (eds.), Den Haag: Sociaal en Cultureel Planbureau.Google Scholar
Stevens, G. & Ishizawa, H. (2007). Variation among siblings in the use of a non-English language. Journal of Family Issues 28, 1008–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Uccelli, P. & Páez, M. M. (2007). Narrative and vocabulary development of bilingual children from kindergarten to first grade: developmental changes and associations among English and Spanish skills. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools 38, 225–36.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vedder, P. & Virta, E. (2005). Language, ethnic identity, and the adaptation of Turkish immigrant youth in the Netherlands and Sweden. International Journal of Intercultural Relations 29, 317–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verhoeven, L. T. (1994). Transfer in bilingual development: the linguistic interdependence hypothesis revisited. Language Learning 44, 381415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verhoeven, L. T. (2007). Early bilingualism, language transfer, and phonological awareness. Applied Psycholinguistics 28, 425–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verkuyten, M., Hagendoorn, L. & Masson, K. (1996). The ethnic hierarchy among majority and minority youth in the Netherlands. Journal of Applied Social Psychology 26, 1104–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yaman, A., Mesman, J., Van IJzendoorn, M. H. & Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J. (2010). Perceived family stress, parenting efficacy, and child externalizing behaviors in second-generation immigrant mothers. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology 45, 505–12.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yancey, A. K., Ortega, A. N. & Kumanyika, S. K. (2006). Effective recruitment and retention of minority research participants. Annual Review of Public Health 27, 128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yeung, A. S., Marsh, H. W. & Suliman, R. (2000). Can two tongues live in harmony: analysis of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS88) longitudinal data on the maintenance of home language. American Educational Research Journal 37, 1001–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zareva, A., Schwanenflugel, P. & Nikolova, Y. (2005). Relationship between lexical competence and language proficiency: variable sensitivity. Studies in Second Language Acquisition 27, 567–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar