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Abstract
The current study examines the relationship between bilingual children's dual language experience (i.e. language input, language output and vocabulary proficiency), and their social-emotional and behavioral skills. Data were analysed from 805 Singaporean bilingual preschoolers (ages 4; 1–5; 8 years), who are learning English and either Mandarin (n = 551), Malay (n = 105), or Tamil, (n = 149). A parent questionnaire and standardized vocabulary tests were used to assess children's bilingual language environment and vocabulary knowledge. Children's social-emotional and behavioral skills were evaluated by teachers using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. A series of variables which might influence social-emotional and behavioral skills (e.g. gender, non-verbal IQ, SES, and emotion recognition) were controlled and mixed-effects models were used to conduct data analysis. Results demonstrated that children who had larger bilingual receptive vocabulary and had frequently spoken both languages for a longer time had better social-emotional and behavioral skills. Gender and emotion recognition ability were also found to be significantly related to children's social-emotional and behavioral skills. Such findings held true for children across different Mother Tongue language backgrounds. This suggests that a good language environment for bilingual children should be promoted not only for the sake of their early language development, but also because of the potential benefits to their social-emotional and behavioral skills.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 324-339 |
Number of pages | 16 |
Journal | International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism |
Volume | 24 |
Issue number | 3 |
Early online date | 12 Apr 2018 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 16 Mar 2021 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- bilingual
- receptive vocabulary
- language output
- social-emotional and behavioral skills
- SDQ
Fingerprint
Dive into the research topics of 'Bilingual language experience and children's social-emotional and behavioral skills: a cross-sectional study of Singapore preschoolers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 1 Finished
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SKIP: Singapore Kindergarten Impact Project
Bull, R., Lee, K., O'Brien, B., Ng, E. L., Khng, K. H., Poon, K. K. L. & Karuppiah, N.
3/03/14 → 31/07/19
Project: Research