Profiles of Minority‐Majority Language Proficiency in 5‐Year‐Olds

• Published in: Child development Vol. 92; no. 5; pp. 1801 - 1816
• Main Authors: Hoff, Erika, Tulloch, Michelle K., Core, Cynthia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley 01-09-2021; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Bilingual education; Bilingual people; Bilingualism; Child; Child Language; Child, Preschool; Children; Cluster analysis; Competence; Dominance; Educational Attainment; English (Second Language); Family Environment; Humans; Intelligence; Language; Language Acquisition; Language Aptitude; Language Development; Language Dominance; Language Minorities; Language Proficiency; Language Tests; Language Usage; Linguistics; Memory; Minority languages; Mothers; Multilingualism; Native Language; Native language acquisition; Nonverbal Ability; Nonverbal intelligence; Phonological memory; Phonology; Preschool Children; Profiles; Second Language Learning; Spanish; Spanish language
• ISSN: 0009-3920; 1467-8624
• DOI: 10.1111/cdev.13591

Children from language minority homes reach school age with variable dual language skills. Cluster analysis identified four bilingual profiles among 126 U.S.‐born, 5‐year‐old Spanish–English bilinguals. The profiles differed on two dimensions: language balance and total language knowledge. Balance varied primarily as a function of indicators of the relative quantity and the quality of their language exposure (amount of home exposure and maternal education in each language). Total language knowledge varied primarily as a function of indicators of children’s language learning ability (phonological memory and nonverbal intelligence). English dominance was more prevalent than balanced bilingualism; there was no Spanish dominant profile, despite average Spanish dominance in home language use. There was no evidence of a tradeoff between English and Spanish skills.