Performance on semantic language tasks by Spanish-English bilingual children with varying levels of language proficiency

Abstract

This study explores a functionalist approach to language acquisition by examining the performance of bilingual children with varying levels of proficiency in English and Spanish on a test of semantic language skills with six different tasks. Overall test performance was similar across language groups and for bilinguals in their two languages but differences were seen in performance on the individual semantic language tasks. Specifically, the bilingual children demonstrated better performance on the Linguistic Concepts task in English and on the Functions task in Spanish, and the bilingual children performed better on the Categorization task than predominantly Spanish speaking children. Finally, different developmental trajectories were seen in the different language proficiency groups. These findings would be predicted by input given socialization practices and structural differences in the two languages.