David Olivera
Research Mentor(s): Ioulia Kovelman
Mentor Department: Psychology and CHGD
Authors:
Session: Session 4 (1:00pm – 1:50pm)
Presentation Type: Poster 61
Abstract
The age of first exposure to English is a significant predictor of bilingual children’s language development and ability. In this study, we aim to determine if earlier exposure to an English-speaking educational environment leads to higher performance in language tests. To do this, we assess their grammar abilities through the use of the BESAME Syntax test, which measures syntactic accuracy with standardized scoring. The results indicate a statistically weak but significant correlation between initial English exposure and BESAME scores, suggesting that initial exposure is not necessarily strongly predictive of greater proficiency levels. This research is a contribution to the population, i.e., bilingual families, as it provides data on the role of early English exposure in language acquisition. This would help parents and teachers make more informed decisions regarding bilingual education strategies.
