Diana Villalobos Calderon
Research Mentor: Teresa Satterfield
Mentor Department: Romance Languages Literatures, LSA
Author(s): Diana P. Villalobos Calderón, Valeria Ortiz Villalobos, Teresa Satterfield Linares
Session: Session 4 (1:00 PM – 1:50 PM)
Presentation Type: Poster 32
Abstract
Vocabulary development is essential for heritage languages (HLs), as it underpins deeper language skills, cognitive growth, and familial/cultural ties. The current research is nested within a longitudinal project of bilingual children in the US Midwest. Given the limited educational opportunities for Spanish HL learners as minority language speakers in Michigan, we use a mixed-learning approach to study effects of increased exposure to target scientific vocabulary in Spanish. Participants are 42 Spanish HL children, ages 4 -7, over a 3-year period in SE Michigan. Exposure to scientific vocabulary and concepts was introduced through a mixed-learning strategy consisting of two components: (i) in-class vocabulary reinforcement across 3 classrooms (Pre-K, Kindergarten, Grade 1) in an ongoing Saturday Spanish HL program, including Spanish dialogic-book readings containing target scientific vocabulary; and (ii) an optional home-based Spanish shared-reading curriculum using curated stories read by the families to reinforce scientific vocabulary items introduced in the Saturday HL classrooms. Expressive (production) and receptive (comprehension) Spanish vocabulary of each age-group was assessed through a researcher-adapted Spanish Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (TVIP). An ANOVA test was performed to compare each age group independently from the previous academic year. For within-group results from Fall (pre-test) to Spring (post-test) each academic year, Pre-K participants demonstrated significant increases of 21% in receptive vocabulary and 25% in expressive. Kindergarten students showed significant increases of 2% and 8%, respectively. Grade 1 data analysis is currently in progress; we hypothesize that both expressive and receptive vocabulary will show significant increases. Children who additionally participated in the home-based component showed improvement in both receptive (from 70% to 93%) and expressive (from 42% to 73%) vocabulary. Across groups, findings strongly support expressive vocabulary improvement between Pre-K and Kindergarten (M = 7.69, SD = 8.09), t(12) = 3.56, p < 0.01. These preliminary findings highlight the importance of both family involvement and consistent home–school reinforcement in supporting HL vocabulary development.
