Bilingual Children

Improved Essays
The research done by Brice et.al, investigated phonological developmental processes in bilingual children, and bilingual adults. There have been many studies to support the importance of language development in the area of speech perception on both monolinguals and bilinguals and their differences in development. Although studies do exist they are not adequately representative of speech perception with bilinguals. This study will aid in the understanding of how bilinguals use two languages to perceive speech. The purpose of the research is to compare the speech perception of bilinguals in three categories, phonotactic construction, age or language, and developmental trends. The previous studies are indicative that perhaps speech perception …show more content…
All participants had learned both languages adequately at an early age. Participants went through several tasks and ratings to be fully evaluated as a bilingual. They took an oral language ability test in both Spanish and English. The participants also took a gating task to evaluate their code switching proficiency; the questions used some Spanish and English and had the bilinguals translate them (p. 224). Sentences were arranged purposely to evaluate different phonetic constructions. The materials used in the study consisted of computers that could use a CSL for the gated task, and several rooms to elicit tests. The tests were given through speakers or through headphones, and the participants would record their answers on a response …show more content…
The various phonotactic test, evaluated different word structures (CV, CVC, VC, etc.) and the fastest answer to a word was when the word ended on a voiceless consonant. Indicating perhaps the voiceless attribute could lend itself to understanding and recognition (p. 230). Consonants overall tended to give more recognition then their counterparts. The voiceless consonant words in English were the most recognizable. It was also noted that bilingual students were less able to distinguish the various comparisons then the adult speakers. Some vowel sounds gave the bilinguals trouble but for the most part two differing vowels could be distinguished. The second research question was answered as follows; there was no significant difference between the adult and child identification skills, although children did need more time while answering questions. The final understanding of the article was that bilinguals across all contexts answered remarkably similar. Also bilinguals may be more proficient in the dominant language at various stages of their life. Bilingualism is a fluctuating component that varies depending on many components of language (p.

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