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Phonetic discrimination, phonological awareness, and pre-literacy skills in Spanish–English dual language preschoolers

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2021

Sara A. SMITH Open the ORCID record for Sara A. SMITH [Opens in a new window] ,
Sibylla LEON GUERRERO ,
Sarah SURRAIN  and
Gigi LUK
Sara A. SMITH*
Affiliation:
University of South Florida, USA
Sibylla LEON GUERRERO
Affiliation:
Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA
Sarah SURRAIN
Affiliation:
Harvard Graduate School of Education, USA
Gigi LUK
Affiliation:
McGill University, Canada
*
Corresponding author: Sara A. Smith University of South Florida, College of Education. E-mail:Sarasmith3@usf.edu
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Abstract

The current study explores variation in phonemic representation among Spanish–English dual language learners (DLLs, n = 60) who were dominant in English or in Spanish. Children were given a phonetic discrimination task with speech sounds that: 1) occur in English and Spanish, 2) are exclusive to English, and 3) are exclusive to Russian, during Fall (age m = 57 months) and Spring (age m = 62 months, n = 42). In Fall, English-dominant DLLs discriminated more accurately than Spanish-dominant DLLs between English-Spanish phones and English-exclusive phones. Both groups discriminated Russian phones at or close to chance. In Spring, however, groups no longer differed in discriminating English-exclusive phones and both groups discriminated Russian phones above chance. Additionally, joint English-Spanish and English-exclusive phonetic discrimination predicted children's phonological awareness in both groups. Results demonstrate plasticity in early childhood through diverse language exposure and suggest that phonemic representation begins to emerge driven by lexical restructuring.

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Article
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Journal of Child Language , Volume 49 , Issue 1 , January 2022 , pp. 80 - 113
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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