Young Bilingual Children's Heightened Sensitivity to Referential Cues

Autor/inn/en	Yow, W. Quin; Markman, Ellen M.
Titel	Young Bilingual Children's Heightened Sensitivity to Referential Cues
Quelle	In: Journal of Cognition and Development, 12 (2011) 1, S.12-31 (20 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1524-8372
Schlagwörter	Cues; Monolingualism; Bilingualism; Preschool Children; Nonverbal Communication; Toys; Task Analysis; Child Development; Cognitive Development; Cognitive Ability + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Stichwort; Bilingualismus; Pre-school age; Preschool age; Child; Children; Pre-school education; Preschool education; Vorschulalter; Kind; Kinder; Vorschulkind; Vorschulkinder; Vorschulerziehung; Vorschule; Non-verbal communication; Nonverbale Kommunikation; Toy; Spielzeug; Aufgabenanalyse; Kindesentwicklung; Kognitive Entwicklung; Denkfähigkeit
Abstract	Children growing up in a dual-language environment have to constantly monitor the dynamic communicative context to determine what the speaker is trying to say and how to respond appropriately. Such self-generated efforts to monitor speakers' communicative needs may heighten children's sensitivity to, and allow them to make better use of, referential gestures to figure out a speaker's referential intent. In a series of studies, we explored monolingual and bilingual preschoolers' use of nonverbal referential gestures such as pointing and gaze direction to figure out a speaker's intent to refer. In Study 1, we found that 3- and 4-year-old bilingual children were better able than monolingual children to use referential gestures (e.g., gaze direction) to locate a hidden toy in the face of conflicting body-distal information (the experimenter was seated behind an empty box while the cue was directed at the correct box). Study 2 found that by 5 years of age, monolingual children had mastered this task. Study 3 established that the bilingual advantage can be found in children as young as 2 years old. Thus, the experience of growing up in a bilingual environment fosters the development of the understanding of referential intent. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Psychology Press. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10