Bilingualism and Language Proficiency

Critical for Academic and Career Success: In the U.S., English is the primary language in education and society; thus, proficiency in English (speaking, reading, writing) is essential for success.
Challenges for Immigrant Children: Children from immigrant families face difficulties transitioning to English-only instruction, leading to a conflict regarding maintaining their heritage language versus focusing solely on English skills.

Cross-linguistic Transfer: The theory suggests that skills in one language can positively influence the other (Chung et al., 2019).
- Importance of Practice: Practical exploration of English depends on the practice of heritage languages (e.g., Spanish).

Language Comprehension: Refers to the ability to understand spoken or written language, including word meanings and sentence structures (Gibbs, 2021).
Language Proficiency: Defined as the accuracy in speaking and understanding languages (Jaros-White, 2023).
Interconnectedness: Language comprehension is closely linked with overall language proficiency.

Heritage Language Learners (HLLs): These individuals speak both a home (minority) and a community (majority) language.
Early Bilinguals: Those who acquire two languages before puberty (Montrul, 2012).
Risks: Limited linguistic foundations can result in low literacy rates and higher dropout risks (Peña et al., 2020).

Morphology: Study of morphemes (smallest unit of meaning).
Phonology: Study of sound patterns which can help in learning the second language (University of Sheffield, 2022).

Bilingual Programs: Essential to foster skills in both the home language and the school language.
- Balanced Approach: Encourages practice in both languages, utilizing cross-linguistic skills to improve comprehension.
Diagnostic Tools Needed: Improved assessment tools for evaluating bilingual children's language skills (Bedore et al., 2023).

Significant findings: Higher proficiency in Spanish correlates positively with improved comprehension in English.
- Correlation Coefficients:
- Morphology: r(10) = 0.63, p < .05
- Semantics: r(10) = 0.73, p <.001
- Comprehension: r(10) = 0.71, p <.01
Most impactful: Spanish semantics were found to be the most strongly correlated with English comprehension, suggesting that meaning-based skills transfer more readily than grammatical skills.

Sample Size: Small sample size may limit generalizability.
Diversity: The lack of diversity in both state and among Latinx groups needs to be addressed in future research.
Depth of Exposure: The amount of language exposure was not thoroughly assessed, which may affect outcomes.

Promoting Early Language Skills: Supports the need for curricula that enhance both heritage and school language skills.
Encouragement from Home: Parents should foster use of the heritage language at home (e.g., after-school programs focusing on Spanish).
Future Research: Further investigations can enhance understanding of bilingual development across different exposure levels and contexts.
Broader Educational Strategies: Implement teaching methodologies that leverage children's first language to aid in learning English, utilizing their cultural and linguistic backgrounds to create a supportive learning environments.

Advisor Support: Thanks to Dr. Ioulia Kovelman for guidance, and acknowledgments for contributions from lab partners.