Volume 17, No. 1, 2022

Home Language Experiences and their Impact on the Production of Complex Syntax by Latinx Preschoolers

AUTHOR(S):

  • Maria Resendiz, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Texas State University, Round Rock, Texas, USA
  • Maria Diana Gonzales, Ph.D., CCC-CLP, Texas State University, Round Rock, Texas, USA
  • Elizabeth Belasco, Ph.D., EB Consultants, Wimberley, Texas, USA,
  • Melissa Alanis, M.S., CCC-SLP, Northeast Baptist Hospital, San Antonio, Texas, USA
  • Gabriela Hernandez, M.S., CCC-SLP, KIPP Texas Public Schools, Austin, Texas, USA
  • Kevin Ambrocio, M.S., CCC-SLP, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL, USA 

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to explore the different types of home language experience and its impact on the development of complex syntax in Latinx preschoolers. Seventy-three parents and their preschoolers were the participants in this study. The parents were interviewed to determine whether they used monolingual (Spanish or English) or bilingual (Spanish and English) input with their preschoolers. The children produced narratives in their preferred language and were coded according to their usage of complex syntax. The participants were classified into three groups: monolingual input/monolingual output (Spanish or English), bilingual input/bilingual output, and bilingual input/monolingual output. A weighted score for the narrative complex syntax was computed by first calculating the percentage of complex utterances compared to total utterances, then using the percentage of grammatically correct utterances as the weighting factor. The results indicated that for this group of Latinx children, home language experience, whether they were exposed to monolingual or bilingual input and/or output, had no observable influence on the development of complex syntax.

DOI:

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