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Onset Age of Language Acquisition Effects in a Foreign Language Context: Evidence from Chinese–English Bilingual Children

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Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between age of acquisition (AoA) and bilingual development for native Chinese children who learned English as a foreign language. A composite test measuring different aspects of language and cognitive skills in Chinese and English was administered on 85 Chinese native primary schoolers, who received bilingual instruction at different points of development (for Chinese, 0 ≤ AoA ≤ 7 years; for English, 2 ≤ AoA ≤ 10 years). Results found AoA constraints on the outcomes of L1 Chinese acquisition are significantly different from those for L2 English. Not all domains of bilingual skills follow the pattern of “the earlier, the better” in language development. Additionally, L1 AoA made unique contributions to L2 English learning. These findings contribute to our understanding on the nature of the AoA effect on bilingual learning.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would thank Professor Esther Geva of University of Toronto for her support in the development of measures and insightful observations and suggestions on this paper.

Funding

This study was funded by National Social Science Foundation of China (16BYY077) awarded to the first author.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Foreign Studies, University of Science and Technology Beijing, 30#, Xueyuan Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100083, China

    Jin Xue

  2. School of English Language, Literature and Culture, Beijing International Studies University, 1# Dingfuzhuan Nanli, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100024, China

    Jin Xue, Xiaolan Hu & Hong Wang

  3. Institute of Leadership & Education Advanced Development, Xi’an Jiaotong Liverpool University, 111 Ren’ai Road, Suzhou Dushu Lake Science and Education Innovation District,Suzhou Industrial Park, Suzhou, 215123, China

    Rong Yan

  4. Department of Curriculum & Instruction, College of Education, University of Houston, 3657 Cullen Blvd, Houston, TX, USA

    Xi Chen & Miao Li

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  1. Jin Xue
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Xue, J., Hu, X., Yan, R. et al. Onset Age of Language Acquisition Effects in a Foreign Language Context: Evidence from Chinese–English Bilingual Children. J Psycholinguist Res 50, 239–260 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-019-09637-y

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