A B S T R A C TThis study examined the vocabulary development of Norwegian second language (L) learners with Urdu/Punjabi as their first language (L) at two time-points from kindergarten to primary school, and compared it to the vocabulary development of monolingual Norwegian children. Using path models, the associations between number of picture books in the home, maternal education, and previous L and L vocabulary on the development of L vocabulary breadth and depth were investigated. The results indicate that despite the weaker vocabulary skills of the L sample, the growth trajectories of the L learners and the monolingual comparison group did not differ. For the L learners, we identified both concurrent and longitudinal predictors of vocabulary: the number of books in the home and the time of introduction of the L predicted concurrent vocabulary. L vocabulary, number of books in the home, and the time of introduction of the L predicted vocabulary growth.

The present study investigated the contribution of cognitive, linguistic, and contextual factors to the narrative production of Norwegian second language learners. We assessed cognitive ability and first and second language proficiency in 66 kindergarten children with Urdu/Punjabi as their first language. Number of children's books in the home and time spent in kindergarten were treated as contextual factors. Oral narration was assessed in Grade 1. A series of fixed-order hierarchical regression analyses displayed a complex relationship among cognitive, linguistic, and contextual factors and various facets of narrative production of young second language learners; nonverbal ability and books in the home predicted the mastering of story (macro)structure, while linguistic (vocabulary and grammar) and both contextual variables predicted microaspects of narrative proficiency. The results suggest that combining home book reading practices, kindergarten attendance, and second language interventions might improve language minority children's narrative production and chances of school success.

We examined the concurrent relationship between narrative skills (the Renfrew Bus Story Test) and core language measures (vocabulary, grammar and verbal memory) at age 4 and the longitudinal relationship between core language and listening comprehension skills at age 7 in a sample of 215 children using latent variables and structural equation modelling. Our main purpose was to investigate to what extent narrative retell constitutes a unique influence on later language and listening comprehension skills. The results support a two-factor model of narrative retelling and core language representing different but related constructs at age 4. Narrative retell explained unique variance in later language skills but did not explain additional variance beyond the 58% explained by the age 4 language construct. Similarly, narrative retell predicted unique variance in later listening comprehension, but not beyond what was explained by core language skills at age 4. The strength of the relationship between narrative retelling at age 4 and the age 7 measures was not related to the level of narrative skills. The results indicate that age 4 traditional core language measures capture more of the skills that are important for later language and listening comprehension than narrative skills at the same age.