The impact of older siblings on the language environment and language development of bilingual toddlers

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that the language development of bilingual children benefits from more exposure and opportunities for language use. Typically, this research has used aggregated measures of exposure and use. The role of specific interlocutors and in particular older siblings has received comparatively little attention. In this study, we examine the impact of having an older sibling on the language environment and language development of a group of 31 bilingual Greek–Dutch toddlers aged 16 to 30 months growing up in the Netherlands. Approximately half (n = 14) of the toddlers had an older sibling. With respect to language environment, toddlers with older siblings were in general found to hear and use more Dutch at home than their first-born peers. There were however no differences between the two groups of toddlers in terms of parental language use. With respect to language development, toddlers with older siblings were found to score higher than first-born peers on measures of Dutch receptive vocabulary, productive vocabulary, and morphosyntactic complexity. For Greek, no such differences were observed. The findings are discussed in light of factors including family constellation, parental language proficiency, bilingual parenting strategies, and the wider sociolinguistic context.

Bilingual Language Development in Infancy: What Can We Do to Support Bilingual Families?

“…Regardless of whether they are developing typically or atypically, children's caregivers play a key role in providing crucial language experience (Casillas et al, 2020; De Houwer, 2007; Tsinivits & Unsworth, 2021). For example, the amount of infant-directed speech (Ramírez-Esparza et al, 2014) and turn-taking that children experience (Donnelly & Kidd, 2021) predicts their speech and language development.…”

Mehrsprachigkeit in der Frühen Bildung

“…Beispielsweise scheint auch die Sprachnutzung durch Geschwister Auswirkungen auf den Spracherwerb mehrsprachiger Kinder zu haben. So zeigen sich etwa bei mehrsprachig aufwachsenden Kindern im Vorschulalter etwa Zusammenhänge zwischen ihren Sprachleistungen in der Umgebungssprache und der Nutzungshäufigkeit der Umgebungssprache durch ältere Geschwister Sorenson-Duncan & Paradis, 2020;Tsinivits & Unsworth, 2021). Neben der familiären Sprachnutzung und dem sprachlichen Input, den ein Kind erfährt, ist auch der Sprachgebrauch des Kindes selbst ein wichtiger Einflussfaktor für den Spracherwerb.…”

Child Heritage Language Development: An Interplay Between Cross-Linguistic Influence and Language-External Factors

“…Rodina et al ( 2020 ) showed that several language-external factors such as family type (mixed family vs. HL-speaking parents), age, and current exposure to HL instruction are related to the HL development of grammatical gender in HL speakers with various SL properties. In contrast, Tsinivits and Unsworth ( 2021 ) showed that having an older sibling is related to the increased input of SL in the home setting, and hence higher SL abilities, yet having an older sibling was reported to have no effect on HL grammatical complexity. It should be noted that the input/exposure factors are related to language dominance/proficiency—children with more exposure/input to the language show higher dominance in that language (e.g., Treffers-Daller, 2019 ).…”