The receptive–expressive gap in the vocabulary of young second-language learners: Robustness and possible mechanisms

Abstract

Adults and children learning a second language show difficulty accessing expressive vocabulary that appears accessible receptively in their first language (L1). We call this discrepancy the receptive-expressive gap. Kindergarten Spanish (L1) -English (L2) sequential bilinguals were given standardized tests of receptive and expressive vocabulary in both Spanish and English. We found a small receptive-expressive gap in English but a large receptive-expressive gap in Spanish. We categorized children as having had high or low levels of English exposure based on demographic variables and found that the receptive-expressive gap persisted across both levels of English exposure. Regression analyses revealed that variables predicting both receptive and expressive vocabulary scores failed to predict the receptive-expressive gap. The results suggest that the onset of the receptive-expressive gap in L1 must have been abrupt. We discuss possible mechanisms underlying the phenomenon.Research to be reviewed here shows that learners immersed in a second language (L2) score higher on tests of receptive vocabulary than expressive vocabulary in their first language (L1). Even after controlling for the difference in difficulty between receptive and expressive vocabulary testing tasks, children appeared to have problems accessing their L1 expressive vocabulary. We term this systematically uneven relationship between receptive and expressive vocabulary the receptive-expressive gap.The receptive-expressive gap in bilinguals' L1 is thus counterintuitive and warrants further investigation to assess factors that may influence its occurrence. A first step is a characterization of the phenomenon's robustness, the strong tendency for the receptiveexpressive gap to persist across most children even after having been immersed in L2 for a relatively short period. The current work also considers speculations about causes of the receptive-expressive gap. Few researchers have focused on the receptive-expressive gap explicitly, but embedded in a variety of studies is evidence that this phenomenon is present across languages. Within this literature the evidence of a receptive-expressive gap pertains to children who start school or preschool with L1 skills only, and begin L2 learning in kindergarten (K) or preschool. We will begin with a review of relevant literature.

Improving the General Language Skills of Second-Language Learners in Kindergarten: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Furthermore, in light of the results showing that the challenges of L2 learners are particularly severe on expressive skills in the second language (Gibson et al, 2012), the children in our study may have had a greater potential for change in expressive skills. If we compare our results to other findings, the lack of effects on receptive language measures has also been the case in other studies on dialogic reading using a similar receptive vocabulary measure (PPVT-R; Dunn & Dunn, 1981;Whitehurst et al, 1994;Whitehurst et al, 1988).…”

“…Based on the rationale of a unitary core language construct, the most effective intervention to improve children's global language skills will presumably be to cover several aspects of language and include both expressive and receptive vocabulary, grammar, and syntax. However, although studies of monolingual children show that expressive and receptive language are highly related skills, it has been shown that the challenges for second-language learners are particularly significant in the area of expressive skills in the second language (Gibson, Oller, Jarmulowicz, & Ethington, 2012). This result speaks for having a particular focus on expressive language in an intervention.…”

Conceptual Scoring of Receptive and Expressive Vocabulary Measures in Simultaneous and Sequential Bilingual Children

“…The PPVT-III was selected over the more recent PPVT-IV because it is closer in form to the TVIP, which was adapted from the PPVT-R, but still represents improvements over the PPVT-R in reducing cultural bias. This combination of the PPVT-III and the TVIP has been used in recent studies of receptive vocabulary in Spanish-English bilingual children (e.g., Gibson et al, 2012; Hammer et al, 2008). To measure English expressive vocabulary, all children completed the Picture Vocabulary subtest of the Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement (Form A) (Woodcock, McGrew, & Mather, 2001).…”

“…For example, Hammer and colleagues (Hammer, Lawrence, & Miccio, 2008) documented differences between simultaneous and sequential bilinguals in their English and Spanish receptive vocabulary scores at the beginning and end of a two-year period in Head Start. During the school-age years, a phenomenon of shifting dominance has been documented in sequential bilinguals such that a gap emerges between their receptive and expressive skills in the home language, with continued receptive development and plateaued expressive skills (Gibson, Oller, Jarmulowicz, & Ethington, 2012; Hemsley et al, 2010; Kan & Kohnert, 2005; Oller et al, 2007; Sheng et al, 2011). However, previous studies of conceptual scoring have generally investigated either simultaneous or sequential bilinguals rather than drawing direct comparisons between the two groups.…”

Novel Morpheme Learning in Monolingual and Bilingual Children

“…However, we would argue that this conclusion is premature and is likely to be anchored to the use of expressive measures to index morpheme-learning performance. It is well known that bilingual children tend to make expressive gains in their L2 at a slower pace than receptive gains (e.g., Gibson, Oller, Jarmulowicz, & Ethington, 2012;Gibson, Peña, & Bedore, 2014;Junker & Stockman, 2002;Kan & Kohnert, 2005;Pearson, Fernandez, & Oller, 1993;Yan & Nicoladis, 2009). Therefore, it is highly likely that their ability to apply the newly acquired derivational morpheme to words in their second language expressively is strongly linked to their overall levels of expressive ability in their second language.…”