Interdependence between L1 and L2 : The case of Syrian children with refugee backgrounds in Canada and the Netherlands
Blom, Elma 
(University of Utrecht. Department of Education and Pedagogy)
Soto-Corominas, Adriana 
(Universitat Internacional de Catalunya. Departament de Lingüística Aplicada)
Attar, Zahraa (Utrecht University. Department of Education and Pedagogy)
Daskalaki, Evangelia 
(University of Alberta. Department of Linguistic)
Paradis, Johanne 
(University of Alberta. Department of Linguistic)
| Date: |
2021 |
| Description: |
36 pàg. |
| Abstract: |
Children who are refugees become bilingual in circumstances that are often challenging and that can vary across national contexts. We investigated the second language (L2) syntactic skills of Syrian children aged 6-12 living in Canada (n = 56) and the Netherlands (n = 47). Our goal was to establish the impact of the first language (L1 = Syrian Arabic) skills on L2 (English, Dutch) outcomes and whether L1-L2 interdependence is influenced by the length of L2 exposure. To measure L1 and L2 syntactic skills, cross-linguistic Litmus Sentence Repetition Tasks (Litmus-SRTs) were used. Results showed evidence of L1-L2 interdependence, but interdependence may only surface after sufficient L2 exposure. Maternal education level and refugee camp experiences differed between the two samples. Both variables impacted L2 outcomes in the Canadian but not in the Dutch sample, demonstrating the importance to examine refugee children's bilingual language development in different national contexts. |
| Rights: |
Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.  |
| Language: |
Anglès |
| Document: |
Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada |
| Subject: |
Interdependence Hypothesis ;
Refugee children ;
L2 exposure ;
Sentence repetition ;
Transfer |
| Published in: |
Applied Psycholinguistics, Vol. 42 Núm. 5 (2021) , p. 1159-1194, ISSN 1469-1817 |
DOI: 10.1017/S0142716421000229
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Record created 2024-07-02, last modified 2024-10-17