Joanna Kolak
Biographic Data
| ID | 4609661 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Joanna Kolak |
| GIVEN NAMES | Joanna |
| FAMILY NAME | Kolak |
| SIGNATURE | KOLAK J |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Salford |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2689-7103 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 10 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 0 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 10 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2012 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 0 |
Bilingual children reach early language milestones at the same age as monolingual peers
In this longitudinal study, we compare the age of reaching early developmental milestones in bilingual and monolingual children and between the bilinguals’ two languages. We present data from 302 Polish bilinguals (living outside of Poland with various majority languages) and 302 Polish monolinguals, aged M = 12.78 months on study entry (range: 0 – 24 months), matched on sex, age at study entry, duration of parental reporting, and parental educat…
Searching for words: Picture Naming Errors and Contributing Factors in Bilingual and Monolingual Children Aged 3–7 Years
To investigate how children organise their vocabularies, we can analysethe errors they make when unable to retrieve a word. Analysis ofnaming errors has not been sufficiently explored in the first language (L1) of bilingual children. We employed a picture naming task toinvestigate the types of errors made by 142 bilingual and 119monolingual children aged 3-7 years. Children named actions andobjects in their L1 (Polish). We categorised children’s …
Bilinguals’ knowledge of ‘home’ and ‘school’ words revisited: Evidence from Polish-English bilinguals
Bilingual children’s total vocabulary in each of their languages is oftensmaller than that of monolinguals. In their seminal study, Bialystok et al.(2010. ‘Receptive vocabulary differences in monolingual and bilingualchildren.’ Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 13 (4): 525-531) dividedchildren’s vocabulary into ‘home’ and ‘school’ words and found nodifferences in bilinguals’ knowledge of ‘school’ words compared tomonolinguals. In Study 1, we a…
Metacognitive verbs do not show a cross-language gap: An investigation of metacognitive and concrete verbs in bilingual children
Purpose: Previous research on bilingual vocabulary has focussed largely on words for imaginable objects and actions (e.g., ‘apple’, ‘write’), but did not consider abstract words. We looked for a disproportion across two languages (a cross-language gap) in bilingual children’s knowledge of concrete verbs (e.g., ‘jump’, ‘drink’) and metacognitive verbs (e.g., ‘think’, ‘know’). We also investigated the effects of language exposure and age on bilingu…
Language in educational apps for pre-schoolers. A comparison of grammatical constructions and psycholinguistic features in apps, books and child directed speech
Language in touchscreen apps could be useful as an additional source of children’s language input, alongside child directed speech (CDS) and books. Here we performed the first analysis of language in apps, as compared with books and CDS. We analysed language in 18 of the most popular educational apps targeting pre-schoolers and compared their language content to children’s books and CDS with respect to types of constructions and psycholinguistic …
Word knowledge and lexical access in monolingual and bilingual migrant children: Impact of word properties
Word knowledge and the speed of word processing in monolingual children and adults are influenced by word properties, such as the age of acquisition (AoA), imageability, and frequency. Understanding how different properties of words contribute to the ease of processing by bilingual children is a critical step for establishing models of childhood bilingualism. However, a joint impact of these properties has not been so far assessed in bilingual ch…
Selecting educational apps for preschool children: How useful are website app rating systems
In the present paper, we assess whether website rating systems are useful for selecting educational apps for preschool age children. We selected the 10 highest scoring and 10 lowest scoring apps for 2–4‐year‐olds from two widely used websites (Good App Guide; Common Sense Media). Apps rated highly by the two websites had a higher educational potential as assessed by a validated questionnaire for evaluating the educational potential of apps and we…
Developing evaluation tools for assessing the educational potential of apps for preschool children in the UK
Selecting high-quality apps can be challenging for caregivers and educators. We here develop tools evaluating educational potential of apps for preschool children. In Study 1, we developed two complementary evaluation tools tailored to different audiences. We grounded them in developmental theory and linked them to research on children’s experience with digital media. In Study 2 we applied these tools to a wide sample of apps in order to illustra…
Picture-based vocabulary assessment versus parental questionnaires: A cross-linguistic study of bilingual assessment methods
Purpose: As a contribution to the endeavour of developing appropriate tools for bilingual language assessment, this paper investigates the concurrence between two new tools from the recent COST Action IS0804 (Bi-SLI), and the differences between children across two different migrant communities. Approach: Two new tools from the battery Language Impairment Testing in Multilingual Settings (LITMUS) were used: the direct assessment tool Cross-lingui…
Dwujęzyczność u progu edukacji szkolnej – interdyscyplinarny projekt badawczy
The paper describes a Polish research project which aims at creating a cognitive and linguistic profile of the Polish-English bilingual child at the school entrance age. With the increase in the number of bilingual children due to economic migrations, researchers, educators and practitioners are often faced with diagnostic dilemmas which arise from similarities in bilingual language acquisition in natural settings and Specific Language Impairment…
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Dwujęzyczność u progu edukacji szkolnej – interdyscyplinarny projekt badawczy
The paper describes a Polish research project which aims at creating a cognitive and linguistic profile of the Polish-English bilingual child at the school entrance age. With the increase in the number of bilingual children due to economic migrations, researchers, educators and practitioners are often faced with diagnostic dilemmas which arise from similarities in bilingual language acquisition in natural settings and Specific Language Impairment…
Picture-based vocabulary assessment versus parental questionnaires: A cross-linguistic study of bilingual assessment methods
Purpose: As a contribution to the endeavour of developing appropriate tools for bilingual language assessment, this paper investigates the concurrence between two new tools from the recent COST Action IS0804 (Bi-SLI), and the differences between children across two different migrant communities. Approach: Two new tools from the battery Language Impairment Testing in Multilingual Settings (LITMUS) were used: the direct assessment tool Cross-lingui…
Developing evaluation tools for assessing the educational potential of apps for preschool children in the UK
Selecting high-quality apps can be challenging for caregivers and educators. We here develop tools evaluating educational potential of apps for preschool children. In Study 1, we developed two complementary evaluation tools tailored to different audiences. We grounded them in developmental theory and linked them to research on children’s experience with digital media. In Study 2 we applied these tools to a wide sample of apps in order to illustra…
Word knowledge and lexical access in monolingual and bilingual migrant children: Impact of word properties
Word knowledge and the speed of word processing in monolingual children and adults are influenced by word properties, such as the age of acquisition (AoA), imageability, and frequency. Understanding how different properties of words contribute to the ease of processing by bilingual children is a critical step for establishing models of childhood bilingualism. However, a joint impact of these properties has not been so far assessed in bilingual ch…
Selecting educational apps for preschool children: How useful are website app rating systems
In the present paper, we assess whether website rating systems are useful for selecting educational apps for preschool age children. We selected the 10 highest scoring and 10 lowest scoring apps for 2–4‐year‐olds from two widely used websites (Good App Guide; Common Sense Media). Apps rated highly by the two websites had a higher educational potential as assessed by a validated questionnaire for evaluating the educational potential of apps and we…
Language in educational apps for pre-schoolers. A comparison of grammatical constructions and psycholinguistic features in apps, books and child directed speech
Language in touchscreen apps could be useful as an additional source of children’s language input, alongside child directed speech (CDS) and books. Here we performed the first analysis of language in apps, as compared with books and CDS. We analysed language in 18 of the most popular educational apps targeting pre-schoolers and compared their language content to children’s books and CDS with respect to types of constructions and psycholinguistic …
Metacognitive verbs do not show a cross-language gap: An investigation of metacognitive and concrete verbs in bilingual children
Purpose: Previous research on bilingual vocabulary has focussed largely on words for imaginable objects and actions (e.g., ‘apple’, ‘write’), but did not consider abstract words. We looked for a disproportion across two languages (a cross-language gap) in bilingual children’s knowledge of concrete verbs (e.g., ‘jump’, ‘drink’) and metacognitive verbs (e.g., ‘think’, ‘know’). We also investigated the effects of language exposure and age on bilingu…
Searching for words: Picture Naming Errors and Contributing Factors in Bilingual and Monolingual Children Aged 3–7 Years
To investigate how children organise their vocabularies, we can analysethe errors they make when unable to retrieve a word. Analysis ofnaming errors has not been sufficiently explored in the first language (L1) of bilingual children. We employed a picture naming task toinvestigate the types of errors made by 142 bilingual and 119monolingual children aged 3-7 years. Children named actions andobjects in their L1 (Polish). We categorised children’s …
Bilinguals’ knowledge of ‘home’ and ‘school’ words revisited: Evidence from Polish-English bilinguals
Bilingual children’s total vocabulary in each of their languages is oftensmaller than that of monolinguals. In their seminal study, Bialystok et al.(2010. ‘Receptive vocabulary differences in monolingual and bilingualchildren.’ Bilingualism: Language and Cognition 13 (4): 525-531) dividedchildren’s vocabulary into ‘home’ and ‘school’ words and found nodifferences in bilinguals’ knowledge of ‘school’ words compared tomonolinguals. In Study 1, we a…
Bilingual children reach early language milestones at the same age as monolingual peers
In this longitudinal study, we compare the age of reaching early developmental milestones in bilingual and monolingual children and between the bilinguals’ two languages. We present data from 302 Polish bilinguals (living outside of Poland with various majority languages) and 302 Polish monolinguals, aged M = 12.78 months on study entry (range: 0 – 24 months), matched on sex, age at study entry, duration of parental reporting, and parental educat…
Psychology (10 works) · Linguistics (8 works) · Language Development and Disorders (6 works) · Neuroscience of multilingualism (5 works) · Cognition (4 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · Developmental psychology (4 works) · Reading and Literacy Development (4 works) · Child Development and Digital Technology (3 works) · Mathematics education (3 works)