Macrostructure in narratives produced by Lebanese Arabic-French bilingual children

Developmental trends and links with language dominance, exposure to narratives and lexical skills

Bibliographic Data

ID21201883
AuthorsRachel Fiani (0009-0001-6855-9885, Saint Joseph University), Guillemette Henry (Saint Joseph University), Philippe Prévost (0000-0002-6201-1800, Université de Tours)
Year2022
Volume12
Issue4
Pages446-478
Publication date2022-08-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueLinguistic Approaches to Bilingualism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1879-9264 • E-ISSN: 1879-9272
PublisherJohn Benjamins Publishing Company (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1075/lab.20035.fia
OpenAlexW3199556547
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited21

Studies of macrostructure in bilingual children investigated potential age and language effects, without systematically taking into account bilingualism factors such as language dominance, exposure to narratives, and general language abilities. These issues were addressed in a study of macrostructure production by 69 bilingual Lebanese Arabic-French children aged 4–9. The children were administered the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives in the tell mode and a standardized conceptual vocabulary test. Parental questionnaires were also used to gather information on language exposure and use. Age effects and limited effects of language were found for all measures of macrostructure production (story structure, structural complexity and use of internal state terms). Significant correlations arose between these measures, vocabulary scores, and age, and between structural complexity scores and language dominance. Regression analyses revealed the predictive role of vocabulary in the development of macrostructure. These results are compatible with the idea that macrostructure is not language dependent. They also suggest that minimal language skills are needed for expressing macrostructure. The limited impact of bilingualism factors could stem from the fact that French and Lebanese Arabic are majority languages in Lebanon, meaning that the children had received continuous exposure to both languages, including within the school system

Arabic · Biology · Developmental psychology · First language · Language development · Linguistics · Narrative · Neuroscience of multilingualism · Vocabulary · Language Development and Disorders · Neurobiology of Language and Bilingualism · Psychology · Reading and Literacy Development

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