Bilingualism changes language and literacy development, with morphological awareness and vocabulary as fundamental skills. This study tested whether experience with Chinese, which primarily uses compounds and lacks affixes, creates distinct pathways for acquiring English compound and affix awareness, thereby shaping their associations with English vocabulary. We tested Chinese-English-bilingual and English-monolingual preschoolers (N = 202, 3-to-5-year-olds) and built two path models. Model 1 included bilinguals and revealed that English affix awareness was primarily explained by cumulative English exposure (% English-input) and associated with vocabulary, while English compound awareness was predicted by Chinese compound proficiency and unrelated to vocabulary. Model 2 compared between groups, revealing significant associations between English vocabulary and both types of morphological awareness for monolinguals, whereas bilinguals only showed significance for affix awareness. Findings suggest that Chinese-English-bilingual and English-monolingual children show distinct morphological development patterns. Importantly, awareness of affixes, a rare feature in Chinese, is crucial for Chinese-English-bilinguals’ English vocabulary.

Despite growing numbers of bilingual children acquiring Chinese in early childhood, little is known about emergent Chinese literacy before formal instruction. We examined 116 Beijing kindergarteners: 79 early Chinese-learning bilinguals from diverse non-Mandarin L1 backgrounds (ages 2–5) and 37 native Chinese peers (ages 4–5). Experiment 1 revealed asymmetric age-related patterns in the bilingual children: phonological knowledge (character–syllable mappings) was above chance by age 2, while visual-graphic discrimination remained at chance until age 4, then reached near ceiling by age 5. Experiment 2 compared 40 of these children (ages 4–5) with native peers on literacy measures. Bilinguals achieved native-like orthographic awareness (d = .11) despite significant gaps in word reading (d = 1.05), vocabulary (d = 1.13), phonological awareness (d = 1.29), morphological awareness (d = 1.33) and rapid naming (d = 1.28). Vocabulary uniquely predicted reading for both groups (β = .53), highlighting its critical role in early L2 Chinese literacy.

Collocational congruency relates to the degree of form-meaning overlap between an L2 collocation and its L1 translation. Congruency effect research consistently shows that low-proficiency language learners respond more slowly and less accurately than their higher-proficiency counterparts to collocations that are incongruent between the L1 and L2, rendering congruency an important quality for applied psycholinguistic collocation research. However, determining whether a given collocation is congruent is typically a binary decision based on expert judgment, which raises concerns regarding subjectivity and consistency. This study presents a data re-analysis of Wolter and Yamashita (2018) to compare expert judgment with two alternative continuous measures of collocational congruency that account for some collocations being “more congruent” than others: corpus-derived frequency and norming study data. The results indicate that while expert judgment is necessary, it is insufficient for reliably defining collocational congruency due to misclassification and multicollinearity issues. Terminological inconsistency was also identified regarding the precise definition of collocational congruency. Crucially, corpus-derived frequency emerged as a more effective complement to expert judgment than norming study data, the latter being resource-intensive and lacking adequate psychometric properties. From these findings, a set of best practice suggestions emerged to assist collocation researchers in identifying congruent and incongruent items.

Visual impairment (VI) affects around 2.2 billion people globally (World Health Organization, 2019). VI language learners need strong vocabulary knowledge as much as sighted (SI) learners, yet little is known about how different instruction types impact their vocabulary development. In this study, 16 VI and 16 SI learners of English were taught 60 vocabulary items counterbalanced through two aural input methods: codeswitching (CS), giving first language (L1) explanations, and aural input manipulation (AIM) with CS (AIMCS), where increased volume emphasized words alongside CS explanations. Pre-, post-, and delayed post-tests indicated that AIMCS led to better short-term vocabulary retention for both groups, with no significant differences longer term. VI learners benefited more overall, and learners with lower initial vocabulary showed the greatest gains. Listening proficiency moderated the effects, with AIMCS offering greater short-term benefits for learners with higher listening proficiency. The study suggests AIMCS enhances short-term vocabulary learning, particularly for VI learners, but listening proficiency is critical.

How much information do we need when estimating multilingual children’s relative language exposure? In the current study, we compared three different estimates at varying levels of detail: (i) global estimates per language, (ii) the average of per-speaker estimates, weighted for the time the child spends with each speaker, and (iii) estimates obtained using the Experience Sampling Method, which consisted of five surveys a day across 7 days. Data were collected from 102 multilingual children (ages 3–9 years) in the Netherlands. We found that the three exposure estimates were highly correlated and that there were only small differences in how well they correlated with children’s vocabulary knowledge. Discrepancies between estimates were largely unrelated to participant characteristics such as children’s age or the number of languages spoken at home. We conclude that the simplest estimates (i.e. global estimates) may be sufficiently reliable as a measure of multilingual children’s language exposure at home.

This study investigates the impact of socio-economic status (SES) on children’s vocabulary, focusing on the distinction between vocabulary breadth (number of words known) and vocabulary depth (quality of word knowledge). It aims to determine whether SES affects both dimensions equally and whether the relationship between SES and vocabulary depth is mediated by vocabulary breadth. Participants were 219 children schooled in France in fourth and fifth grades who had French as their dominant language. Analyses showed that SES significantly influences vocabulary breadth, as predicted by previous research. Importantly, it also impacts vocabulary depth. Mediation analysis revealed that vocabulary breadth can mediate this effect depending on the task used to measure vocabulary depth.

This study presents the creation and validation of LexEst, a short 5-minute test to assess vocabulary knowledge in Estonian. Our freely accessible test consists of 90 items and is designed for L2 speakers of Estonian. LexEst is modeled after the original Lexical Test for Advanced Learners of English. Similarly to other test variants, our test has been adapted to assess vocabulary knowledge at varying proficiency levels. Our findings demonstrate that LexEst provides an objective measure of the Estonian vocabulary of L2 learners, aligning well with subjective language proficiency indicators, such as self-assessed skills. In addition, higher LexEst scores and shorter response times are associated with higher CEFR-level language courses and a greater daily use of Estonian. Higher LexEst scores are also associated with an earlier age of acquisition in Estonian and a higher perceived importance of learning Estonian.

How do sensory experiences shape the words we learn first? Most studies of language have focused on hearing children learning spoken languages, making it challenging to know how sound and language modality might contribute to language learning. This study investigates how perceptual and semantic features influence early vocabulary acquisition in deaf children learning American Sign Language and hearing children learning spoken English. Using vocabulary data from parent-report inventories, we analyzed 214 nouns common to both languages to compare the types of meanings associated with earlier Age of Acquisition. Results revealed that while children in both groups were earlier to acquire words that were more strongly related to the senses, the specific types of sensory meaning varied by language modality. Hearing children learned words with sound-related features earlier than other words, while deaf children learned words with visual and touch-related features earlier. This suggests that the easiest words to learn are words with meanings that children can experience first-hand, which varies based on children’s own sensory access and experience. Studying the diverse ways children acquire language, in this case deaf children, is key to developing language learning theories that reflect all learners.

This longitudinal study investigates the development and interrelation of adolescent learners’ L2 English vocabulary knowledge and extramural English (EE) input. The study examines the longitudinal development of L2 English receptive vocabulary knowledge, EE input and the dynamics between L2 proficiency and EE input. Data were collected at four time points by administering vocabulary tests and questionnaires on EE activities. Generalized additive mixed models and growth curve models indicated significant vocabulary growth, particularly in the early years of secondary school, which slowed down toward the end of the study. EE activities such as gaming, social media and reading positively predicted vocabulary development, while watching television with L1 subtitles had a negative effect. Temporal network analysis revealed reciprocal relationships, suggesting that L2 proficiency influences EE input and vice versa. The findings underscore the importance of EE in L2 vocabulary development and highlight the dynamic interplay between language learning and extramural activities.

Early language development has rarely been studied in hearing children with deaf parents who are exposed to both a spoken and a signed language (bimodal bilinguals). This study presents longitudinal data of early communication and vocabulary development in a group of 31 hearing infants exposed to British Sign Language (BSL) and spoken English, at 6 months, 15 months, 24 months and 7 years, in comparison with monolinguals (exposed to English) and unimodal bilinguals (exposed to two spoken languages). No differences were observed in early communication or vocabulary development between bimodal bilinguals and monolinguals, but greater early communicative skills in infancy were found in bimodal bilinguals compared to unimodal bilinguals. Within the bimodal bilingual group, BSL and English vocabulary sizes were positively related. These data provide a healthy picture of early language acquisition in those learning a spoken and signed language simultaneously from birth.