| This cross-sectional study was designed to investigate the interdependent structure between linguistic performance in Spanish and English and cognitive performance among bilingual preschoolers with differing home language environments. In addition, individual differences in bilingual child characteristics, especially age, were explored.; 42 bilingual preschoolers from Head Start and urban kindergarten programs who performed at or above a minimal level of proficiency in both Spanish and English on a sentence imitation task were selected for the study. Children were tested in three 30-minute sessions conducted in schools on separate days. Linguistic performance was assessed through four tasks of semantic comprehension and semantic production as well as morphological and metalinguistic performance, each administered in Spanish and English. Cognitive performance was measured through four levels of the perceptual-language distancing model using the Preschool Language Assessment Instrument. Primary caregivers were interviewed in their homes to obtain information about the children's home language environment. Verbal reports were rated on three sets of scales about the bilinguality, quality, and intensity of children's exposure to language in interpersonal and media situations of the home. Other measures characterizing bilingual children were obtained including age, gender, Spanish proficiency, English proficiency, and language dominance.; A common factor analysis (CFA) appropriate for small samples and other parametric and non-parametric statistical procedures were used to describe the data and to address specific research questions and hypotheses. Measures of English performance were associated with measures of cognitive performance, intensity of exposure to reading in the home, age, and language dominance. On the other hand, measures of Spanish performance were related to measures of bilinguality of exposure in interpersonal situations of the home, and language dominance. It was concluded that bilingual preschoolers sampled in a natural bilingual community were probably using and acquiring English in contexts that also fostered their cognitive development, such as the school. At the same time, the children appeared to be using Spanish primarily to interact verbally with significant others in the home. |
