The lexical and narrative skills of 5-to-7-year-old typically developing Maltese children

Abstract

Acquisition of bilingual lexical and narrative skills is based on the integration of linguistic exposure and cognitive abilities (amongst others). Lexical and narrative skills continue to develop and become increasingly complex as the child grows older. Maltese-English bilingual children navigate two distinct language typologies which will impact the manner and proficiency with which bilingual language,specifically lexical and narrative skills, are acquired and applied in different contexts of interaction. This study aims to investigate the bilingual acquisition of lexical and narrative skills of 38 participants. Additionally, the study explores how they employed compensatory methods through code-switching and blending to compensate for lexical gaps. Participants exposed to both Maltese and English between the ages of 5 and 7, originating from a church school, were selected following signed parental consent. The children participated in a series of tasks which assess lexical skills via the use of Cross-Lingusitic Tasks (CLTs), and story retelling using the Language Assessment for Maltese Children (LAMC) – both conducted in Maltese and English. Additionally, a parental questionnaire was administered to gather information about language background and acquisition. Results from the CLTs showed higher proficiency in English, especially in noun comprehension, and limited verb production, especially in Maltese, supporting the idea that verbs may be language-specific. Narrative analysis also revealed English dominance which suggests that story structures are less language-dependant. The role of external factors that may influence children’s lexical and narrative skills is discussed. This study emphasizes the requirment for local bilingual language assessments to incorporate bilingual norms. Another key implication is the importance of clinical strategies to support and advocate for bilingual language development through adequate language exposure, parental involvement and guidance programs.