Bilingual Children's Self-Assessment of Spanish and English Proficiency and Bilingual Experiences: A Longitudinal Study
Janelle Beth Flores, Anny Castilla-EarlsPurpose:
This study explored the changes in Spanish–English bilingual children's self-reports of proficiency over time.
Method:
Multilevel modeling, specifically growth analyses, was conducted using longitudinal data drawn from the Houston Questionnaire, a self-report measure of bilingual children's proficiency and experience. At the onset of the study, the sample included 113 Spanish–English bilingual children aged 4–8 years. The association of bilingual experiences and children's gender as predictors was each examined to determine its effect on self-reports of proficiency.
Results:
The analyses revealed a statistically significant decrease in bilingual children's self-reported Spanish proficiency over time as age increased. For English, girls demonstrated statistically significantly higher self-reports of proficiency compared with boys. Age was only a significant predictor of Spanish self-reports of proficiency when gender was included in the model. Additionally, bilingual experiences were associated with changes in self-reports of Spanish (decreased Spanish proficiency when experiences in Spanish were reported to be low) and English (increased English proficiency when English experiences were reported to be high).
Conclusions:
Bilingual children's Spanish self-reports of proficiency decreased over time. Additionally, bilingual experiences seem to impact bilingual children's self-reports of proficiency. Insights into language proficiency and experiences may aid in improving assessment procedures for speech-language pathologists. Future research is needed to explore other bilingual populations and factors contributing to changes in self-reported proficiency.
Supplemental Material: