Narrative Competence in Narrative Competence in Monolingual and Bilingual Monolingual and Bilingual

School ChildrenSchool Children

Barbara Zurer PearsonBarbara Zurer PearsonUniversity of MassachusettsUniversity of Massachusetts

University of Miami Bilingualism Study GroupUniversity of Miami Bilingualism Study Group

1988-19981988-1998

With special thanks to RAs:With special thanks to RAs:

Patti Ortega, Ana Ferrer, Yael Patti Ortega, Ana Ferrer, Yael Wiesner, Esperanza Rodriguez, Wiesner, Esperanza Rodriguez,

and a host of UM students and a host of UM students (all of whom spoke much better Spanish than I did--and (all of whom spoke much better Spanish than I did--and

without whom I could not have studied narrative).without whom I could not have studied narrative).

QuestionsQuestions::

? Linguality: ? Linguality: ML > BLML > BL? IMS: Two-way > EI? IMS: Two-way > EI

?for Hi-SES?for Hi-SES?for Lo-SES?for Lo-SES

? Interdependence:? Interdependence:L1 predict L2L1 predict L2

The Core DesignThe Core Design

Monolinguals BilingualsMonolinguals Bilinguals

Hi Lo

English Immersion Two-Way

ESH OSH ESH OSH

SES

Hi Lo Hi Lo Hi Lo Hi Lo

Replicated at Kindergarten, 2nd and 5th Grades

Contribution of Narrative AnalysesContribution of Narrative Analyses::

1. Can HEAR the children. (They’re not just 1. Can HEAR the children. (They’re not just “scores.”)“scores.”)

2. A SINGLE task combining both oral 2. A SINGLE task combining both oral language and the demands of literate language and the demands of literate language.language.

3. Encourage longer responses: more 3. Encourage longer responses: more revealing than single word or short phrases revealing than single word or short phrases of the Woodcock-Johnson.of the Woodcock-Johnson.

Findings from Narrative AnalysesFindings from Narrative Analyses::

ML > BL ML > BL (mostly)(mostly)Two-way = EI Two-way = EI (partly)(partly)

in English Two-way in English Two-way = EI= EIin Spanish Two-way in Spanish Two-way > EI> EI

L1 predict L2L1 predict L2 oral language oral language NoNo literacy literacy YesYes

SAMPLE STORIES (4)SAMPLE STORIES (4)::Handout from page 144-145 of LLBC Handout from page 144-145 of LLBC (and on CHILDES archive and in SALT, U WI)(and on CHILDES archive and in SALT, U WI)

400+ stories400+ stories10 each from all cells of 210 each from all cells of 2ndnd and 5 and 5thth graders graders

80 ML 80 ML160 BL in English160 BL in English160 BL in Spanish160 BL in Spanish

+ 24 “2+ 24 “2ndnd stories” from MLs (to test the effect of stories” from MLs (to test the effect of telling the story twice).telling the story twice).

Frog, Where are You? Frog, Where are You? By M. Mayer (Dial 1969)By M. Mayer (Dial 1969)

Story 1Story 1

1.1. The dog – looked in – the bottle and looked at The dog – looked in – the bottle and looked at the frog. the frog.

2.2. And the boy was sitting on a chair, and his – And the boy was sitting on a chair, and his – sock and his shirt was laying on the floor.sock and his shirt was laying on the floor.

3.3. And the light was on, and the window was And the light was on, and the window was opened….opened….

4.4. When – {the} the boy and the dog were When – {the} the boy and the dog were sleeping – the frog – stuck his head out with his sleeping – the frog – stuck his head out with his head and his arm – out of the bottle.head and his arm – out of the bottle.

Story 2Story 2

1.1. One day a boy and his dog had found a One day a boy and his dog had found a frog.frog.

2.2. They kept him in the big jar.They kept him in the big jar.3.3. While the boy was asleep, the frog While the boy was asleep, the frog

climbed out of the jar and ran away.climbed out of the jar and ran away.4.4. When the boy woke up the next morning, When the boy woke up the next morning,

he was very upset to see his frog missing.he was very upset to see his frog missing.5.5. He searched everywhere. In boots … and He searched everywhere. In boots … and

he turned over tables.he turned over tables.

Story 3Story 3

1.1. Once there was a little boy with his little dog.Once there was a little boy with his little dog.

2.2. It was already night time. They were looking at It was already night time. They were looking at the little frog. the little frog.

3.3. The little boy – and his dog went to sleep.The little boy – and his dog went to sleep.

4.4. The frog – wanted to go out to see {the w} the The frog – wanted to go out to see {the w} the world.world.

5.5. So he came out of the little – can.So he came out of the little – can.

6.6. It was morning already. The puppy and the boy It was morning already. The puppy and the boy looked to the – can and saw {that their} that the looked to the – can and saw {that their} that the frog was not there.frog was not there.

Story 4Story 4

1.1. One day there was a boy ‘n a frog and a One day there was a boy ‘n a frog and a dog.dog.

2.2. And then while the boy sleeps, {he}… And then while the boy sleeps, {he}… the frog came out.the frog came out.

3.3. And then when he wake up, the dog and And then when he wake up, the dog and the boy, the frog was gone.the boy, the frog was gone.

4.4. He found everywhere and the dog – found He found everywhere and the dog – found – almost found in the bucket.– almost found in the bucket.

5.5. And the boy was calling to the frog.And the boy was calling to the frog.

So…..?So…..?

Which one is a good story?Which one is a good story? Which one is not good?Which one is not good? Which are from bilinguals? monolinguals?Which are from bilinguals? monolinguals?

Motivation to split the task back up into Motivation to split the task back up into

ORAL LANGUAGE (“Language” Score)ORAL LANGUAGE (“Language” Score)&& LITERATE LANGUAGE (“Story” Score)LITERATE LANGUAGE (“Story” Score)

Oral Language Element ExamplesOral Language Element Examples

11 22 33 44

fluencyfluency -- … {}-- … {} Pause for Pause for effecteffect

For word-For word-findingfinding

-- {}-- {}

vocabvocab exampleexample

BottleBottle vs Jarvs Jar vs Canvs Can vs vs BucketBucket

Found xxFound xx

Morpho-Morpho-syntactic syntactic accuracyaccuracy

[they] [they] was was layinglaying

looked looked TO the TO the can can

(boy with (boy with his dog)his dog)

Boy Boy sleeps, sleeps, he wake he wake upup

Narrative Element ExamplesNarrative Element Examples

11 22 33 44

orientationorientation nonenone One One day..had day..had foundfound

Once Once there wasthere was

One dayOne day

Affective/ Affective/ cognitive cognitive infoinfo

nonenone

(stuck (stuck head out)head out)

upset; upset; saw frog saw frog missing; missing; searchedsearched

wanted to wanted to see the see the world; saw world; saw the frog the frog not therenot there

nonenone

Temporal Temporal linkslinks

““whenwhen22” ” clauseclause

““while”while”

““whenwhen11””

no clausesno clauses

““already” already” “night-“night-morning”morning”

““while” while” + wrong + wrong tense; tense; “when“when11””

What about “Complex Syntax”?What about “Complex Syntax”?

Grammatical devices Grammatical devices (language)(language) to introduce to introduce complexity and point of view complexity and point of view (story)(story)

In English In English Complement clauses: Complement clauses: “ “he saw he saw that the frog was not therethat the frog was not there.”.”Non-finite verbs:Non-finite verbs: “ “was was upset to seeupset to see his frog his frog missingmissing.”.”Relative Clauses: Relative Clauses: “ “the boy the boy who had the frog who had the frog woke up”woke up”

In SpanishIn SpanishPerfect tenses: “vio que habi’an salido otras ranitas”Perfect tenses: “vio que habi’an salido otras ranitas” [[he saw that HAD COME OUT other frogshe saw that HAD COME OUT other frogs]]Subjunctive: “dijo que Subjunctive: “dijo que se callarase callara”” [[he said that he was-to-be-quiethe said that he was-to-be-quiet]]

““Complex Syntax” (cont’d)Complex Syntax” (cont’d)

““Between Clauses”Between Clauses”CausalCausal conjunctions: conjunctions:

“ “in order to”; “so that he could...”in order to”; “so that he could...”

Adverbs of Adverbs of simultaneitysimultaneity::

“ “while”; “whenwhile”; “when22””

RetrospectiveRetrospective reference: reference:

“ “still”; “already”; “todavia”still”; “already”; “todavia”

““Language” or “Story” or both?Language” or “Story” or both?

Findings from Narrative AnalysesFindings from Narrative Analyses::(review)(review)

ML > BL ML > BL (mostly)(mostly)Two-way = EI Two-way = EI (partly)(partly)L1 predict L2L1 predict L2 oral language oral language NoNo literacy literacy YesYes

Question 1: ML outperform BLs (Question 1: ML outperform BLs (mostlymostly) ) -- but not equally in all aspects of the -- but not equally in all aspects of the task.task.

Remake fig 7.1 (p. 154) to emphasize story score equivalence Remake fig 7.1 (p. 154) to emphasize story score equivalence and language score discrepancies.and language score discrepancies.

First for 2First for 2ndnd grade. grade.Next page for 5Next page for 5thth grade . (heading: language gap narrows by grade . (heading: language gap narrows by

55thth grade.) grade.)Next page (heading: Language gap closes at HiSES, ESH: table Next page (heading: Language gap closes at HiSES, ESH: table

7.10 p. 158.)7.10 p. 158.)Next page: most persistent ML BL difference is in MS accuracy Next page: most persistent ML BL difference is in MS accuracy

fig 7.6 (p. 160) (“kids that don’t talk so good can’t think so fig 7.6 (p. 160) (“kids that don’t talk so good can’t think so good” (but we saw in the story exerpts that that is not good” (but we saw in the story exerpts that that is not true, at least not in a circumstance of on-going “2true, at least not in a circumstance of on-going “2ndnd language learning”language learning”

Question 1a: MLs outperform BLs (Question 1a: MLs outperform BLs (mostlymostly).).

(ML red/ BL blue 2nd gr solid/ 5th grade bars

30

40

50

60

70

80

ML-HiSES

BL-HiSES

ML-LoSES

BL-LoSES

En

glis

h T

ota

l (o

f 96

)

Grade 2

Grade 5

Question 1b: MLs outperform BLs (Question 1b: MLs outperform BLs (mostlymostly)– )– Not equally in all aspects of the taskNot equally in all aspects of the task Story scores more equivalent; Story scores more equivalent; Most discrepancy in the Language ScoreMost discrepancy in the Language Score . .

2nd grade

Story vs LanguageStory Scores (English)--Grade 2

BL (line) vs ML (bars: Hi & Lo SES)

15

20

25

30

35

40

HI-OSHEng.Imm.

BL

HI-ESH LO-OSH

LO-ESH

HI-OSHTwo-WayBL

HI-ESH LO-OSH

LO-ESH

Po

ints

(o

f 48

)

Language Scores (English)--Grade 2BL (line) vs ML (bars: Hi & Lo SES)

152025303540

HI-OSHEng.Imm.

BL

HI-ESH LO-OSH

LO-ESH

HI-OSHTwo-WayBL

HI-ESH LO-OSH

LO-ESH

Po

ints

(o

f 48

)

Question 1c: MLs outperform BLs (Question 1c: MLs outperform BLs (mostlymostly)– )– Less so in the long termLess so in the long term..

5th grade: ML/BL gap narrows

Story Language Score

Story Scores (English)--Grade 5BL (line) vs ML (bars: Hi & Lo SES)

152025303540

HI-OSHEng.Imm.

BL

HI-ESH LO-OSH

LO-ESH

HI-OSHTwo-WayBL

HI-ESH LO-OSH

LO-ESH

Po

ints

(o

f 48

)

Language Scores (English)--Grade 5BL (line) vs ML (bars: Hi & Lo SES)

152025

303540

HI-OSHEng.Imm.

BL

HI-ESH LO-OSH

LO-ESH

HI-OSHTwo-WayBL

HI-ESH LO-OSH

LO-ESH

Po

ints

(o

f 48

)

Complex Syntax (English)

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

Grade 2 Grade 5

Frog Story Lexicon

4

6

8

10

12

Grade 2 Grade 5

MS-Accuracy

4

6

8

10

12

Grade 2 Grade 5

Q1d

Most persistent ML/ BL gap in MS Accuracy

(Story Lexicon and Complex Syntax “catch-up”)

Question 1e: ML outperform BLs – but Question 1e: ML outperform BLs – but Gap in Total Score closes at HiSES, ESHGap in Total Score closes at HiSES, ESH

Simple Effect -- LingualitySimple Effect -- Linguality

Frog TotalFrog Total MLML BLBL

nn M M nn M M FF pp

All 2All 2ndnd grade grade 4040 63.063.0 7979 51.351.3 35.635.6 .01*.01*

All 5All 5thth grade grade 4040 67.367.3 8181 64.464.4 3.293.29 .07.07

55thth gr; HiSES gr; HiSES 2020 70.670.6 4040 67.067.0 2.592.59 .11.11

5:HiSes;ESH5:HiSes;ESH 2020 70.670.6 2020 68.068.0 0.980.98 .33.33

Hypothesis 2: 2-Way = EI (partly)IN ENGLISH yes: Remake figure 7.4 p. 159 w/o MLs; make

companion graph for Story ScoreNext page: look at MS Accuracy-Lex-and comp. syntax for 2-

way vs EI 2nd to 5th (from scratch??)Next page: the interaction with SES and Language at home

(figure 7.8 p. 162)Next page: IN SPANISH no: 2-Way > EI: figure 7.9 (p. 165)

bigger difference is in Home Language

Question 2a: EI = 2-wayQuestion 2a: EI = 2-way ( (partlypartly)– )– In ENGLISH: YESIn ENGLISH: YES..

(EI green, 2-way blue)

Story Language

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Grade 2 Grade 5

Lan

gu

age

Sco

re (

of

48)

EI

Two-way

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Grade 2 Grade 5

Sto

ry S

core

(o

f 48

)

EI

2-way

Question 2b: EI = 2-wayQuestion 2b: EI = 2-way ( (partlypartly)– )– In SPANISH: NOIn SPANISH: NO..

(EI green, 2-way blue) (OSH orange, ESH brown)

IMS LSH

40

44

48

52

56

Grade 2 Grade 5

Na

rra

tiv

e T

ota

l (o

f 9

6)

Sp Only

Sp & Eng

40

44

48

52

56

Grade 2 Grade 5

Na

rra

tiv

e T

ota

l (o

f 9

6)

English Imm.

Two-way

Q2 b (con’t)Q2 b (con’t)

That is, That is, For English IMS has little effect. SES For English IMS has little effect. SES

the biggest factor. the biggest factor. LLBC p. 156LLBC p. 156

In Spanish, IMS has largest effect. In Spanish, IMS has largest effect. SES has little effect; LSH less potent SES has little effect; LSH less potent than IMS.than IMS. LLBC p. 164LLBC p. 164

Question 3a: L1 predicts L2 In Literacy Measures--YES

Cross Language Correlations

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

Pe

ars

on

r

Question 3b L1 predicts L2 In Oral Language-- NO

Cross Language Correlations

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

Pe

ars

on

r

Q3c A note about story length Despite .43 correlation to Narrative Score, length is NOT a clear measure of story quality. ie. Story quality is better at 5th grade for everyone, BLs’ stories are getting longer; MLs’ are getting shorter.

MLs tell BETTER stories with fewer words (and presumably, eventually the bilinguals will too.)

# of words per story

150

200

250

300

350

Grade 2 Grade 5

ML

BL

Summary of Narrative Analysis Summary of Narrative Analysis Results Results

Mirror the results from the Standardized Mirror the results from the Standardized tests: tests:

EI = 2 way in English; 2-way > EI in EI = 2 way in English; 2-way > EI in SpanishSpanish

• language of the home advantage for ESH language of the home advantage for ESH (in English) disappears by 5(in English) disappears by 5thth grade; grade; language of the home advantage for OSH language of the home advantage for OSH (in Spanish) persists for oral language, (in Spanish) persists for oral language, NOT narrative skills (where IMS and SES NOT narrative skills (where IMS and SES are more potent influences).are more potent influences).

Key Contribution of Narrative Key Contribution of Narrative Analysis Results Analysis Results

Despite language deficits in lexicon and MS-Despite language deficits in lexicon and MS-accuracy relative to ML peers, BLs demonstrated accuracy relative to ML peers, BLs demonstrated age-appropriate skill in these DIFFICULT narrative age-appropriate skill in these DIFFICULT narrative tasks:tasks:

Creating a unified plotCreating a unified plot Motivating events through reference to internal Motivating events through reference to internal

statesstates Providing narrator’s comments on the unfolding Providing narrator’s comments on the unfolding

storystory Using compound time-referencingUsing compound time-referencing Using embedded structures which distinguished Using embedded structures which distinguished

their own thoughts from those of the characterstheir own thoughts from those of the characters

Limitations of Narrative Analysis Limitations of Narrative Analysis Results Results

Not standardized; hard to replicate our Not standardized; hard to replicate our scoring system, which would need to be scoring system, which would need to be simplified to be practical.simplified to be practical.

Our subjects not the best bilinguals, Our subjects not the best bilinguals, possibly not representative of most possibly not representative of most bilinguals. (Spanish surprisingly weak.)bilinguals. (Spanish surprisingly weak.)

• All born in US (avoided Age-of-arrival All born in US (avoided Age-of-arrival variable), but children speak a “contact” variety: most variable), but children speak a “contact” variety: most BLs in Miami have non-native English-language models BLs in Miami have non-native English-language models AND non-native Spanish-language models.AND non-native Spanish-language models.

Bp: check how lo-ses osh did wrt IMS.Bp: check how lo-ses osh did wrt IMS.

Final word Final word (from p. 172)(from p. 172)

““By using the factorial design of the By using the factorial design of the larger study, which balanced the effect of larger study, which balanced the effect of each factor, we have enhanced our each factor, we have enhanced our ability to generalize findings from the ability to generalize findings from the children’s stories.children’s stories.

By expanding the performance demand By expanding the performance demand on the children through the story task, on the children through the story task, we have provided an ‘auditory snapshot’ we have provided an ‘auditory snapshot’ of each individual, to add to the of each individual, to add to the perspective provided by the standardized perspective provided by the standardized scores.”scores.”

Final word Final word (con’t)(con’t)

““This snapshot This snapshot

• enriches our ability to enriches our ability to [appreciate] what the test scores [appreciate] what the test scores are saying, and are saying, and

• to have greater confidence in the to have greater confidence in the messages they convey.”messages they convey.”

--LLBC p. 172--LLBC p. 172