Language Proficiency and Narrative Macrostructure in Spanish-English Bilingual Children.
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| Title: | Language Proficiency and Narrative Macrostructure in Spanish-English Bilingual Children. |
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| Authors: | Kapantzoglou, Maria1 mkapa2@pdx.edu, Magallon, Jenny1, B., Alejandra Auza2 |
| Source: | American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology. Mar2026, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p657-671. 15p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Communicative competence, *Statistical correlation, *Elementary schools, *Data analysis, *Audiometry, *Multilingualism, *Caregivers, *Storytelling, *Research, *School children, *Speech evaluation, *Child development, *Comparative studies, *Verbal behavior, *Evaluation, *Inter-observer reliability, *Language acquisition, *Children, Mathematical variables, Cross-sectional method, Pearson correlation (Statistics), Task performance, Grammar, Research funding, Multiple regression analysis, Narratives, Age distribution, Descriptive statistics, Spanish language, Statistics, English language |
| Geographic Terms: | Northwestern States |
| Abstract: | This article investigates how Spanish and English language proficiency affect the production of narrative macrostructure elements in oral story retell tasks among typically developing Spanish–English bilingual children aged 5 to 7 years. Using the Spanish–English Language Proficiency Scale (SELPS) to measure proficiency continuously in each language, the study found that proficiency in a given language significantly predicted children’s ability to produce macrostructural elements—such as total story elements and complete episodes—in that same language, with differential effects across specific narrative components. Spanish proficiency influenced most macrostructural measures in Spanish narratives except initiating events and actions, while English proficiency affected most measures in English narratives except outcomes. The findings highlight the importance of assessing bilingual children’s narrative skills in both languages, considering proficiency levels and cultural storytelling conventions, and suggest that narrative abilities in one language can support development in the other. [Extracted from the article] |
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| Database: | Education Research Complete |
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