한국어-영어 이중언어 아동과 영어 단일언어 아동의 어휘발달 및 음운단기기억

Vocabulary Development and Phonological Short-Term Memory in Korean-English Bilingual Children and English Monolingual Children

The present study compared the vocabulary development and phonological short-term memory of equivalently high-SES samples of 16 bilingually and 16 monolingually developing children at 22 months old. The vocabulary development was measured with the number of productive vocabulary through M-B CDI in each languages. The short-term memory was measured with the accuracy of nonword repetition. The English monolingually developing children were significantly more advanced than the Korean-English bilingually developing children on measures of both the English vocabulary development and English phonological short-term memory. In Korean-English bilingual children, Korean and English phonological short-term memory were positively correlated and unrelated to the balance of language exposure. And Korean phonological short-term memory and Korean vocabulary development were positively correlated. In English monolingual children, English phonological short-term memory and English vocabulary development were positively correlated. These findings suggest that children exposed to Korean and English have a phonological short-term memory that is not specially turned to either language and that supports the development of the vocabulary.