English Language Proficiency and Overall Verbal Ability: A Comparison Between Bilingual and Monolingual College Students
Abstract
Assessment of linguistic abilities of non-native English speakers reveals that Spanish/English bilinguals do not perform as well as English monolinguals on tests that require naming of common objects. Similarly, tests of English language proficiency reveal weaker performance in Spanish/English bilingual groups relative to monolinguals. One important limitation of some of these studies is that the language groups are different on educational attainment, which impacts linguistic abilities. Moreover, there are few studies evaluating overall verbal ability in these linguistically diverse groups. To fill these gaps in the research, we tested English monolingual (n=109) and Spanish/English bilingual (n=152) college students with similar educational attainment on the Bilingual Verbal Ability Test (BVAT). This battery contains three subtests and generates an index of second language proficiency and of general verbal ability. In bilinguals, items failed in English are administered in the person’s native language (Spanish in our sample) and scores are combined to determine overall language ability. In monolinguals, performance on the English subtests is used to determine overall language ability. We hypothesize that overall verbal ability will be similar between groups while English language proficiency will be stronger in the monolingual group.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. Joanne Pol Urrechaga, Dr. Mercedes Fernandez
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-6-2021 12:00 PM
End Date
4-9-2021 12:00 PM
English Language Proficiency and Overall Verbal Ability: A Comparison Between Bilingual and Monolingual College Students
Alvin Sherman Library
Assessment of linguistic abilities of non-native English speakers reveals that Spanish/English bilinguals do not perform as well as English monolinguals on tests that require naming of common objects. Similarly, tests of English language proficiency reveal weaker performance in Spanish/English bilingual groups relative to monolinguals. One important limitation of some of these studies is that the language groups are different on educational attainment, which impacts linguistic abilities. Moreover, there are few studies evaluating overall verbal ability in these linguistically diverse groups. To fill these gaps in the research, we tested English monolingual (n=109) and Spanish/English bilingual (n=152) college students with similar educational attainment on the Bilingual Verbal Ability Test (BVAT). This battery contains three subtests and generates an index of second language proficiency and of general verbal ability. In bilinguals, items failed in English are administered in the person’s native language (Spanish in our sample) and scores are combined to determine overall language ability. In monolinguals, performance on the English subtests is used to determine overall language ability. We hypothesize that overall verbal ability will be similar between groups while English language proficiency will be stronger in the monolingual group.
