Digital Picture Books for Young Dual Language Learners: Effects of Reading in the Second Language

The study investigates how reading digital picture books in a child’s first language (L1) at home, before the same books are read in the second language (L2) in kindergarten, influences the learning of L2-specific vocabulary and narrative comprehension. The study is based on children aged three to four years with Polish as their first language, who are learning Norwegian as a second language. The research question is: Do children who read L1 at home and L2 in kindergarten acquire a larger vocabulary compared to children who only read L2?

Children who had limited experience of L2 learned more new words from the picture books by reading in L2 at home than by reading in L1 at home first. The children who had been in kindergarten for less than 30 months showed greater improvement in their vocabulary when reading in L2. For those children who had been in kindergarten for a longer period of time, there were no significant differences in vocabulary acquisition. The study concludes that early exposure to L2 through picture books may be more beneficial for vocabulary development than exposure through L1.

The study used an experimental design with pre- and post-tests. Fourteen children from kindergartens with a large number of Polish-speaking children were included in the study. The children participated in three different reading situations: reading digital picture books in L1 at home before reading in L2 in kindergarten, reading in L2 at home before L2 in kindergarten, and only reading in L2 in kindergarten.

The data collection was carried out using questionnaires, interviews with parents and kindergarten teachers, as well as assessments of the children’s vocabulary and narrative understanding.

Tunkiel, K. A. & Bus, A. G. (2022). Digital Picture Books for Young Dual Language Learners: Effects of Reading in the Second Language. Frontiers in Education, 7:901060.