Two Languages in One Mind: Biliteracy, Speech Connectedness and Reading in 5th Grade Bilingual Children

Ana Clara  Costa; Larissa  Cury; Ingrid  Finger; Natália Bezerra Mota; Janaina Weissheimer

doi:10.5007/2175-8026.2023.e94537

Autores

Ana Clara Costa
Larissa Cury
Ingrid Finger
Natália Bezerra Mota
Janaina Weissheimer Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5007/2175-8026.2023.e94537

Resumo

This study examined the effects of bilingual education and simultaneous biliteracy on children’s levels of speech connectedness and reading in Portuguese and English. Thirty-two 5^th graders completed oral production tasks and took reading fluency and comprehension tests in L1 and L2. Our results show that, in general, children show connectedness and reading scores which are correlated in the two languages, that is, the languages follow different, but related paths in the time point they were assessed. We conclude that simultaneous biliteracy, in the case of the participants of this research, is not detrimental to the outcomes of either language. On the contrary, it promotes the concomitant use of languages, which, in turn, seems to guarantee support for both languages, L1 and L2, in a bidirectional fashion.

Biografia do Autor

Janaina Weissheimer, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

Janaina Weissheimer possui graduação em Letras Português e Inglês pela Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (1999), mestrado em Lingüística Aplicada pela Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos (2002) e doutorado em Letras (Inglês e Literatura Correspondente) pela Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (2007). Atualmente é professora da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN) em Natal. Tem experiência na área de Letras, com ênfase em Aquisição de Linguagem, atuando principalmente nos seguintes temas: aquisição, ensino de inglês, produção oral e memória de trabalho.

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