Publications by authors named "Claire Goriot"
The aim of this study was to investigate whether early-English education benefits the perception of English phonetic contrasts that are known to be perceptually confusable for Dutch native speakers, comparing Dutch pupils who were enrolled in an early-English programme at school from the age of four with pupils in a mainstream programme with English instruction from the age of 11, and English-Dutch early bilingual children. Children were 4-5-year-olds (start of primary school), 8-9-year-olds, or 11-12-year-olds (end of primary school). Children were tested on four contrasts that varied in difficulty: /b/-/s/ (easy), /k/-/ɡ/ (intermediate), /f/-/θ/ (difficult), /ɛ/-/æ/ (very difficult).
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- The study examined how proficiency in Dutch and English affects executive functioning in Dutch children learning English as a second language.
- Participants included children aged 4-12, split into two groups: those in an early-English program and those not.
- Findings revealed that a balanced vocabulary between the two languages was linked to better switching abilities, indicating that managing two languages is crucial for young bilinguals, even if they haven't fully mastered their L2.