Narrative development in L1-Turkish children: a longitudinal examination of L2-English immersion effects

Abstract

This longitudinal study examined the impact of L2 acquisition on the narrative development of L1-Turkish dominant children who were exposed to L2-English immersion compared to their peers who were not exposed to L2-English immersion but to L1-Turkish. The study involved 155 children, aged 5, 7, and 9 at Time 1, assessing their narrative production, linguistic complexity, and narrative comprehension over a one-year period. Children who were exposed to L2-English immersion received intensive L2-English instruction from a young age while living in an L1-Turkish dominant society. For both time points, L2-English immersion children performed better than L1-Turkish dominant children for L1 narrative production. While no overall group differences emerged in linguistic complexity, L2-English immersion children exhibited higher complexity in L1 relative to their L2 for both time points, suggesting a facilitative effect of early L2 exposure on L1 narrative structure. These findings support the idea that bilingualism may foster narrative skills. These results highlight the importance of early bilingual education, especially when both languages are equally supported, contributing to children's overall language development.