About this srcd poster session

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Panel information
Panel 11. Language, Communication

Abstract

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During shared reading interactions, parents can encourage their child’s engagement with the book by asking questions, which can support language development (Fletcher & Finch, 2015) and school readiness (Cristoforo & Tamis-LeMonda, 2012). Previous research has identified three question types during shared reading: yes/no questions prompt a yes or no response, referential questions request information about a referent, and inferential questions request abstract information or predictions (Luo & Tamis-LeMonda, 2017; Mak et al., 2024). However, beyond case studies, it is unclear how bilingual families ask questions during shared reading. Unlike monolingual contexts, bilingual parents can use either or both languages and can request their child to use the other language, termed codeswitching request (Nakamura, 2018). The current study provides the first examination of how Spanish-English bilingual parents present yes/no, referential, codeswitching request, and inferential questions across English-only, Spanish-only, and mixed-language utterances when reading books with their 3- or 4-year-old child.

In a subsample of 62 Spanish-English bilingual parents (92% mothers) and their child (M=3.86 years, range: 3-4.83), dyads read an English-only monolingual book and Spanish-English bilingual book. Extratextual utterances were transcribed and coded for question type (yes/no, referential, inferential, and codeswitching requests) and language used (English, Spanish, or mixed). Counts of questions are aggregated across the monolingual and bilingual book reading interactions. Coding is ongoing, and data are reported for 20 dyads.

To understand how bilingual parents present questions, paired t-tests compared the frequency of each question type. While parents asked similar amounts of yes/no (M=29.00, SD=25.08) and referential questions (M=28.70, SD=22.02), they asked significantly more yes/no than inferential questions (M=4.85, SD=6.85), t(19)=5.201, p<0.001, and codeswitching requests (M=1.85, SD=3.50), t(19)=5.185, p<0.001. Parents asked more referential questions than inferential, t(19)=5.602, p<0.001, and codeswitching requests, t(19)=5.965, p<0.001. Parents asked marginally more inferential questions than codeswitching requests, t(19)=1.901, p=0.07. See Figure 1.

Further, separate analysis of variance tests examined how language use (English, Spanish, or Mixed) varied across the four question types. There were no significant effects of language use on codeswitching requests nor inferential questions, ps>0.13. A main effect of language use on yes/no questions, F(57)=3.552, p=0.035, revealed marginally fewer yes/no questions as mixed-language utterances compared to English, p=0.05, and Spanish, p=0.07. Further, a main effect of language on referential questions, F(57)=6.608, p=0.003, revealed that parents asked referential questions in Spanish significantly more than in mixed-language utterances, p=0.002, and marginally more than in English, p=0.09. See Figure 2.

Overall, parents most frequently asked yes/no questions (similarly in English and Spanish) and referential questions (typically in Spanish) during shared reading with their child. These findings suggest that parents use both languages to engage their child with the book, providing a uniquely bilingual experience and increased opportunities to engage with and learn both languages. Results from the full sample will explore how parents ask questions across languages and monolingual and bilingual book formats, yielding insights regarding question asking in bilingual contexts.

Author information

Author	Role
Ms. Marissa Anne Castellana, Arizona State University	Presenting author
Rosie Vargas, Arizona State University	Non-presenting author
Virginia Ticay, Arizona State University	Non-presenting author
Adriana Echevarria Mejia, Arizona State University	Non-presenting author
Christine E. Potter, University of Texas - El Paso	Non-presenting author
Viridiana Benitez, Arizona State University	Non-presenting author

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