L2 vocabulary learning through interactive book reading and factors that affect learning in emergent bilingual elementary school children
- Author
- Eline Decraene (UGent) , Maribel Montero Perez (UGent) and Hilde Van Keer (UGent)
- Organization
- Project
- Abstract
- Interactive book reading (IBR) fosters children's vocabulary growth through story-based interaction before, during, and after reading aloud. However, emergent bilinguals often begin with lower L2 vocabulary knowledge and gain less from IBR than L1 children. This study examines three IBR approaches, differing in L1 use, and explores how learner-related (prior L1/L2 vocabulary) and word-related factors (age of acquisition, story-relevant general versus conceptual vocabulary, and cognateness) influence productive L2 vocabulary gains. Seventy-seven Turkish-Dutch emergent bilinguals (M age = 7.4) participated in a five-week IBR intervention. Pretest, immediate and delayed posttests assessed productive L2 vocabulary using a form recall test. All groups improved from pre- to (delayed) posttest, with similar gains between conditions. Children with larger prior L2 vocabulary learned and retained more words, while prior L1 receptive vocabulary knowledge seemed to influence retention. Words with lower age of acquisition, story-relevant conceptual vocabulary, and cognates were acquired and retained more easily. Findings extend our understanding of IBR's effectiveness to support L2 vocabulary learning in elementary school emergent bilinguals.
- Keywords
- Vocabulary acquisition, emergent bilinguals, interactive book reading, elementary school, multilingualism, LANGUAGE LEARNERS, ENGLISH, INSTRUCTION, ACQUISITION, KNOWLEDGE, INTERVENTION, 2ND-LANGUAGE, ENVIRONMENT, CLASSROOMS, DIVERSITY
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Citation
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication: http://hdl.handle.net/1854/LU-01KEF1DCJJW886XXRBJW1PD8RF
- MLA
- Decraene, Eline, et al. “L2 Vocabulary Learning through Interactive Book Reading and Factors That Affect Learning in Emergent Bilingual Elementary School Children.” JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, 2026, pp. 1–18, doi:10.1080/01434632.2025.2601801.
- APA
- Decraene, E., Montero Perez, M., & Van Keer, H. (2026). L2 vocabulary learning through interactive book reading and factors that affect learning in emergent bilingual elementary school children. JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2025.2601801
- Chicago author-date
- Decraene, Eline, Maribel Montero Perez, and Hilde Van Keer. 2026. “L2 Vocabulary Learning through Interactive Book Reading and Factors That Affect Learning in Emergent Bilingual Elementary School Children.” JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2025.2601801.
- Chicago author-date (all authors)
- Decraene, Eline, Maribel Montero Perez, and Hilde Van Keer. 2026. “L2 Vocabulary Learning through Interactive Book Reading and Factors That Affect Learning in Emergent Bilingual Elementary School Children.” JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT: 1–18. doi:10.1080/01434632.2025.2601801.
- Vancouver
- 1.Decraene E, Montero Perez M, Van Keer H. L2 vocabulary learning through interactive book reading and factors that affect learning in emergent bilingual elementary school children. JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT. 2026;1–18.
- IEEE
- [1]E. Decraene, M. Montero Perez, and H. Van Keer, “L2 vocabulary learning through interactive book reading and factors that affect learning in emergent bilingual elementary school children,” JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT, pp. 1–18, 2026.
@article{01KEF1DCJJW886XXRBJW1PD8RF,
abstract = {{Interactive book reading (IBR) fosters children's vocabulary growth through story-based interaction before, during, and after reading aloud. However, emergent bilinguals often begin with lower L2 vocabulary knowledge and gain less from IBR than L1 children. This study examines three IBR approaches, differing in L1 use, and explores how learner-related (prior L1/L2 vocabulary) and word-related factors (age of acquisition, story-relevant general versus conceptual vocabulary, and cognateness) influence productive L2 vocabulary gains. Seventy-seven Turkish-Dutch emergent bilinguals (M age = 7.4) participated in a five-week IBR intervention. Pretest, immediate and delayed posttests assessed productive L2 vocabulary using a form recall test. All groups improved from pre- to (delayed) posttest, with similar gains between conditions. Children with larger prior L2 vocabulary learned and retained more words, while prior L1 receptive vocabulary knowledge seemed to influence retention. Words with lower age of acquisition, story-relevant conceptual vocabulary, and cognates were acquired and retained more easily. Findings extend our understanding of IBR's effectiveness to support L2 vocabulary learning in elementary school emergent bilinguals.}},
author = {{Decraene, Eline and Montero Perez, Maribel and Van Keer, Hilde}},
issn = {{0143-4632}},
journal = {{JOURNAL OF MULTILINGUAL AND MULTICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT}},
keywords = {{Vocabulary acquisition,emergent bilinguals,interactive book reading,elementary school,multilingualism,LANGUAGE LEARNERS,ENGLISH,INSTRUCTION,ACQUISITION,KNOWLEDGE,INTERVENTION,2ND-LANGUAGE,ENVIRONMENT,CLASSROOMS,DIVERSITY}},
language = {{eng}},
pages = {{1--18}},
title = {{L2 vocabulary learning through interactive book reading and factors that affect learning in emergent bilingual elementary school children}},
url = {{http://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2025.2601801}},
year = {{2026}},
}
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