Exploring the Genetic and Environmental Etiologies of Phonological Awareness, Morphological Awareness, and Vocabulary Among Chinese–English Bilingual Children: The Moderating Role of Second Language Instruction

• Published in: Behavior genetics Vol. 52; no. 2; pp. 108 - 122
• Main Authors: Xie, Qiuzhi, Zheng, Mo, Ho, Connie Suk-Han, McBride, Catherine, Fong, Fiona Li Wai, Wong, Simpson W. L., Chow, Bonnie Wing-Yin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.03.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Ability; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Bilingual education; Bilingualism; Child; Children; China; Chinese languages; Clinical Psychology; Economic status; Environmental aspects; Environmental effects; Environmental impact; Health Psychology; Humans; Language; Language instruction; Morphological processing; Morphology; Multilingualism; Original Research; Phonetics; Phonological awareness; Phonology; Psychology; Public Health; Second language instruction; Second languages; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic status; Socioeconomics; Teaching; Twin studies; Twins; Vocabulary; China; Vocabulary; Phonological awareness; First language; Twin study design; Morphological awareness; Second language
• ISSN: 0001-8244; 1573-3297
• DOI: 10.1007/s10519-021-10096-2

This study investigated the associations among bilingual phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and vocabulary by focusing on their genetic and environmental etiologies. It also explored the influence of family socio-economic status (SES) and language exposure amount on the genetic and environmental effects. A twin study was conducted with 349 pairs of Chinese–English bilingual twins (mean age = 7.37 years). Cross-language transfer was found in phonological and morphological awareness but not in vocabulary knowledge. A common genetic overlap was found among these bilingual abilities. We also found a common shared environmental effect that may account for the cross-language transfer in phonological awareness and the associations among English abilities. SES and language exposure were significant environmental influences on bilingual phonological awareness and English vocabulary. More teaching in Chinese was related to a stronger genetic effect on Chinese morphological awareness, whereas more teaching in English was related to a stronger environmental impact on English abilities.