A Longitudinal Study on Vocabulary Development Variables According to Expressive Vocabulary Progress in Children from Multicultural Families

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the important variables of expressive vocabulary development in children from multicultural families. Methods: The participants of the study were 14 children from multicultural families aged between 5 and 9 years. Based on the reassessment result, the groups were divided into two: one group caught up with their normal peers while the other group continued to show signs of expressive vocabulary delay. The receptive and expressive vocabulary test scores, including nouns and verbs, and a questionnaire regarding the child's living environment were analyzed. Results: The results were as follows: with regard to receptive vocabulary ability, significant differences were observed between the initial assessment and reassessment in each group. However, there were no significant differences between-groups in receptive vocabulary ability. For expressive noun accuracy, significant differences were observed between the groups in the reassessment; the catch-up group showed higher parent's level of education and income level than the non-catch-up group; there were also significant correlations between the groups in income level, and that between parent's level of education. Conclusion: The results suggest that children showed limited use of expressive vocabulary even with their good skills in receptive vocabulary. Overall the children with delayed expressive vocabulary development are likely to have trouble using expressive nouns. Even with a similar home background (multicultural families), socioeconomic status is still an important variable in vocabulary development. Additionally, language support appears to reflect the parent's income level and their level of education.