This study investigated the vocabulary development of children (N = 547) from linguistically and socioeconomically diverse classrooms in Germany from age 3 in preschool to age 7 in Grade 1. The results showed that for dual language learners (DLLs, n = 107) growth rates in their German majority language skills varied over classrooms. Compared to monolingual children, DLLs improved faster in classrooms with higher peer-level skills in the majority language than DLLs in classrooms with lower peer-level skills (controlling for socioeconomic status and classroom quality). DLLs showed stronger growth dynamics than monolingual children during later preschool stages. The findings highlight the role of preschool peers in DLLs’ acquisition of the majority language before entering elementary school.

中文翻译：

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双语学习者早期语言发展的同伴效应

本研究调查了 来自德国语言和社会经济多样化课堂的儿童（N = 547）从学前班 3 岁到 1 年级 7 岁的词汇发展。结果表明，对于双语学习者（DLLs，n = 107) 他们以德语为主的语言技能的增长率因课堂而异。与单语儿童相比，在大多数语言的同龄人技能较高的教室中，DLLs 比同龄人技能较低的教室中的 DLLs 提高得更快（控制社会经济地位和课堂质量）。在学龄前后期，DLL 显示出比单语儿童更强的生长动力。调查结果强调了学龄前同龄人在进入小学前 DLL 习得多数语言中的作用。