Abstract

The present study investigated school readiness in Brazilian (Portuguese-Japanese dual language learner or DLL) 5-year-olds in Japan (1) by examining their language skills, executive function (EF), and theory of mind (ToM) in comparison to their monolingual peers and (2) by investigating the developmental relations between these three skills. DLLs scored lower than monolinguals in Japanese language skills, specifically in receptive vocabulary and the understanding of complement clauses in Japanese. DLLs and monolinguals performed similarly in EF, particularly in inhibitory control tasks measuring interference suppression and response inhibition. However, monolinguals outperformed DLLs in ToM tasks assessing false belief understanding. Finally, DLLs’ interference suppression and understanding of complement clauses were both positively related to their false belief understanding. In conclusion, DLLs had school readiness difficulties in Japanese language skills and ToM, but not in EF, compared to their Japanese monolingual peers. Furthermore, the positive relationship of language and EF skills with ToM development, which is commonly reported in monolingual children, extended to an understudied population of DLLs in this study.

摘要

本研究通过检查他们的语言技能、执行功能 (EF) 和心理理论 (ToM) 与日本 (1) 的巴西（葡萄牙 - 日本双语学习者或 DLL）5 岁儿童的入学准备情况进行比较(2) 通过调查这三种技能之间的发展关系。DLL 在日语技能方面的得分低于单语者，特别是在接受词汇和对日语补语从句的理解方面。DLL 和单语者在 EF 中的表现相似，特别是在测量干扰抑制和响应抑制的抑制控制任务中。然而，在评估错误信念理解的 ToM 任务中，单语者的表现优于 DLL。最后，DLLs的干扰抑制和对补语从句的理解都与其错误信念理解呈正相关。总之，与日语单语同龄人相比，DLL 在日语技能和 ToM 方面存在入学准备困难，但在 EF 中没有。此外，语言和 EF 技能与 ToM 发展的正相关关系，这在单语儿童中很常见，在本研究中扩展到未充分研究的 DLL 群体。