Both language input and output are important to child language learners’ heritage language development. Nevertheless, existing studies mainly focus on language input, leaving the significance of language output underexplored. The current study assessed 201 kindergarteners’ Mandarin skills (i.e., receptive vocabulary, receptive grammar, and verbal fluency) in Singapore, and investigated the influence of children’s Mandarin experience, and specifically output, on these Mandarin skills. The results based on multilevel models reveal that children’s Mandarin experience plays a crucial role in the three Mandarin skills, after controlling for children’s gender, language aptitude, and English proficiency. Specifically, children’s onset age of Mandarin speaking and the number of places where they used Mandarin alone significantly predict all the Mandarin skills.

语言输入和输出对儿童语言学习者的遗传语言发展都很重要。然而，现有研究主要集中在语言输入上，而未充分探索语言输出的重要性。目前的研究评估了新加坡 201 名幼儿园儿童的普通话技能（即接受性词汇、接受性语法和口头流利度），并调查了儿童的普通话体验，特别是输出，对这些普通话技能的影响。基于多层次模型的结果表明，在控制了儿童的性别、语言能力和英语水平后，儿童的普通话经验在三项普通话技能中起着至关重要的作用。具体来说，