RESEARCH DIGEST: TESOL TOPICS IN OTHER JOURNALS This section presents brief synopses of empirical research and theoretical discussions in peer reviewed journals The aim is to disseminate findings and perspectives in fields related to TESOL and to provide access to the diverse conversations among scholars in the field Edited by SARA MICHAEL-LUNA New York University doi: 10.5054/tq.2010.215945 Pragmatic Differentiation in Early Trilingual Development Journal of Child Language, 36, 597–627 Simona Montanari, 2009 Montanari investigates pragmatic differentiation in early trilingual development through a longitudinal examination of language choice in the spontaneous speech of a developing Tagalog-Spanish-English trilingual child The data in this study comes from diary records and audio recordings of the child’s spontaneous speech while interacting with different language users Patterns of language choice are analyzed at age year, 10 months, and years, months, to examine whether (a) the child actively differentiates her languages before age while communicating simultaneously with various language partners; (b) gaps in her language knowledge determine whether the child chooses one language over another; (c) her conversation partner’s acceptance of the mixing of languages affects her language choice The results indicate that the child could differentiate her languages pragmatically from the earliest sessions However, switches to inappropriate languages were common due to lexical gaps, societal acceptance of language mixing, and attempts to more clearly communicate her ideas using multiple lexical resources with multiple language users Montanari suggests the importance of noting the child’s individual language proficiency as a variable in assessing language differentiation Montanari also suggests looking beyond the linguistic input itself and exploring in detail the adults’ attitudes and expectations concerning appropriate language use She concludes that language differentiation is a natural step in becoming trilingual, but it cannot stand alone to develop competence 206 TESOL QUARTERLY Vol 44, No 1, March 2010 in three languages Consistent exposure and a social context that supports trilingualism will ensure the child’s success CHELSEA COUSSENS & PAUL TRYON New York University New York, New York, United States Strategic Codeswitching, Interliteracy and Other Phenomena of Emergent Bilingual Writing: Lessons From First Grade Dual Language Classrooms Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6, 323–354 Mileidis Gort, 2006 Gort points out that most writing research done in recent years on English language learners focuses on the development of English writing only The few studies conducted on both L1 (native language) and L2 (second language) writing of bilingual students limit themselves to the product without giving any attention to the process Gort, using a multilingual perspective, sets to find out the patterns of bilingual writing processes and skills, how these skills and processes transfer from one language to another, and how students use L1 and L2 as resources while engaging in the writing process Gort spent months in a two-way bilingual-education school setting, where she observed eight first graders, Spanish dominant and English dominant, during a writing workshop in both languages Writing samples, classroom observations, and recorded interviews were done to collect data Recompilation and study of the data gave a comprehensive understanding of patterns exhibited by emergent bilingual students, which include strategic codeswitching, positive literacy application, and interliteracy When students codeswitch they use words in one language while writing in another These writers also applied emergent or mature skills learned in one language to the other (positive literacy application), as well as applying elements that are specific to one language to another (interliteracy) Based on the study, Gort created a model of emergent bilingual writing development, which presents patterns unique to bilingual writers, relates them to bilingualism and biliteracy, and suggests anticipated transfer of these patterns to both languages Even though Gort uses her findings to present a writing model, she suggests that longer term research with more participants should be conducted to fully understand the writing process of children who write in two languages CECILIA GONZALEZ RUIZ New York University New York, New York, United States RESEARCH DIGEST 207 Bilingualism and Phonological Segmentation of Speech: The Case of English–French Pre-Schoolers Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 9, 29–49 Angelique Laurant and Clara Martinot, 2009 Laurant and Martinot explore how bilingualism can improve metaphonological abilities in young children before they have learned how to read They focus on children who have not begun to learn how to read in school, both monolingual (French dominant) and bilingual (French and English were used equally in the home) A total of 50 children were involved in testing—30 monolingual and 20 bilingual children The children attended the same French school and were all in kindergarten Reading instruction did not formally begin until first grade The children were chosen based on questionnaires given to the parents to ensure that the monolingual students were only exposed to French at home and to determine the level of English–French in home interaction of the bilingual children The children were given two tasks, one that involved phonological segmentation and another that involved phonemic deletion Though the bilingual children did not perform better on the different tasks, the two groups completed the task in different ways The bilingual students developed personal strategies and came closer to achieving the correct answer, whereas monolingual students did not develop different strategies based on the task and, thus, performed the two tasks the same way The authors suggest that bilingualism causes advanced phonological awareness in comparison with monolingual prereaders of the same age and schooling Laurant and Martinot suggest that further studies should be done with bilingual children before they learn to read, with larger samples sizes and languages of different complexities VALERIE LISTON New York University New York, New York, United States When Education Seeps Into ‘‘Free Play’’: How Preschool Children Accomplish Multilingual Education Journal of Pragmatics, 41, 1493–1518 Polly Bjork-Willen and Jakob Cromdal, 2009 Bjork-Willen and Cromdal studied the language and behavior of 3–to5-year-old multilingual children during free-play activities in school The students were video recorded reenacting instructional exercises 208 TESOL QUARTERLY performed by their teachers in their second language The students were observed taking on specific social roles within the interactions, such as teacher and pupil Not only did the students maintain these roles for most of the activity, but they also imitated the language that their teachers had used The students’ language choices demonstrate that even though they had the opportunity to speak in their native language, they intentionally and deliberately decided to speak the language used in the original instructional activity Although the first two recordings illustrated this kind of language choice, the third interaction was slightly different in that the two students switched back and forth from one language to the next throughout the activity The children in this sequence did not take on specific roles or tasks and therefore were constantly negotiating what should happen next Because the events did not relate to a previous instructional activity, the children did not remain monolingual These results illustrate the ability of preschool children to recreate lessons previously performed in their classrooms Not only these results prove the sensitivity of young children to routines within the classroom, but it also suggests their levels of comprehension behind specific features of an activity, such as who speaks at which point These data support the idea that multilingual students learn not only through teacher-led activities, but also through peer interactions These social exchanges serve as opportunities for the students to take on teacher roles and learn from directing their peers ELIZABETH NOTO New York University New York, New York, United States RESEARCH DIGEST 209