Nils Jaekel

Increasing linguistic diversity in society means that many children acquire the majority language as an additional language. An important aspect of early language development is phonological processing, yet the factors underlying individual differences in monolingual and multilingual children in these abilities remain poorly understood. To investigate these individual differences, the present study examined nonword repetition (NWR) performance in 793 children, including monolingual (n = 637) and multilingual (n = 156, 18 L1s) preschoolers (3-6 years) in Germany. We used mixed-effects models to investigate the role of lexical linguistic distance to German, German exposure, receptive vocabulary, and morphological skills on NWR while controlling for child age, sex, cognitive ability, and parental education, with preschool as random interceptsResults showed an association of receptive vocabulary with NWR performance only. These findings suggest that NWR performance in preschool children may be relatively independent of individual differences in linguistic background and exposure, while being moderately associated with lexical development.

Ensuring equitable language learning support for everyone has become an urgent necessity, considering increasingly linguistically diverse classrooms. Understanding how linguistic backgrounds affect language learning outcomes is crucial, beyond the binary categories of non-native vs. native. Linguistic distance (LD) measures present more nuanced instruments to investigate the effect of the speaker's mother tongue. This systematic review examines research incorporating LD as a predictor of second or foreign language learning outcomes. Based on the search criteria, 35 articles were identified. The selected studies exhibit high variability in the tested languages, data samples, and methodological approaches. Among various LD measures, lexical distance and the index method were the most common approximations. Findings predominantly report a significant effect of LD on all language skills: speaking, writing, listening, and reading, regardless of tested language, age groups, data sample, and other nonlinguistic variables. Furthermore, the findings emphasize the importance of selecting LD measures following a skill-based approach.

Language background, that is, the linguistic repertoire available to language learners, impacts the acquisition of additional languages. Research on second, third, or additional language learning c...

Phonological abilities (PAs), encompassing word and phonological awareness, remain crucial throughout literacy development and are robust predictors of reading achievement in first and second languages. Although numerous PAs instruments exist, most focus on the first language, are not publicly available, or require individual administration.The present study aimed to develop and validate a reliable group-administered assessment of PAs for English as a foreign language, resulting in the English as a Foreign Language Phonological Abilities Instrument (EFL-PAI).The EFL- PAI comprises 29 items across five subtests targeting word, rhyme, syllable, and phoneme awareness. Data from 389 learners in Finland and Norway were analysed using descriptive statistics and Rasch models to examine item functioning, reliability, and construct validity.The results indicate that the instrument provides a reliable measure of PAs in EFL learners and shows evidence of validity. It allows evaluation of individual differences, as well as making predictions about EFL reading skills

Cognates facilitate vocabulary learning. However, how the magnitude of this Cognate Facilitation Effect (CFE) changes with age and its task-dependent manifestations remain unclear. Clarifying these patterns may benefit educators with evidence-based strategies to support learners across different stages and tasks. This systematic review synthesizes studies on CFE in school-aged second and foreign language learners between 1987 and 2024 (n = 36). The results showed that, firstly, the CFE follows an inverted U-shaped trajectory. It increases during early literacy (ages 6–9), peaking in middle childhood (ages 9–10), and declining thereafter. Secondly, facilitation is robust in comprehension tasks but more variable in production, where overlap can induce interference. Furthermore, we evaluate psycholinguistic models and propose integrating speech-production models to account for the interference effect of cognate production. These findings suggest educational implications: cognates can help support vocabulary development in early literacy, but more refined strategies are needed as learners advance.Keywords: cognates; cross-linguistic transfer; literacy development; psycholinguistics

Due to globalization and migration, societies are increasingly more linguistically and culturally diverse. This change necessitates a growing awareness and understanding of linguistic and cultural diversity. Beyond awareness, ever-increasing multilingual and multicultural societies bear important implications for educational institutions, teacher training, and policy making. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate whether plurilingual teaching is considered in the curricula and educational guidelines for primary and secondary schools across Finland, Germany, and Norway, and to find out the extent to which the approaches to plurilingual teaching diverge. A comparison of these three countries is particularly insightful, as they differ in population size, migration history, and number of heritage speakers. As part of the analysis, the following three themes relevant to plurilingual teaching were identified: cultural diversity, multilingualism as a resource, and valuing heritage languages. We provide a critical assessment of the curricula and educational guidelines in addition to suggesting avenues for future research.

In Early Childhood Education (ECE), play serves as a powerful catalyst for fostering children's overall development, including second language acquisition (SLA). Although existing research has offered insights into various dimensions of SLA within playful learning environments, there remains a need for a more thorough and systematic investigation to better clarify the relationship between play and early SLA in ECE settings. Through conducting a systematic review, this study aims to examine children’s SLA in play-based ECE settings. Our review process involved screening four databases using search terms related to SLA, ECE, and play. Our analyses identified 26 studies that specifically address young children’s SLA through play within ECE contexts. Our analysis indicates that play promotes linguistic skills, fosters enjoyment, and boosts language engagement. Peers and teachers play significant roles in supporting SLA during play. Individual personality, L2 exposure, and first language vocabulary also influence SLA. Additionally, children exhibit specific behaviors to enhance their target language during play. The findings have implications for early childhood teachers and other educators, indicating that play should be integrated with a responsive and flexible teaching approach that aligns with children’s natural inclinations. Additionally, implementing tailored interventions that account for various factors could further optimize language acquisition in young learners.

Background: In Germany, more than 40% of infants are born to immigrant parents. Increased survival rates of very preterm (below 32 weeks gestation at birth; VP) infants have not resulted in equally improved life chances and quality of life. More information on perinatal variations in outcomes according to social inequalities, migration background, and language barriers is needed. We tested whether mothers’ immigrant status and language barriers are associated with perinatal health and short-term neonatal outcomes. Methods: The data are from the national multi-centre German Neonatal Network (GNN) cohort, including VP births from 2009 onwards. In total, 3606 (n = 1738 female) children were assessed, and 919 (n = 449 female) of these children had immigrant backgrounds. Immigrant status was operationalised as a binary variable based on the children’s mothers’ countries of birth (born in Germany vs. foreign-born). Self-reported home language (L1) was used to calculate the average linguistic distance to German as one continuous variable. Results: Mixed-effects models showed that two out of fourteen effects of interest survived the adjustment for known confounders and accounting for the nestedness of data within birth hospitals. Linguistic distance from mothers’ L1s to German was independently associated with diagnoses of preeclampsia (OR = 1.01, 95% CI = [1.00, 1.01]). Infants of foreign-born mothers had higher odds for amniotic infection syndrome (AIS; OR = 1.45 [1.13, 1.86]) than infants of German mothers. Conclusions: Our findings from this large multi-centre longitudinal cohort of VP-born children indicate that maternal immigrant status and language barriers have limited impact on perinatal health and severe neonatal outcomes. This suggests that, regardless of background or language skills, there may be few inequalities in the perinatal health of pregnant women and their newborn preterm infants.