MULTILADA
StarWords
Aims of the project
In the StarWords project, we explored early language development in bilingual children, focusing on Polish bilingual children living in Norway and the UK. By comparing their language development to that of their Polish monolingual peers, we aimed to better understand bilingual language trajectories.
Parents often await their children’s first words like stars in a night sky, and in StarWords, we followed this magical journey. Our research tracked the bilingual children's language development in both of their languages, from the moment they spoke their first words until the age of 3-4 years.
We believe that the knowledge we gained is invaluable for families and researchers interested in bilingualism. We also encouraged families speaking languages beyond Polish-English and Polish-Norwegian to explore the multilingual version of the StarWords app. It has been adapted to multiple languages, offering an engaging way to learn more about early childhood language development.
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all the families who participated in the StarWords project. Your involvement was invaluable in helping us gain deeper insights into early language development in bilingual children!
Why is this important?
Until now, no one has investigated the trajectory of early language development in bilingual and monolingual children from their first words to the basic vocabulary at the age of 3-4 years. Our project allowed us to establish the exact age of reaching the first language-related milestones (first words and multiword utterances) by bilingual children, and will show what characteristics of language environment influence the children’s development. With our results, we hope to lay a foundation for practical recommendations for parents and practitioners on how to effectively support language development in bilingual context.
Detailed information
StarWords project was coordinated by prof. Ewa Haman (University of Warsaw) and prof. Nina Gram Garmann (OsloMet).
How did the study look like?
In the StarWords project, we utilized a professional smartphone app and online standardized tools, such as parental reports, to study early language development. The app allowed parents to track their children’s new words, made-up words (neologisms), and first multiword utterances. Parents also provided regular updates about their child’s linguistic environment and the languages they were exposed to.
To keep parents engaged, the app sent regular notifications and offered rewards such as podcasts with researchers, articles about child development, language reports, coloring pages based on their child’s first words, and vouchers for e-products from EMPIK, an online bookshop.
During the project, parents also completed standardized questionnaires (MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories, CDI). These tools helped us gather data on when bilingual and monolingual children began talking (using their first words) and how was this related to their later language development. Importantly, we combined this information with insights into their language environments and various social factors.
StarWords project
was carried out at the Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw and financed by the National Science Center (OPUS 16 programme). Full title of the project: “New perspectives on assessing early language development in mono- and bilingual context: a web-based interactive parental report in a longitudinal study” (2018/31/B/HS6/03916).