To mask or not to mask? Young dual language learners’ mask use knowledge, behavior, and language learning outcomes

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had a national impact on our children's learning amidst and beyond the COVID-19 era. The current study seeks to better understand mask use and wearing behaviors and their impact on young dual language learners (DLLs) students' adherence to and attitudes toward masks. In addition, we seek to determine the extent to which mask use impacts DLL children's bilingual language development. The research questions guiding the current study are as follows: (RQ1) What is children's knowledge about and attitudes toward mask use? (RQ2) Do children adhere to wearing masks in and outside of school? (RQ3) What are the relationships between their mask-wearing knowledge and attitude toward masks and their actual mask use? and (RQ4) What are the relationships between children's mask use and their bilingual language outcomes? Participants included 202 Spanish-English Latina/o DLL children in Grades 1^st (N = 76), 3^rd (N = 88), and 5^th (N = 38) from elementary schools in the Southwestern United States. Results showed that compared to DLLs in upper elementary grades, younger DLLs needed additional support to understand the importance of mask use and adherence to wearing masks. The current study demonstrated that mask use did not negatively impact DLLs' language development.