The impact of bilingual education setting on nonword repetition: A study in Greece and the US

Nonword repetition (NWR) involves the ability to store and recall unfamiliar phonological sequences. The study examines accuracy by two student groups (fifty-two 1st graders and sixty 2nd graders) attending different L2 instructional settings. We investigated the impact of nonword length, phonological similarity to the native language (L1), and language experience on learners’ NWR performance. Participants attended two primary schools in Greece and the US, receiving intensive instruction in English as a second language (L2) and L2 Greek, respectively. They completed tasks in both languages. We found a word-length effect, a time effect, and increased accuracy with phonological similarity to learners’ L1. The study contributes to research by cross-examining different bilingual programmes in Greece and the US.