L2 vocabulary learning through interactive book reading and factors that affect learning in emergent bilingual elementary school children

Interactive book reading (IBR) fosters children's vocabulary growth through story-based interaction before, during, and after reading aloud. However, emergent bilinguals often begin with lower L2 vocabulary knowledge and gain less from IBR than L1 children. This study examines three IBR approaches, differing in L1 use, and explores how learner-related (prior L1/L2 vocabulary) and word-related factors (age of acquisition, story-relevant general versus conceptual vocabulary, and cognateness) influence productive L2 vocabulary gains. Seventy-seven Turkish-Dutch emergent bilinguals (M age = 7.4) participated in a five-week IBR intervention. Pretest, immediate and delayed posttests assessed productive L2 vocabulary using a form recall test. All groups improved from pre- to (delayed) posttest, with similar gains between conditions. Children with larger prior L2 vocabulary learned and retained more words, while prior L1 receptive vocabulary knowledge seemed to influence retention. Words with lower age of acquisition, story-relevant conceptual vocabulary, and cognates were acquired and retained more easily. Findings extend our understanding of IBR's effectiveness to support L2 vocabulary learning in elementary school emergent bilinguals.