Effect of Twinning on Chinese and English Vocabulary Knowledge

Simpson W.L.  Wong; Him Cheung; Mo Zheng; Xiujie Yang; Catherine McBride; Connie Suk Han  Ho; Judy Sze Man Leung; Bonnie Wing Yin Chow; Mary Miu Yee Waye

doi:10.1111/cdev.13400

Effect of Twinning on Chinese and English Vocabulary Knowledge

Simpson W.L. Wong, Him Cheung^*, Mo Zheng, Xiujie Yang, Catherine McBride, Connie Suk Han Ho, Judy Sze Man Leung, Bonnie Wing Yin Chow, Mary Miu Yee Waye

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › peer-review

6 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Vocabulary knowledge was tested in a native (Cantonese-Chinese) and foreign (English) language in 150 twins and 150 singletons aged 6–11 years, matched on age, gender, grade level, nonverbal intelligence, parents’ education, family income, and number of siblings and household members. The singletons clearly outperformed the twins on the native vocabulary, but this “twinning effect” was much less noticeable for the foreign vocabulary. The effect on English vocabulary was further reduced after exposure to English at home was controlled. Given that these participants learned most of their English in school rather than home, the present findings support the notion that the twinning effect is associated with increased competition for family interaction in twins compared with singletons.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1886-1897
Number of pages	12
Journal	Child Development
Volume	91
Issue number	6
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13400
Publication status	Published - Nov 2020

Scopus Subject Areas

Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
Education
Developmental and Educational Psychology

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10.1111/cdev.13400

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@article{c76990b9df1a4b07a4617688e3536dfa,

title = "Effect of Twinning on Chinese and English Vocabulary Knowledge",

abstract = "Vocabulary knowledge was tested in a native (Cantonese-Chinese) and foreign (English) language in 150 twins and 150 singletons aged 6–11 years, matched on age, gender, grade level, nonverbal intelligence, parents{\textquoteright} education, family income, and number of siblings and household members. The singletons clearly outperformed the twins on the native vocabulary, but this “twinning effect” was much less noticeable for the foreign vocabulary. The effect on English vocabulary was further reduced after exposure to English at home was controlled. Given that these participants learned most of their English in school rather than home, the present findings support the notion that the twinning effect is associated with increased competition for family interaction in twins compared with singletons.",

author = "Wong, {Simpson W.L.} and Him Cheung and Mo Zheng and Xiujie Yang and Catherine McBride and Ho, {Connie Suk Han} and Leung, {Judy Sze Man} and Chow, {Bonnie Wing Yin} and Waye, {Mary Miu Yee}",

note = "Funding Information: We thank the twin and singleton volunteers who participated in this study. This project was supported by the Collaborative Research Fund from the University Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (CUHK8/CRF/13G & C4054-17W; Catherine McBride, PI) and the VC Discretionary Fund from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (4930703; Catherine McBride, PI). Publisher copyright: {\textcopyright} 2020 Society for Research in Child Development",

year = "2020",

month = nov,

doi = "10.1111/cdev.13400",

language = "English",

volume = "91",

pages = "1886--1897",

journal = "Child Development",

issn = "0009-3920",

publisher = "Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd",

number = "6",

}

TY - JOUR

T1 - Effect of Twinning on Chinese and English Vocabulary Knowledge

AU - Wong, Simpson W.L.

AU - Cheung, Him

AU - Zheng, Mo

AU - Yang, Xiujie

AU - McBride, Catherine

AU - Ho, Connie Suk Han

AU - Leung, Judy Sze Man

AU - Chow, Bonnie Wing Yin

AU - Waye, Mary Miu Yee

N1 - Funding Information: We thank the twin and singleton volunteers who participated in this study. This project was supported by the Collaborative Research Fund from the University Grant Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (CUHK8/CRF/13G & C4054-17W; Catherine McBride, PI) and the VC Discretionary Fund from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (4930703; Catherine McBride, PI). Publisher copyright: © 2020 Society for Research in Child Development

PY - 2020/11

Y1 - 2020/11

N2 - Vocabulary knowledge was tested in a native (Cantonese-Chinese) and foreign (English) language in 150 twins and 150 singletons aged 6–11 years, matched on age, gender, grade level, nonverbal intelligence, parents’ education, family income, and number of siblings and household members. The singletons clearly outperformed the twins on the native vocabulary, but this “twinning effect” was much less noticeable for the foreign vocabulary. The effect on English vocabulary was further reduced after exposure to English at home was controlled. Given that these participants learned most of their English in school rather than home, the present findings support the notion that the twinning effect is associated with increased competition for family interaction in twins compared with singletons.

AB - Vocabulary knowledge was tested in a native (Cantonese-Chinese) and foreign (English) language in 150 twins and 150 singletons aged 6–11 years, matched on age, gender, grade level, nonverbal intelligence, parents’ education, family income, and number of siblings and household members. The singletons clearly outperformed the twins on the native vocabulary, but this “twinning effect” was much less noticeable for the foreign vocabulary. The effect on English vocabulary was further reduced after exposure to English at home was controlled. Given that these participants learned most of their English in school rather than home, the present findings support the notion that the twinning effect is associated with increased competition for family interaction in twins compared with singletons.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85088238908&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/cdev.13400

DO - 10.1111/cdev.13400

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 32687622

AN - SCOPUS:85088238908

SN - 0009-3920

VL - 91

SP - 1886

EP - 1897

JO - Child Development

JF - Child Development

IS - 6

ER -

Effect of Twinning on Chinese and English Vocabulary Knowledge

Abstract

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