Lexical Repetition in Second Language Learners’ Peer Play Interaction

Abstract

Recent studies have pointed to the importance of second language learners’ use of repetition for conversational participation and language learning. This study researched the significance of repetition, varying in type and complexity, for second language learning children's verbal participation in play as well as their academic language skills and extended discourse participation. Twenty‐seven 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children with Turkish as their first and Norwegian as their second language were videotaped in multiparty preschool play. The target children's second language lexical repetition of self and others was identified and subcategorized according to repetition complexity. The main findings suggested that self‐repetition was related to frequency of verbal participation, whereas complex other‐repetition was related to children's academic language skills and participation in extended discourse.