Page 60 - Second language development of newly arrived migrant kindergarteners - Frederike Groothoff

60 Chapter 3 Finally, all the above questions come together, and we will study the relationship between the pedagogical practices in the school learning environment and the development of pupils’ receptive vocabulary and narrative ability. The final sub-question is therefore: (e) To what extent do differences in the characteristics of the school learning environment during the first year after arrival relate to receptive vocabulary development and to narrative ability development of newly arrived migrant kindergarteners during the first two-and-a-half years of schooling in the Netherlands? Sub-question (a) will be answered in Chapter 4. In Chapter 5 sub-question (b) will be answered. Chapter 6 answers sub-question (c) and Chapter 7 sub-question (d). Finally Chapter 8 concerns sub-question (e), see Table 3.1. Table 3.1: Overview of the Research Questions over the Data Chapters 4 to 8. Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter Chapter 45678 RQ (a) X Receptive vocabulary RQ (b) Narrative ability RQ (c) Teacher behavior RQ (d) Focal pupils’ experiences RQ (e) Relation learning environment and language development X X X X X X X 3.3 Methodological considerations 3.3.1 Second language assessment To track the development of receptive vocabulary and narrative ability of the participating newly arrived migrant kindergarteners, their second language must be assessed. There are multiple aspects involved in language and therefore choices must be made what to assess and how. Specifically concerning the young group of participants in the present study, choices had to be made. In Chapter 2 the theory on communicative competence was explained. The theory of communicative competence emphasizes that language is meant for communication, but that there are many different facets to communication, for which a X