Bilingual children's reuse of formulaic phrases encountered in storybook reading: the effect of rich definition, parental reuse, and parent-initiated reuse

Résumé En

The aim of the study is to examine the effects of several variables on children's learning and re-use of formulaic phrases. Within the context of an ongoing longitudinal study of the language development of my own four French-English bilingual children, with emphasis on the role of stories, songs, rhymes, television and cinema for children, the study presented here compares the effects on the acquisition of formulaic phrases of different techniques used during and after storybook reading. Two storybooks were read to the children over the same period of time. While reading the first storybook, I provided rich definitions of selected formulaic phrases (definitions, synonyms, referring to illustrations, gestures, giving examples of usage). I then reused the phrases in other contexts, and organized a role-play. None of these techniques were used with the second storybook. Two stories were selected for similar themes, characters, length of text and target audience. Reading sessions and the role-play were filmed and transcribed. Parental reading techniques and examples of children's reuse are analysed and the relationship between the two is discussed. The relationship between formulaicity and the acquisition of phrases is discussed in terms of the study described here as well as in view of applications to classroom-based second language learning.