Edited by Belma Haznedar and F. Nihan Ketrez
[Trends in Language Acquisition Research 20] 2016
► pp. 389–412
An emerging situation in Turkey involves the acquisition of a second language (L2; English) in a context where the first language (L1; Turkish) is the majority language by children from advantaged social backgrounds. The present study explores the consequences of exposure to L2 in preschool on L1 and on executive functioning. One-hundred-four preschool children, attending Turkish-instruction preschools with one hour of English per day and English-instruction preschools with full-time English were assessed for their L1 and L2 competence and for executive functioning. An SEM model showed no difference in L1 competence between the two groups. Contrary to expectations, L2 competence did not have an effect on executive functioning in L2 preschools whereas an effect was observed in L1 preschools with fewer hours of exposure.