Inspección de las condiciones de seguridad de los laboratorios de CIEMA/PIENSA

The results of all assessments were reported back to parents using a standard format that was developed for this purpose (see Appendix I). It set the results in the context of bilingual language acquisition as an advantage for an individual. For two children whose results gave cause for concern, sources of support were suggested to their parents.

1 _{Fathiya ALRahbi (PhD student).}

58 Data analysis

Several techniques were used in analysing the data. First, linear regression analysis was performed to control extraneous variables. To answer RQ1 concerning the association between PA skills in Arabic (L1) and English (L2), Spearman correlation analysis was used to test the relatedness of PA skills across the tested languages. For RQ2 and RQ4, addressing whether Arabic-English bilingual children present the same level of performance in PA skills and reading tasks and spelling respectively in both languages, non-parametric two related samples tests were performed. For RQ3 and RQ5, concerning whether PA in either of the two languages predicts word reading, reading comprehension and spelling in the other language respectively, multivariate regressions were used. In addition, to determine whether there were significant differences in the means on all tasks in both languages across the three age groups one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used.

Pilot study

Prior to the actual collection of data, a pilot study was conducted in October 2015. Six bilingual children participated in this study. Two of the children were seven years old, two were eight years old and two were nine years old. These children did not take part in the main study. The children took part in two assessment sessions, one for the Arabic language tasks and one for the English language tasks. The pilot study was carried out in advance to check the acceptability of the assessments to the children and to gain information about time management. Results from the pilot study showed that the tasks were appropriate for the children.

Ethical implications

Several ethical issues were taken into account prior to data collection in order to ensure that all requirements were met in the study for conducting research ethically. An information letter was provided for parents in both languages (Arabic and English) (see Appendix A and Appendix C), which stated important information about the reason for doing this study, what the child would be asked to do, the child’s rights as a research participant and a request for permission for the child to participate in the study. Consent forms were also provided for parents in both languages (Arabic and English) (see Appendix B and Appendix D). A consent letter for head teachers was also provided (see Appendix E and Appendix F). This explained the purpose of this study, what was involved for the school and asked for the head teachers’ consent to do the research in their schools. The other ethical consideration related to the research is the participant information sheet that provided clear and brief information on the essential elements of the

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study: what the project was about, the nature of involvement and what would happen if the child agreed to take part (see Appendix G).

The right to confidentiality was maintained throughout by identifying each child in the research records using a number (No. 1–80). All data collected will be kept securely at Newcastle University until all beneficial data analysis has been exhausted. Protection from harm was also considered. The participants in this study were in no danger from partaking in the research project. Approval of the ethical procedures in the study was obtained from the Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Newcastle.

Summary

This chapterhas included a discussion of aspects related to the methodology that was used in this study. Information concerning the study design and the participant sample is provided. The method of data collection is explained in detail. A brief outline of the process of answering the study research questions is provided. A summary of the pilot study and ethical implications are also described. The results of this study are given in the next chapter.

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Chapter 4. Results

Introduction

This chapter addresses the results of each of the research questions in turn, providing detailed analysis of the data. The chapter starts by presenting a detailed description of the demographic characteristics of participants in this study, including information about gender, age at recruitment, age at the start of the study, language environment at home, parents’ judgment about the proficiency rating of their child’s language ability in both Arabic and English, age of starting to read and educational background of the parents.

Demographic characteristics of the children

The population considered in this study comprised typically developing Arabic-English bilingual children. They were recruited with fully informed parental consent through five Arabic weekend schools in Newcastle upon Tyne. The regional Arabic spoken in the schools was Iraqi, Libyan, Saudi Arabian, Sudanese and Syrian. However, all schools taught in the medium of MSA and all Arabic assessments were in MSA (see Chapter 3: Methodology). Therefore, the children were not separated by regional dialect, but data were analysed according to other demographic information.

From the population of children attending Arabic weekend schools, 90 children who met the inclusion criteria were sent information about the study. A total of 10 children who fulfilled these criteria did not take part in the study for the following reasons: two children were invited and then it was discovered that English was their third language; five children whose parents returned the signed consent forms declined to participate and for three children the parents did not return the signed consent forms. Data from 80 children who met the inclusion criteria were analysed to address the study questions presented in the following sections.