Bilingual Children's Self-Assessment of Spanish and English Proficiency and Bilingual Experiences: A Longitudinal Study

PURPOSE: This study explored the changes in Spanish-English bilingual children's self-reports of proficiency over time. METHOD: Multilevel modeling, specifically growth analyses, was conducted using longitudinal data drawn from the Houston Questionnaire, a self-report measure of bilingual children's proficiency and experience. At the onset of the study, the sample included 113 Spanish-English bilingual children aged 4-8 years. The association of bilingual experiences and children's gender as predictors was each examined to determine its effect on self-reports of proficiency. RESULTS: The analy