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Exploring the Genetic and Environmental Etiologies of Phonological Awareness, Morphological Awareness, and Vocabulary Among Chinese–English Bilingual Children: The Moderating Role of Second Language Instruction

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Xie, Qiuzhi, Zheng, Mo, Ho, Connie Suk-Han, McBride, Catherine, Fong, Fiona Li Wai, Wong, Simpson W. L., Chow, Bonnie Wing-Yin·2022·Behavior Genetics
DOI 10.1007/s10519-021-10096-2
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Abstract

This study investigated the associations among bilingual phonological awareness, morphological awareness, and vocabulary by focusing on their genetic and environmental etiologies. It also explored the influence of family socio-economic status (SES) and language exposure amount on the genetic and environmental effects. A twin study was conducted with 349 pairs of Chinese-English bilingual twins (mean age = 7.37 years). Cross-language transfer was found in phonological and morphological awareness but not in vocabulary knowledge. A common genetic overlap was found among these bilingual abilities. We also found a common shared environmental effect that may account for the cross-language transfer in phonological awareness and the associations among English abilities. SES and language exposure were significant environmental influences on bilingual phonological awareness and English vocabulary. More teaching in Chinese was related to a stronger genetic effect on Chinese morphological awareness, whereas more teaching in English was related to a stronger environmental impact on English abilities.

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  • The finding that Chinese and English vocabulary did not correlate is aligned with previous findings (Tabors et al., 2003; Mohamed et al., 2025; Xie et al., 2022).

    “This finding is aligned with previous findings (Tabors et al., 2003; Mohamed et al., 2025 ; Xie et al., 2022) and supports the time-on-task hypothesis that the vocabulary development in each language is mainly through the exposure to that language and is largely independent of vocabulary development in another language (Quiroz et al., 2010).”

    From Do word-level skills show cross-linguistic transfer and predict bilingual reading? (2026) · cites this paper as Xie et al., 2022

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Authors
Xie, Q., Zheng, M., Ho, C. S.-H., McBride, C., Fong, F. L. W., Wong, S. W. L., & Chow, B. W.-Y.
Affiliations
  • United Arab Emirates University (AE)
  • Chinese University of Hong Kong (HK)
  • University of Hong Kong (HK)
  • University College London (GB)
Corresponding author
McBride, Catherine
ORCID
Venue
Behavior Genetics
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2022-01-12
Volume
52
Issue
2
Pages
108-122
ISSN
  • 0001-8244 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-3297
DOI
10.1007/s10519-021-10096-2
OpenAlex
W4205717413
Cited by
24
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 1
FWCI
5.39
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Behavior Genetics (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Collaborative Research Fund (CUHK8/CRF/13G, C4054-17W)
  • General Research Fund (17614517)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Reading and Literacy Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Language Development and Disorders
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
Keywords
phonological awareness, morphological awareness, vocabulary knowledge, Chinese-English bilingual children, genetic etiology, shared environmental effects, cross-language transfer, family socioeconomic status, language exposure, second language teaching, twin studies
MeSH terms
Child, China, Humans, Language, Phonetics, Vocabulary, Multilingualism

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