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The Expressive Language Skills of a Bilingual Child: A Case Study

Journal of Language Education and Educational Technology (JLEET) · Vol. 6 No. 1 (2021) · pp. 12–26

DOI
10.33772/jleet.v6i1.16028
ISSN
2502-3306
Published
2021-03-31
Publisher
Halu Oleo University
Language
eng

Abstract

This study attempted to explore the expressive language skills of a bilingual child from year to year. A qualitative method was used with the support of simple analysis of Mean Length Utterances calculation to answer the research question. The data was taken from the transcribed videos recorded intermittently from 2015 to 2020. Initially, the MLU score of the child was only 5.7 and it did not reach the standard score of6.88 for her age. However, the child’s MLU score for the following years rose even higher than it should be. The whole words of each utterance were counted then divided by the number of utterances. Based on the data, there was no significant improvement in 2019. This might be due to the fact that the data available in 2018 was of monologue type and that the subject was less willing to speak back then. Furthermore, based on the researcher’s observation, the English proficiency of the child, especially expressive language skills mastery, increased from year to year. Besides, the child was also shown to be more motivated. She kept practicing her English with her sister by watching and making English videos and acting as a professional YoutuberKeywords:The expressive language skills, Mean Length of Utterances, Bilingual child

Collaboration network of the authors

16 authors · 25 co-authorship links

Hover or tap a name to highlight its co-authors. Double-click to open the author's page.

  • Universitas Halu Oleo
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Different organisations
  • Same organisation
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Thicker line = more joint articles · bigger circle = more articles
Show as table
Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
Tambunan TambunanUniversitas Halu Oleo2
Usman RianseUniversitas Halu Oleo1
Awaluddin HamzahUniversitas Halu Oleo1
Nurhajatin NurhajatinUniversitas Halu Oleo1
Kamaluddin KamaluddinUniversitas Halu Oleo1
Vill Janna NingziUniversitas Halu Oleo1
M. Yazid A.R.G.Affiliation unknown1
Jenny SamosirUniversitas Halu Oleo1
Mauliddin NuurUniversitas Halu Oleo1
Akhmad MansyurUniversitas Halu Oleo1
Sjamsu Alam LawelleUniversitas Halu Oleo1
Erniwati ErniwatiUniversitas Halu Oleo1
Muh. YurisUniversitas Halu Oleo1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://ojs.uho.ac.id/index.php/JLEET/oai, first harvested 30 Oct 2026, last seen 8 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc) 
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	<dc:title xml:lang="en-US">The Expressive Language Skills of a Bilingual Child: A Case Study</dc:title>
	<dc:creator>Risnawati, Risnawati</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator>Nurnia, Nurnia</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator>Laepe, Ader</dc:creator>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en-US">This study attempted to explore the expressive language skills of a bilingual child from year to year. A qualitative method was used with the support of simple analysis of Mean Length Utterances calculation to answer the research question. The data was taken from the transcribed videos recorded intermittently from 2015 to 2020. Initially, the MLU score of the child was only 5.7 and it did not reach the standard score of6.88 for her age. However, the child’s MLU score for the following years rose even higher than it should be. The whole words of each utterance were counted then divided by the number of utterances. Based on the data, there was no significant improvement in 2019. This might be due to the fact that the data available in 2018 was of monologue type and that the subject was less willing to speak back then. Furthermore, based on the researcher’s observation, the English proficiency of the child, especially expressive language skills mastery, increased from year to year. Besides, the child was also shown to be more motivated. She kept practicing her English with her sister by watching and making English videos and acting as a professional YoutuberKeywords:The expressive language skills, Mean Length of Utterances, Bilingual child</dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en-US">Halu Oleo University</dc:publisher>
	<dc:contributor xml:lang="en-US">Halu Oleo University</dc:contributor>
	<dc:date>2021-03-31</dc:date>
	<dc:type>info:eu-repo/semantics/article</dc:type>
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	<dc:type xml:lang="en-US">Peer-reviewed Article</dc:type>
	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://ojs.uho.ac.id/index.php/JLEET/article/view/16028</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.33772/jleet.v6i1.16028</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en-US">Journal of Language Education and Educational Technology (JLEET); Vol 6, No 1 (2021): Journal of Language Education and Educational Technology; 12-26</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2502-3306</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.33772/jleet.v6i1</dc:source>
	<dc:language>eng</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://ojs.uho.ac.id/index.php/JLEET/article/view/16028/11881</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en-US">Copyright (c) 2021 Journal of Language Education and Educational Technology (JLEET)</dc:rights>
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