The Vocabulary Skills of Ukrainian Pre-schoolers in Poland

Abstract

This article analyses the language situation in preschool communities in Poland where Ukrainian children have access to education. The authors report the results of a pilot study conducted in Krakow with Ukrainian preschool children as part of the project "Early stages of development of bilingualism of Ukrainian children in Polish preschools" funded by the National Agency for Academic Exchange (BPN/GIN/2022/1/00013). As part of the project, 4- and 5-year-old Ukrainian children who arrived in Poland after February 24, 2022, as a result of Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine, participated in a study of lexical competence in Ukrainian and Polish. Vocabulary tests in Ukrainian and Polish reveal the Ukrainian children's previous language experience as well as quantitative indicators of their mastery of Polish during their brief stay in Poland. The study provides information about the characteristics of vocabulary acquisition of early bilinguals in general. The results indicate significant differences between 4- and 5-year-old Ukrainian children in terms of learning Polish vocabulary in different situations.

Keywords

• bilingualism
• language learning
• language acquisition
• sequential bilingualism
• learning Polish as another language
• child language development