Narrative competence of bilingual Ukrainian children compared to their Polish peers : a comparative approach

In this article we compare the level of narrative competence of 6 and 7 year old Ukrainian and/or Russian speaking preschool children at the threshold of school readiness with the abilities of their Polish peers. The chances children in that age group have of achieving success at school on par with their cognitive capacity improve if they acquire the ability to understand and craft cohesive and linguistically correct narratives whilst employing a variety of skills to do so. This also helps them function in a peer group. 30 Ukrainian and/or Russian speaking children and the same number of Polish speaking children took part in the research, carried out according to the BID procedure. An analysis of the obtained material made it possible to assess and compare the level of narrative competence development for both groups. Consequently, areas where Ukrainian and/or Russian speaking children should be subject to linguistic stimulation in order to provide them with a better start at the next educational stage were identified.