Describes how intellectual development of bilingual children differs from that of monolingual children.

In the first decade of life, children become bilingual in different language learning environments. Many children start learning two languages from birth (Bilingual First Language Acquisition). In early childhood hitherto monolingual children start hearing a second language through daycare or preschool (Early Second Language Acquisition). Yet other hitherto monolingual children in middle childhood may acquire a second language only after entering school (Second Language Acquisition). This Element explains how these different language learning settings dynamically affect bilingual children's language learning trajectories. All children eventually learn to speak the societal language, but they often do not learn to fluently speak their non-societal language and may even stop speaking it. Children's and families' harmonious bilingualism is threatened if bilingual children do not develop high proficiency in both languages. Educational institutions and parental conversational practices play a pivotal role in supporting harmonious bilingual development.

Children acquiring two languages, either simultaneously or sequentially, have more variation in their linguistic input than their monolingual peers. Understanding the nature and consequences of this variability has been the focus of much recent research on childhood bilingualism. This volume constitutes the first collection of research solely dedicated to the topic of input in childhood bilingualism. Chapters represent a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of childhood bilingualism, covering a variety of language combinations and sociocultural contexts in Europe, Israel, North and South America. As a reflection of the field’s current understanding of the intricate relationship between experience and development in children growing up with two or more languages, this volume will be of interest to scholars and practitioners working with bi- and multilingual learners in various sociolinguistic and educational contexts.

First published in 1987. This volume is based primarily on a conference on childhood bilingualism held at New York University on June 25 and 26, 1982 with an interest in exploring the nature of bilingual cognition and the effect of bilingualism on psychological development.

The majority of cases in this book lean towards those countries which view bilingualism as a positive, sometimes necessary, feature of national development.

This collection brings together leading names in the field of bilingualism research to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Studies in Bilingualism series. Over the last 25 years the study of bilingualism has received a tremendous amount of attention from linguists, psychologists, cognitive scientists, and neuroscientists. The breadth of coverage in this volume is a testament to the many different aspects of bilingualism that continue to generate phenomenal interest in the scholarly community. The bilingual experience is captured through a multifaceted prism that includes aspects of language and literacy development in child bilinguals with and without developmental language disorders, language processing and mental representations in adult bilinguals across the lifespan, and the cognitive and neurological basis of bilingualism. Different theoretical approaches – from generative UG-based models to constructivist usage-based models – are brought to bear on the nature of bilingual linguistic knowledge. The end result is a compendium of the state-of-the-art of a field that is in constant evolution and that is on an upward trajectory of discovery.

This book explains normal and impaired dual language development and the differences between monolingual and dual language development so that professionals can understand these differences and successfully diagnose and treat dual language children with language delays and disorders. The book divides dual language children into two types: bilingual children, who have learned two languages from infancy, and second language learners, who are learning a second language after significant progress has been made with a first language. The book also breaks dual language learners into two types according to whether or not their primary language is widely used, has a high social value, and is typically associated with socioeconomic power. Case studies of four children representing each of these four groups are introduced in Chapter 1 and reoccur throughout the book. The final section of the book discusses assessment and intervention issues related to dual language children with impaired development.