This book explores the relationship between language difference and disorder, with particular consideration of multidialectal L1 speakers learning English as an L2. It provides the reader with ready-to-use data on child L2 acquisition at the syntax-semantics interface, and offers both empirical and theoretical support for educational and clinical linguists in order to separate language differences from disorders. It provides researchers and students in applied and educational linguistics and speech-language pathology with a comprehensive understanding of L2 development in previously unidentified groups of bilingual-bidialectal children with different performance in the target language. Developmental linguists, applied linguists and speech-language pathologists will find accessible information on the role of L1 bidialectism in L2 acquisition, as well as valuable implications to language teaching and learning practices and speech-language pathology services in multilingual and multicultural contexts. This volume will be key reading for researchers interested in typical and atypical multilingual development and assessment in educational and clinical linguistics, cognitive sciences, and psychology. It will also appeal to both undergraduate and postgraduate students interested in conducting mixed-method research in language education, linguistics and health sciences.

Under the Universal Grammar (UG) framework, this book discusses the latest research on the role of L1 bidialectism in L2 acquisition, with a particular focus on early Chinese(L1)-English(L2) learners. Responding to the long-standing concern of whether L2 learners have access to UG in the target language, it provides evidence of the positive role of L1 multidialectism in L2 learning and confirms the role of UG in L2 acquisition. This book is essential reading for postgraduates and researchers in language education, linguistics, applied linguistics, speech-language pathology and psychology. The clarification of Chinese as L1 is also of interest to language educators in multilingual contexts.

This volume collects research on language, cognition, and communication in multilingualism. Apart from theoretical concerns including grammatical description, language-specific analyses, and modeling of multilingualism, different fields of study and research interests center around three core themes: The Early Years (aspects of language acquisition and development, including vernaculars or minority languages, reading, writing, and cognition, and multilingual extensions), Issues in Everyday Life (the role of multilingualism in and for speech–language–communication difficulties, including diagnosis, provisions of services, and later language breakdown), and From the Past to the Future (aspects of multilingualism beyond acquisition, education, or pathology, with a focus on heritage languages and translanguaging). Specialists from each of these areas introduce state-of-the-art research, novel experimental studies, and/or quantitative as well as qualitative data bearing on ‘multifaceted multilingualism’. There is a broad spectrum for take-home messages, ranging from new theoretical analyses or approaches to assess multilingual speakers all the way to recommendations for policy-makers.

Typical and Atypical Language Development in Cultural and Linguistic Diversity brings together state-of-the-art studies in both typical and atypical language development. Placing the topic in the context of cultural and linguistic diversity (CALD), the book offers readers serious theoretical consideration of the topic and provides implications for multilingual educational and clinical practices. The content covers a wide range of topics related to multilingual language development in CALD: typical and atypical language development in CALD, and the interface between both; the relationship between multilingual competence and academic performance in CALD; providing unbiased speech and language measures in CALD; and heritage and minority languages education in CALD. Each chapter outlines the core theoretical and practical issues and explores both theoretical and pedagogical/clinical implications in the area and possible future developments. This volume is an essential resource for all those who study, research, or are interested in multilingual development, educational linguistics, and clinical linguistics in the CALD context.

One significant area of research in the multifaceted field of bilingualism over the past two decades has been the demonstration, validation, and account of the so-called ‘bilingual advantage’. This refers to the hypothesis that bilingual speakers have advanced abilities in executive functions and other domains of human cognition. Such cognitive benefits of bilingualism have an impact on the processing mechanisms active during language acquisition in a way that results in language variation. Within bilingual populations, the notion of language proximity (or linguistic distance) is also of key importance for deriving variation. In addition, sociolinguistic factors can invest the process of language development and its outcome with an additional layer of complexity, such as schooling, language, dominance, competing motivations, or the emergence of mesolectal varieties, which blur the boundaries of grammatical variants. This is particularly relevant for diglossic speech communities—bilectal, bidialectal, or bivarietal speakers. The defined goal of the present Research Topic is to address whether the bilingual advantage extends to such speakers as well. Thus, ‘Linguistic and Cognitive Profiles for Speakers of Linguistically Proximal Languages and Varieties’ become an important matter within ‘Developmental, Modal, and Pathological Variation’.

"A Dictionary of Research Methodology and Statistics in Applied Linguistics" is a comprehensive and authoritative reference guide that offers a detailed overview of important terms and concepts in the fields of research and statistics within the domain of applied linguistics. This volume focuses specifically on research in applied linguistics, aiming to clarify the meaning and application of various concepts, approaches, methods, designs, techniques, tools, types, and processes of research in a clear and efficient manner. It also includes entries that address statistical aspects, providing assistance to researchers in formulating, analyzing, and executing their research designs effectively, ensuring a logical progression from start to finish. With approximately 2000 entries covering essential research concepts and issues, this book incorporates cross-references where necessary to enhance understanding and facilitate navigation. It caters to a wide audience, including undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, lecturers, practitioners, researchers, consultants, and individuals seeking information in the field of applied linguistics and related disciplines.

Experimental Methods in Language Acquisition Research provides students and researchers interested in language acquisition with comprehensible and practical information on the most frequently used methods in language acquisition research. It includes contributions on first and child/adult second language learners, language-impaired children, and on the acquisition of both spoken and signed language. Part I discusses specific experimental methods, explaining the rationale behind each one, and providing an overview of potential participants, the procedure and data-analysis, as well as advantages and disadvantages and dos and don’ts. Part II focuses on comparisons across groups, addressing the theoretical, applied and methodological issues involved in such comparative work. This book will not only be of use to advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students, but also to any scholars wishing to learn more about a particular research method. It is suitable as a textbook in postgraduate programs in the fields of linguistics, education and psychology.