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Source 10: What the Rising Popularity in Dual Language Programs Could Mean for Dual Language Learners

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Source 10: What the Rising Popularity in Dual Language Programs Could Mean for Dual Language Learners

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In the article, What the Rising Popularity in Dual Language Programs Could Mean for Dual Language Learners, published in New America on January 16, 2015 by Amaya Garcia, she notifies readers of the attention that dual language programs are receiving. She does this by using info on dual language learners for Chinese to English. Ultimately, she is warning that languages of different structures need more focus.

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NYC public schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña announced plans this week to add or expand an additional 40 dual language programs in the Big Apple. She framed these programs as a way to boost school integration, increase global competence, and provide DLLs with improved support.

New York's just the most recent place to invest more in dual language. Here in the nation's capital, demand for dual language programs is surging: 13 elementary schools already offer such programs. Waiting lists for these programs are long - one school had 1,100 applicants for 20 slots - and advocacy supporting expanding dual language across the city is growing.

Dual language programs provide dual language learners (DLLs) with instruction in their native language and English with the goal of developing proficiency in both. Beyond that, design and implementation of these programs varies widely. In the District of Columbia, many programs enroll both non-native English speakers and native English speakers. These "'two-way" immersion programs integrate DLLs into classrooms with their native English-speaking peers. They also allow students with varying linguistic backgrounds to learn alongside peers who can model the language they are trying to learn. In contrast, "one-way" immersion programs enroll one language group, for example, native-Spanish speakers only.

What does the rising interest in dual language programs mean for DLLs? A growing body of research suggests these programs have significant, positive impacts on the development of DLLs' English and native language proficiency and academic trajectories.

Drs. Wayne Thomas and Virginia Collier have published extensively on the benefits of dual language programs on DLL's academic growth using evidence from studies in North Carolina, and Texas. Their North Carolina findings are particularly noteworthy: they found that dual language programs produced higher ELA and Math score for all students and some narrowing of the achievement gap. And for those who might quibble about the inferences that can be drawn from descriptive data, there are several studies that use more robust statistical methods to highlight the effectiveness of dual immersion programs.

Recently, Stanford University researchers Rachel Valentino and Sean Reardon examined the academic achievement of dual language learners enrolled in four types of instructional programs: English Immersion (EI), Transitional Bilingual (TB), Developmental Bilingual (DB), and Dual Immersion (DI). Their study provided a unique picture of how instructional program type influences DLLs' ELA and Math achievement trajectory from kindergarten entry through middle school. Importantly, it also captures variations between students of different ethnicities (Latino and Chinese) and initial English proficiency levels.

After controlling for student background, and other factors, the researchers uncovered differences in students' short- and long-term academic growth. At the end of second grade, the ELA scores of students enrolled in dual immersion programs were significantly lower than the scores of those enrolled in English immersion programs. However, as these students progressed through school, those in dual immersion and transitional bilingual began to outperform their peers enrolled in English immersion. Test score growth rates of students in DI programs also "far out-pace[d]" those of language learners in other programs.

Notably, different programs impacted Latino and Chinese students in distinct ways. Chinese students did well in both dual immersion and English immersion settings. Valentino and Reardon suggested that the lack of structural similarity between Chinese and English means more time spent on English instruction may be uniquely beneficial for these students. Or it could be that the implementation of Spanish and Chinese bilingual programs simply differs.

Implementation matters as much as program goals and design. English immersion classes are designed to help language learners develop English proficiency and are often criticized for limiting students' access to academic content. By contrast, dual language immersion programs are designed to give students better access academic content through use of their home language. But delivering on any program's design requires careful implementation.

Clearly, dual language programs hold promise in improving the educational outcomes of DLLs. The growing momentum around dual language programs could be an enormous opportunity for these students if states and school districts are careful to ensure access and fidelity of implementation. But we can't start working on strong implementation until we get serious about creating and funding programs that treat DLLs' bilingualism as an asset."

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What the Rising Popularity in Dual Language Programs Could Mean for Dual Language Learners

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NYC public schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña announced plans this week to add or expand an additional 40 dual language programs in the Big Apple. She framed these programs as a way to boost school integration, increase global competence, and provide DLLs with improved support.

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Source 9: The Benefits of Dual-Immersion Education

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Source 9: The Benefits of Dual-Immersion Education

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In the article, The benefits of dual-immersion education, published on the ImagineLearning website on June 23, 2011 by an editor, he responds to a previous article with terms regarding bilingual education that aren't well defined. He does this by defining the terms and showing a sparse amount of research that proves bilingual education students comprehend grammar better. Ultimately, he is showing interesting information found about dual immersion.

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The benefits of dual-immersion education

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Dual-immersion programs are growing in the United States as students are not just interested in learning a second language, but becoming functionally fluent. The terminology surrounding bilingual education and dual-immersion programs isn't well-defined. There are many types of bilingual education available in the United States.

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Source 8: Equalizing the Status of Both Languages in a Dual Immersion School

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Source 8: Equalizing the Status of Both Languages in a Dual Immersion School

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In the article, Equalizing the Status of Both Languages in a Dual Immersion School, published in the University of Minnesota website on November 2001 by Megan Unger, she expresses concern over the balance between two languages taught in her school. She does this by stating observations of reluctance from students to use the second language and other challenges of a dual immersion. Ultimately, she is displaying challenges and offering solutions for dual immersion issues.

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The Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA): Immersion Education

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By Megan Unger, kindergarten teacher, Emerson Spanish Immersion Learning Center, Minneapolis, MN

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In the article, Multiple Literacies: Linking the research in bilingualism and biliteracies to the practical, published in the US National Library of Medicine on November 11, 2006 by Therese Dufresne, she compares bilingualism and monolingualism. She does this by discussing what bilingual children are proficient at and where single language children perform better. Ultimately, she is restating the difference in early development for both types of learning.

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Language: English | French

Abstract

The present article addresses the fundamental developmental differences between monolingualism and bilingualism, as outlined in the literature. It takes into account research using qualitative and quantitative methodologies and reviews the advantages and possible disadvantages of bilingualism in preschool children. It then moves on to biliteracies in early childhood education. The questions addressed are: Will the early learning of a second language delay a child's language development? What effect does bilingualism have on the development of phonemic awareness, and does that have an impact on reading development? Do bilingual children have an advantage over monolingual children? What happens when a child with language impairment is called upon to develop two languages? What are some challenges regarding the acquisition of biliteracies? The present article concludes with recommendations for physicians who counsel bilingual families regarding early childhood literacy promotion and development.

Keywords: Bilingual advantage, Bilingualism, Biliteracies, Family literacies, Multiple literacies

Résumé

Le présent article porte sur les différences fondamentales du développement entre l'unilinguisme et le bilinguisme, telles qu'elles sont soulignées dans les publications. Il tient compte des recherches faisant appel à des méthodologies qualitative et quantitative et analyse les avantages et les inconvénients potentiels du bilinguisme chez les enfants d'âge préscolaire. Il traite ensuite de la bialphabétisation dans l'éducation des tout-petits. Les questions abordées sont : L'apprentissage précoce d'une deuxième langue retarde-t-il le développement langagier de l'enfant? Quel est l'effet du bilinguisme sur le développement de l'éveil phonémique, et cet effet a-t-il des répercussions sur le développement de la lecture? Les enfants bilingues sont-ils avantagés par rapport aux enfants unilingues? Que se passe-t-il lorsqu'un enfant qui a des troubles du langage est appelé à développer deux langues? Quels sont quelques-uns des défis reliés à l'acquisition de la bialphabétisation? Le présent article conclut par des recommandations à l'intention des médecins qui conseillent les familles bilingues au sujet de la promotion et du développement de l'alphabétisation des tout-petits.

Studies conducted on the differences in the language abilities of bilingual and monolingual children are numerous. The present article examines these studies with the aim of developing an understanding of the processes involved to offer practical advice in reference to bilingualism and biliteracies. As educational language researchers and teacher educators, we need to look at developmental and learning processes, as well as the accompanying research on bilingualism and biliteracies ( 1, 2). There is a need for us to incorporate this knowledge into the everyday lives of bilingual children and the parents with whom we are in contact.

We are often faced with difficulties that arise in children for whom the bilingual experience has not been successful, both in terms of language acquisition and biliteracy. The present article outlines the pitfalls that need to be avoided in certain children if they are to be successful at language learning and in acquiring different and differing literacies.

Will the early learning of a second language delay a child's language development?

Research has shown that bilingual children do, indeed, lag behind their monolingual peers in acquiring language, and that bilingual children display language patterns similar to monolingual language-impaired children. In particular, research ( 3) that compared monolingual children with language impairment and typical second-language learners demonstrated that these two groups made similar kinds of errors in their expressive language and grammatical morphology. Over time, bilingual children learn the differing rules governing each language. When bilingual children use cues such as word order to process and produce both languages, they come to learn how cues work within and between two languages, thereby creating a system of cues that differ from monolinguals. In short, bilingual children follow a different course of language development than monolingual children ( 4).

An example of this is found in a study ( 5) that looked at the delay in bilingual children in beginning to use a second-noun strategy for interpreting noun noun verb (NNV) and verb noun noun (VNN) sentences. This strategy requires reporting which of the two nouns in a sentence with a transitive verb is the actor. The choice appears to be language-specific. In a language where word order may be more important than agreement, saliency determines which noun becomes the actor. According to research ( 6), for English monolinguals, this pattern of choosing second noun agency occurs at approximately seven years of age for VNN sentences and at approximately nine years of age for NNV sentences. Spanish monolinguals begin to use a defined pattern of choosing a second noun agency pattern by 11 years of age for both VNN and NNV sentences ( 7). The strategy only develops in bilinguals at approximately 14 to 16 years of age ( 8). Perception and attention to different cues in two different languages demonstrates a difference between monolinguals and bilinguals, with bilinguals showing an in-between pattern regarding perception and attention in each of their languages ( 8). Bilingual children rely on word order. Older bilinguals continue to rely on word order, although not exclusively. These results point to early differences in the performance of bilinguals when compared with monolinguals and suggest that bilinguals catch up with their monolingual peers in time.

Because of these developmental differences in the bilingual child, one of the recommendations we need to put forward as educational researchers and educators involved in multiple literacies is to be wary of academic performance in literacy tests and psychological tests. For example, bilingual students may do poorly early on tests that involve choice and the use of the second noun agency pattern. Awareness of this pattern seems to be delayed in certain languages. Given this, testing of that skill may not be to the benefit of a bilingual child. The same can be said of measures of subject-verb agreement, which is a popular item used in standardized tests in language and literacy.

Because bilingual children often demonstrate below-average vocabulary scores in each of their languages ( 9), standardized tests that put an emphasis on isolated lexical items or on lexical items in short sentences will prove to be difficult for these children, and outcomes of such tests will show a deficit in these areas when it should not be considered a deficit. Bilingual children are acquiring vocabulary in two languages, and there is a delay in vocabulary learning when compared with monolingual children.

According to Viberg ( 10), a recognized strength that bilingual children demonstrate is shown in book reading activities. These children have a tendency to give more detailed and concrete versions of the story in both languages than monolinguals, who tend to give more condensed versions. A test that requires short answers may not benefit the bilingual child. It would seem that semantic links are different in bilingual children, and while this may prove to be a strength in the long run, depending on the task demanded of the bilingual child, it may not be recognized as such in a school or clinical setting.

Do bilingual children have an advantage over monolingual children?

Early and recent research on bilingualism reveals very few shortcomings regarding the bilingual experience. Early research, such as the landmark study performed by Peel and Lambert ( 11), and replicated by Lambert and Tucker ( 12), points to cognitive advantages in bilingual children. Other research with bilingual children ( 13) suggests that there may be a cognitive difference regarding development in either analysis of representation or control of attention, or possibly both, between children who became bilingual in early childhood compared with monolinguals. Subsequent research ( 14) has indicated that bilingual children are better than monolingual children at judging the grammaticality of sentences that contained distracting semantic anomalies. Bilingual children are also better than monolingual children at understanding that the meaning of the printed word does not change if it is moved to accompany a different picture ( 14).

What happens when a child with language impairment is called upon to develop two languages?

One study ( 15) compared bilingual French/English children with language impairment with monolingual children with language impairment and found no difference for aspects of grammatical morphology examined in both languages. In other words, the language-impaired child could develop second language skills, but both languages were affected by the impairment. These researchers concluded that language impairment may not be an impediment to learning two languages. A study by Salameh et al ( 16) compared the progress of bilingual Swedish/Arabic children with and without language impairment and found that the two groups developed grammatical structures in a similar way, although the pace of development in bilingual children with language impairment was slower.

What effect does bilingualism have on the development of phonological awareness, and does that have an impact on reading development?

Similar to Lindsey et al ( 17), the authors understand phonological awareness to be a set of linguistic and metalinguistic skills involving sensitivity to the sound structure of spoken words. Phonological awareness is not the only variable in ensuring that children are successful in literacy. Cross linguistic studies in second language acquisition involving Chinese/English ( 18) and French/English ( 19) indicate that phonological awareness is a general, and not a language-specific, contributor to reading acquisition. In other words, if children do well in phonological awareness in one language, then they will also do well in the other language.

What are some of the challenges regarding the acquisition of biliteracies?

Research that the authors are presently conducting targets children for whom the French immersion experience in school has been a disaster. Many of these children have been later identified as having a language processing problem, central auditory processing deficiency and/or poor short-term auditory memories coupled with a working memory problem (retrieval). The challenge here is not bilingualism ( 20). Bilingual children raised in two languages exhibiting these problems are extremely successful in their oral languages for the most part. However, traditional literacy (defined as reading and writing) can be a problem for these children. All children require support in reading and writing. Bilingual children require support in both their first and second languages. Bilingual children with a language-processing deficit and/or memory retrieval problems require additional support in both languages when it comes to biliteracy.

Biliteracy, defined traditionally as reading and writing in two languages, could be disastrous for these children ( 21). Again, it is not the two languages that bring on the challenges; it is the memory and processing problems that interfere with learning to read and write language. Our inability to screen for these problems at a very early age does not help us regarding bilingual and immersion education. If such a problem were to be identified, the authors' advice would be to exercise extreme caution regarding these children and early bilingual/immersion programs, given the taxing demands on the auditory and working memory. Early indications in the authors' research suggest that these children will do well orally, but we cannot expect them to do well in traditional literacy and this transfers across linguistic lines.

How can families support bilingualism/biliteracies?

The family context can be a significant support to the development of literacy in the bilingual child. Kenner ( 22) studied six-year-old bilingual children learning to read and write at home. She observed that the skills of different family members were complementary in fostering the child's learning, and described bilingual families as literacy ecosystems.

In bilingual homes, it is recommended that one parent always speak one language, while the other parent speaks only the other language. When this is not possible, it is recommended that one parent speak one language in certain contexts, while in other contexts, the other parent speaks the other language. Immigrant parents should continue to speak to their children in their native language, as this provides the base for language conceptualization needed in acquiring a second language.

One recent study by Uchikoshi ( 23) suggests that pre-school experience can influence second language vocabulary growth. Children who are enrolled in a preschool program in the second language tend to start kindergarten with a higher expressive vocabulary than children who stay at home. At the same time, the study results suggest that viewing educational television programs in the second language in the home also has an impact on vocabulary growth. These programs focus on increasing children's vocabulary through repetition and reinforcement commonly found in parent-child book reading. This study piggybacks on research by Tabor et al ( 24), who relate language speed and growth of literacy to the number of conversations and word variety that a child hears. The correlation between language growth and extra language exposure in the second language at the prekindergarten level strongly suggests that exposure to language is related to speed of language growth. Snow et al ( 25) and Tabors et al ( 26) reiterate that the combination of literacy-rich home environments and pre-school experience can be beneficial to children's lexical development in their second language.

Recommendations and implications for physicians who counsel bilingual families regarding early childhood literacy promotion and development

There are qualitative as well as quantitative differences in the performance of bilingual children when compared with monolingual children. Professionals need to recognize that bilingual children do not go through the exact same developmental stages at the same rate and order as monolingual children. To compound the problem, some of these stages are language-specific, while others cross linguistic barriers.

We would like to reiterate that although there are cognitive advantages to being bilingual, these advantages are not universal. We are only now becoming able to identify the kinds of cognitive domains where bilingualism might prove to be advantageous. We ask parents, health care providers and educational professionals to exercise caution in allowing bilingual children to sit for tests and evaluations that are made according to, and perhaps favour, monolingual developmental patterns. Knowing that these tests were designed for monolingual children is important when examining a child's performance, as is knowing that only limited information can be obtained from such results.

To counter such forms of tests with bilingual children, Kester and Peña ( 4) warn that domains must be sampled broadly when testing in schools and clinical settings to ensure that concepts and linguistic features are appropriately represented for each language. For example, grammar tests should explore a wide variety of structures in both languages. We urge physicians who deal with bilingual children and language delays to be especially vigilant. Bilingual children in schools and clinical settings have often been misdiagnosed with language delays or language impairments, when these delays do not really exist. In the present article, we have attempted to further disseminate ongoing research regarding bilingual children to ensure that professionals in all walks of life begin to understand bilingual language acquisition in children, bilingual cognition, bilingual learning and biliteracies.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors thank their colleagues, and the teachers and bilingual children, all of whom allow the authors to learn from them on a daily basis. Without their cooperation and help, the present article would not have been possible.

REFERENCES

2. Masny D. Multiple literacies: An alternative OR beyond Freire. In: Anderson J, Rogers T, Kendrick M, Smythe S, editors. Portraits of Literacy Across Families, Communities, and Schools: Intersections and Tensions. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2005. pp. 171-84.

9. Snow CE. Bilingualism and second language acquisition. In: Berko Gleason J, Bernstein Ratner N, editors. Psycholinguistics. Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace; 1998. pp. 453-81.

10. Viberg A. Age-related and L2 related features in bilingual narrative development in Sweden. In: Verhoeven L, Stromqvist S, editors. Narrative Development in a Multilingual Context. Amsterdam: John Benjamins; 2001. pp. 87-128.

12. Lambert WE, Tucker GR. Bilingual education of children: The St Lambert experiment. Rowley: Newbury House; 1972.

13. Karmilov-Smith A. Beyond modularity: A developmental perspective on cognitive science. Cambridge: MIT Press; 1992.

21. Dufresne T. Literacy and school practices: What can we learn from how children conceptualize language in multiliterate environments?. Paper presented at Oxford Round Table on Literacy and Early Childhood; March 2006; Oxford, UK.

24. Tabor P, Beals D, Weizman Z. You know what oxygen is? Learning new words at home. In: Dickinson D, Tabors P, editors. Beginning Literacy with Language. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing; 2001. pp. 93-110.

25. Snow CE, Burns MS, Griffin P. Preventing reading difficulties in young children. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1998.

26. Tabors P, Snow CE, Dickinson, D. Homes and schools together: Supporting language and literacy development. In: Dickinson D, Tabors P, editors. Beginning literacy with language. Baltimore: Brookes Publishing; 2001. pp. 313-334.

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Multiple literacies: Linking the research on bilingualism and biliteracies to the practical

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Language: English | French The present article addresses the fundamental developmental differences between monolingualism and bilingualism, as outlined in the literature. It takes into account research using qualitative and quantitative methodologies and reviews the advantages and possible disadvantages of bilingualism in preschool children. It then moves on to biliteracies in early childhood education.

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Source 6: Can children with language impairment learn two languages?

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Source 6: Can children with language impairment learn two languages?

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In the article, Can children with language impairment learn two languages?, published on The Hanen Centre by Lauren Lowry, she clarifies if a second language would help or hinder a language impaired child. Lowry does this by answering frequently asked questions and citing research articles. Ultimately, she is showing the reader how a second language affects slow learners of a single language.

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Parents of children with language impairments sometimes wonder about the impact of a second language on their child. They may ask questions like:

"My child has been exposed to two languages since birth. Will this make my child's language delay even worse?"

"Can I introduce a second language to my child? He already has a delay in his first language."

"Should I stop speaking my home language to my child?"

"Would a French immersion program be too difficult for my child?"

New research is emerging about children with a variety of language difficulties who are exposed to more than one language. Most of the research has been conducted with children with "Specific Language Impairment" (SLI), who have difficulties with language, but no other developmental difficulties (for example, motor skills, cognitive/thinking skills, and social skills are all developing normally). Some research has also looked at bilingual children with Down Syndrome and more recently, Autism. This body of research has looked at two types of bilingual children:

simultaneous bilinguals: children who acquire two languages before the age of three

sequential bilinguals: children who learn a second language after the first language is well-established (generally after the age of three).

Another distinction drawn in the literature about childhood bilingualism and language impairment is the influence of the type of language a child is exposed to:

majority language refers to the language spoken by the majority of people in a region

minority language refers to a language spoken by a minority of the population

A final term which is useful when thinking about research on bilingualism is monolingual:

Studies about bilingual children with language impairments compare bilingual children and monolingual children with similar language impairments. These comparisons allow us to see if the addition of an extra language causes any differences or extra burden for the child.

Now let's look at some common questions parents ask about the impact of a bilingual environment on their child with language difficulties, and what the research tells us.

"My child has been exposed to two languages since birth. Will this make my child's language delay even worse?"

This type of bilingual child is a "simultaneous" learner, learning both languages from a young age. Sometimes parents worry that bilingualism will cause extra delays for children with language impairment, or that becoming bilingual is not possible for this group of children. Researchers have looked at the following groups of simultaneous bilingual children:

Young children with SLI learning two languages at the same time do not demonstrate any greater difficulties in their two languages, as compared to monolingual children with SLI [1]. Simultaneous bilingual children with SLI demonstrate the same challenges as monolingual children with SLI, but not any extra burden or difficulties [2,3].

A study comparing children with Down Syndrome being raised in bilingual homes with monolingual children with Down syndrome found that the bilingual children performed at least as well as the monolingual children with Down Syndrome (in their dominant language or language of greater exposure) [4]. Therefore, negative effects of bilingualism were not found.

The vocabularies of English-Chinese bilingual children with ASD and monolingual children with ASD were compared in a study [5]. The authors concluded that bilingualism did not have a negative effect on the children's language development, as both groups had similar vocabulary scores.

The Bottom Line...

To date, studies regarding simultaneous bilingual children with a variety of language difficulties show that these children do not have any extra delay or difficulties than monolingual children with similar language difficulties.

"Can I introduce a second language to my child? He already has a delay in his first language."

This type of bilingual child is a "sequential" learner. He has learned his first language, and will be introduced to a second language after the age of three. The following groups of children have been studied:

Most studies have shown that children with SLI who learn a second language catch up to their monolingual peers with SLI after sufficient exposure to the second language [6]. These children follow a similar developmental path and achieve similar levels of language proficiency as monolingual children with SLI.

However, Dutch researchers found different results. Minority (Turkish) language children with SLI who learned Dutch as a second language lagged behind their monolingual peers with SLI, even after four years of exposure to Dutch [6]. It has been suggested though that these results could be due to the fact that children who come from isolated, socioeconomically disadvantaged minority groups may be at a disadvantage when it comes to learning a second language [1]. In the studies mentioned above with positive outcomes, children lived in environments in which both of their languages had high status and support (such as Canadian children learning French and English, two official languages). Therefore, this may promote successful second language learning in this group of children.

A recent study in 2011 compared the language skills of sequential, simultaneous, and monolingual children with ASD [7]. This study included nonverbal and verbal children. Significant differences between the language levels of these three groups of children were not found.

The Bottom Line...

The research that has been conducted to date shows that sequential bilingual children with language impairments can learn a second language, although there seems to be an advantage for children whose languages are both highly supported in their community and school. Sequential bilingual children with language impairments face language-learning challenges, but not greater than monolingual children with the same language impairment.

Should I stop speaking my home language to my child?

Sometimes when parents find out that their child has a language delay, they feel they should stop speaking their home language to their child. Parents considering this usually feel that their child has to learn the majority language, but that their home language is not a necessity in the community. Some parents consider switching to the majority language because they themselves speak the majority language of the community. Others parents however, wonder if they should stop speaking their home language, even if they are not fluent or comfortable in the majority language themselves.

There are several problems that can arise when parents decide to stop speaking their home language with their child:

if parents try to speak a language with which they are not comfortable, it can jeopardize parent-child connection and interaction. This can lead to great emotional and psychological difficulties for the parents and the child, as language is strongly linked to emotion, affect, and identity [8].

children who speak a minority language are at risk for incomplete learning or loss of their home language [1]. This can affect how well that child learns a second language, as a strong foundation in the home language benefits second language learning.

a child's links to his home culture can be compromised [9].

there may be family members who only speak the home language. If a child loses his ability to speak the home language, relationships with these family members can suffer [9].

The importance of maintaining the child's skills in his home language is emphasized in an article by Dr. Kathryn Kohnert and her colleagues, who explain that [10]:

children with language impairment and their parents should share a common language so that they can communicate a wide variety of family values, experiences, care and concern.

a major goal of therapy for young bilingual children with language impairment should be helping the child's skills in the child's home language.

The Bottom Line...

It is widely accepted that parents should be encouraged to communicate with their children in their home language, and that professionals working with the child should support the family's home language [10].

"Would a French immersion program be too difficult for my child?"

Despite the prevalence of immersion programs, there is very little research concerning the suitability of children with language impairment for these programs. One study in 1982 looked at the performance of English students with language impairment in French immersion programs [11]. These students performed at a similar level as their monolingual peers with language impairment in English-only schools. Furthermore, the children in immersion had significantly superior French skills compared to students both with and without language impairment who were receiving conventional French instruction in English schools [6].

The Bottom Line...

Children with language impairment are frequently directed towards monolingual school options [12]. However, the research to date (albeit limited) indicates that children with language difficulties may do just as well in bilingual education settings as in monolingual settings. Whether learning one language or two, children with language impairment need extra support with language learning. When considering an immersion program, it is important to inquire about the availability of speech-language services and special education available to the child at school [6], to support not only the language of immersion, but also the child's first language.

Final Thoughts

Many children with language delay are raised in bilingual environments. While many people have falsely believed that bilingualism is detrimental to children with language difficulties, the above research shows that bilingualism is possible for this group of children. As summarized by Dr. Fred Genesee, a researcher in the area of bilingualism:
"Evidence on children with specific language impairment, admittedly rather limited at this time, suggests that...these children can acquire functional competence in two languages at the same time, within the limits of their impairment. Therefore, children with specific language impairment living in families where knowing two, or more, languages are useful and important, should be given every opportunity to acquire two languages" (13, p.14-15).
Dr. Genesee goes on to explain that:
"bilingual children need continuous and regular exposure to both languages to ensure their complete acquisition" (13, p.15) "special consideration should be given to minority languages. It is advisable to provide more exposure to minority than majority languages in the home to offset the lack of exposure to these languages in the community..." (13, p. 15).
If your child has a language impairment and is exposed to more than one language, consult a speech-language pathologist about the best ways to help your child. Your child will need help learning both of his languages. Like all bilingual children, your child will need constant, rich exposure to both languages in order to become bilingual. Beware of old-fashioned advice to stop speaking your home language, as this opinion is not supported by research. Rather, a strong foundation in a child's home language has been found to help a child learn a second language.

Endnotes

1. Petersen, J., Marinova-Todd, S.H, & Mirenda, P. (2011). An exploratory study of lexical skills in bilingual children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. DOI: 10.1007/s10803-011-1366-y.

2. Paradis, J., Genesee, F., and Crago, M. (2011). Dual language development and disorders: A handbook on bilingualism and second language learning. Baltimore, Maryland: Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.

3. Hambly, C. & Fombonne, E. (2011, September 22). The impact of bilingual environments on language development in children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. [Epub ahead of print].

4. De Houwer, A. (1999). Two or More Languages in Early Childhood: Some General Points and Practical Recommendations. Centre for Applied Linguistics. Available online at: http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/earlychild.html

5. Paradis, J. (2007). Bilingual Children with specific language impairment: Theoretical and applied issues. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28, 551-564.

6. Thordardottir, E. (2006, August 15). Language Intervention from a Bilingual Mindset. The ASHA Leader.

7. Genesee, F. (2009). Early Childhood Bilingualism: Perils and Possibilities. Journal of Applied Research in Learning, 2 (Special Issue), 2, 1-21.

For more than 35 years, The Hanen Centre has taken a leading role in the development of programs and resources for parents and professionals to help all preschool children develop the best possible language, social and literacy skills, including those children with or at risk of language delays and those with developmental challenges such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, including Asperger Syndrome.

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Can children with language impairments learn two languages?

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Is it wise to introduce a second language to children who have language delays? Is a second language immersion program a good idea? When a child is diagnosed as language delayed, should bilingual parents stop speaking to him in their home language? Find out what the latest research says about this topic.