Bilingualism and Second Language Aquisition

Bilingualism and language acquisition examine language development in early childhood, acquisition of another language in early childhood and later on in life, multilingualism, the factors influencing first and second language acquisition, intervention programs, and other topics. The field of language acquisition focuses on how children learn to speak their mother tongue, describing the natural and healthy processes and stages from the onset of speech to full language command. Additionally, this field includes a description and explanation of language disorders and the broad subject of second language acquisition. Other topics include the acquisition of language other than the mother tongue spoken in the learner’s environment, like in a bilingual environment, where home language preservation contributes to the child’s identity and provides children in command of more than one language with substantial cognitive, societal, and economic advantages. 

Language acquisition is a complex process that occurs both implicitly and explicitly. Implicit learning involves language acquisition skills without awareness of the rules or explicit instruction; patterns, structures, and vocabulary are absorbed subconsciously through environmental exposure. In explicit learning, however, learners actively learn the grammatical rules, vocabulary, and language components. 

Language Development in Bilingual Children

Researchers of bilingualism in children are interested in many characterizing aspects of these children’s language, including psycholinguistic, societal, and cognitive aspects. Many researchers engage with developmental questions, such as how bilingual children’s language acquisition is similar to and differs from that of monolingual children, which are the quality predictors of language acquisition, and how bilingual children with atypical language development (for example, those with lingual impairments or other neurological disorders) acquire their language. 

The knowledge acquired in such research aids in designing assessment and intervention tools for bilingual children and helps professionals distinguish typical and atypical bilingual development. Other researchers focus on sociolinguistic questions, such as how family language policy impacts the development of each language, and cognitive questions, such as how speaking two or more languages may provide bilingual or polyglot children with cognitive advantages. In all these realms, researchers may focus on different linguistics aspects, such as syntax, vocabulary, morphology, narrative abilities, and pragmatics.

Reading and Reading Comprehension Skills in First and Second Language Acquisition

Acquisition of reading and reading comprehension skills in a first and second language is a diverse process affected by different cognitive, administrative, and linguistic functions. This research sub-field delves into the complex dynamics of developing natural language reading skills in children and adults with neurotypical development and in those with learning impairments.