How and why do all children learn language? Why do some have difficulties while others are early language learners? What are the consequences of early bilingualism? Is it possible to reach native-like competence in a foreign language? Although we still cannot fully answer these questions, research during the last two decades has begun to solve some pieces of the puzzle. This book proposes an interdisciplinary collection of writings from some of the best specialists across several fields in cognitive science, offering a wide sample of recent advances in the study of first language acquisition, bilingualism, second language acquisition, and disorders of oral language. It is addressed to all researchers and students interested in language acquisition, as well as to teachers, clinicians and parents, who will find therein many new findings and varied methodological approaches, as well as challenging questions that are still debated and in need of further research.

This volume aims to provide a broad view of second language acquisition within a comparative perspective that addresses results concerning adult and child learners across a variety of source and target languages. It brings together contributions at the forefront of language acquisition research that consider a wide range of open questions: What are the precise mechanisms underlying acquisition? How can we characterize learners’ initial state and predict their degree of final achievement? What role do specific (typological) properties of source and target languages play? How does fossilization occur? How does the relative complexity of cognitive systems in adult and child learners affect acquisition? Does language learning influence cognitive organization? Can language learning shed light on our general understanding of human language and language processing?

This edited volume brings together perspectives that find mutual kinship in a view of language as an embodied, semiotic, symbolic tool used for communicative and interactional purposes and an understanding of language use as the preeminent condition for language learning – perspectives that we conjoin under the umbrella term of usage based perspectives.

Developmental research has long focused on regularities in language acquisition, minimizing factors that might be responsible for variation. Although researchers are now increasingly concerned with one or another of these factors, this volume brings together research on three different sources of variation: language-specific properties, the nature of the input to children across contexts, and several aspects of the learners themselves. Chapters explore these sources of variation within an interdisciplinary and comparative approach allying theories and methodologies stemming from linguistics, psycholinguistics, developmental psychology, and neuroscience. The comparative perspective involves different languages, contexts of use, types of learners (first/second language acquisition, monolingual/bilingual learners, autism, language impairment), as well as vocal and visuo-gestural communicative modalities (co-verbal gestures, sign language acquisition). The volume points to the need to enhance interdisciplinary research using complementary methodologies to further examine sources of variation and to integrate variation into a more general developmental theory.

A great majority of people around the world know more than one language. So, how does knowing one language affect the learning and use of additional languages? The question of cross-language influences is the focus of this book. Do bilinguals hear, understand, and produce language and meaning differently because of the languages they speak? How well can theoretical and computational models of language processing and acquisition explain and predict bilingual use patterns and acquisition trajectories? What learner, language, and context characteristics influence bilingual comprehension and production? This book provides a state-of-the-art review and critique of research into cross-language influences in phonology, lexicon, and morphosyntax, and suggests directions for future research. The interdisciplinary nature of the book bridges the gap between research on bilingualism and second language acquisition. The book will be of interest to graduate students, teachers, and researchers in linguistics and second language acquisition, cognitive psychology, and language education.

This volume brings together concrete ideas on identifying and measuring second language (L2) proficiency from different branches of SLA. The chapters introduce a range of tools for the evaluation of learners' language level with respect to both productive and receptive skills and provide a variety of answers to the question of how to assess L2 proficiency in a valid, reliable and practical manner.

Understanding Bilingualism, Bilinguality, and Bilingual Education in an Era of Globalization is written by Dr. Ai-Ling Wang, and provides a comprehensive guide for scholars seeking to expand their knowledge of bilingualism and its impact in the modern world. The book is divided into three parts, with the first part focusing on the theoretical background and definitions of bilingualism, bilinguality, and bilingual education. The second part examines bilinguality from cognitive, neuro-linguistic, socio-linguistic, and psycho-linguistic perspectives, exploring how bilingual speakers benefit from their cognitive development and what areas of cognitive advantage bilingual speakers enjoy. The final part of the book discusses bilingual education and how bilinguals choose a particular language depending on the situation, interlocutors, topic, and personal preference and proficiency. Dr. Wang emphasizes that bilingualism is not limited to speaking two languages, and multilingual and multicultural aspects must also be considered. Throughout the book, the author explores various aspects of bilingualism, including its formation, benefits, and challenges, and discusses whether bilinguals are provided with equal opportunities to schooling and whether bilingual programs actually help students with mainstream language while maintaining their home language. Overall, this book provides a comprehensive understanding of bilingualism and its impact in the era of globalization.

The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Volume 72 in this preeminent series, features empirical and theoretical contributions in cognitive and experimental psychology, ranging from classical and instrumental conditioning, to complex learning and problem-solving. Chapters in this new release cover Statistical learning predicts literacy acquisition of a foreign alphabetic and logographic language, An Investigation into Virtual Immersion Mandarin Chinese Writing Instruction with Students with Autism, Child and adult classroom L2 learners: uniqueness and similarities, and implications for cognitive models, Current Trends in Second Sign Language Research: Acquisition, Teaching and Assessment, Language Experiences and Cognitive Control: A Dynamic Perspective, and much more. - Presents the latest information in the highly regarded Psychology of Learning and Motivation series - Provides an essential reference for researchers and academics in cognitive science - Contains information relevant to both applied concerns and basic research

In recent years the field has seen an increasing realisation that the full complexity of language acquisition demands theories that (a) explain how children integrate information from multiple sources in the environment, (b) build linguistic representations at a number of different levels, and (c) learn how to combine these representations in order to communicate effectively. These new findings have stimulated new theoretical perspectives that are more centered on explaining learning as a complex dynamic interaction between the child and her environment. This book is the first attempt to bring some of these new perspectives together in one place. It is a collection of essays written by a group of researchers who all take an approach centered on child-environment interaction, and all of whom have been influenced by the work of Elena Lieven, to whom this collection is dedicated.

This book presents a range of ongoing studies on atypical language development in Romance languages. Despite the steady increase in the number of studies on typical language development, there is still little research about atypical language development, especially in Romance languages. This book covers four main conditions causing atypical language development. Part I explores the linguistic and communicative characteristics of preterm children learning Romance languages. The focus of Part II centers on children with Specific Language Impairment. Hearing Loss in Part III is another relevant factor leading to atypical language development. The final part IV zeroes in on genetic syndromes coupled to cognitive impairment with special attention to language development. This book presents a much needed overview of the most recent findings in all relevant fields dealing with atypical language development in children speaking Romance languages.