To date, most classroom-based research into the learning of a third language (L3) in the US has examined patterns of acquisition among various groups of bilinguals. Situated mainly within the context of "Portuguese for Spanish Speakers" (PSS), studies typically group learners based on the sequence / age of onset of their main background…

The present study investigated whether orthographic depth can increase the bias towards multi-letter processing in two reading-related skills: visual attention span (VAS) and rapid automatized naming (RAN). VAS (i.e., the number of visual elements that can be processed at once in a multi-element array) was tested with a visual 1-back task and RAN…

Young children typically do not use order-of-mention to resolve ambiguous pronouns, but may do so if given additional cues, such as gestures. Additionally, this ability to utilize gestures may be enhanced in bilingual children, who may be more sensitive to such cues due to their unique language experience. We asked monolingual and bilingual…

This fact sheet provides demographic information for the young Dual Language Learner (DLL) population in Georgia, based on Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) data pooled over the 2011-15 period. DLLs, defined as children ages 8 and under with at least one parent who speaks a language…

This fact sheet provides demographic information for the young Dual Language Learner (DLL) population in Ohio, based on Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analysis of U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) data pooled over the 2011-15 period. DLLs, defined as children ages 8 and under with at least one parent who speaks a language other…

Determining the cross-cultural equivalence of multilingual tests is a challenge that is more complex than simple horizontal equating of test forms. This study examines the functioning of a trilingual test of preschool readiness to determine the equivalence. Different forms of the test have previously been examined using classical statistical…

Preparation of the manuscript was supported in part by grants from the Canada Council and the (Canadian) Defence Research Board. Discusses advancements made in bilingual programs in the U. S. and Canada. (DS)

Contrastive psycholinguistic analysis of second language acquisition was undertaken with bilingual students taught primarily in French and with bilingual students taught in both English and Spanish. Three types of contrastive comparisons are made on the results of production tests administered to students. (SW)

Explores the ability of children to use discourse markers (DMs) as indicators of register, examining the distribution of various DMs in the role-play speech of Spanish-dominant bilingual elementary students as they played with puppets representing several characters with different social relationships. Children used DMs to specifically mark…

As part of the Spanish government's attempt to provide cultural and linguistic education for the sizable Spanish population in France, it organized the design of instructional materials especially suited to the 64,614 children of Spanish migrant workers living in rural and urban France. The materials were intended for use by primary and lower…

This study examines how a French- and Spanish-speaking child acquired English as a third language. It describes the linguistic experience of the 10-year old boy whose French and Spanish home, school, and playmate environments were changed to English school and playmate environments with French being maintained exclusively at home with the child's…