Abstract
Many children around the world grow up bilingual, learning and using two or more languages in everyday life. Currently, however, children's language backgrounds are not always reported in developmental studies. There is mounting evidence that bilingualism interacts with a wide array of processes including language, cognitive, perceptual, brain, and social development, as well as educational outcomes. As such, bilingualism may be a hidden moderator that obscures developmental patterns, and limits the replicability of developmental research and the efficacy of psychological and educational interventions. Here, we argue that bilingualism and language experience in general should be routinely documented in all studies of infant and child development regardless of the research questions pursued, and provide suggestions for measuring and reporting children's language exposure, proficiency, and use.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | 233 |
| Journal | Collabra: Psychology |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2019 |
Funding
Preparation of this manuscript was supported in part by grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada under award numbers 402470-2011 and 2018-04390 to KBH, from the Institute of Education Science under award number R305A150492 to AE, from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under award number 2R01 HD059858 to VM, and by support from the Concordia University Research Chairs Program to KBH.
Keywords
- Bilingualism
- Children
- Hidden moderators
- Infants
- Measurement
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Psychology