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Part of
Prediction in Second Language Processing and Learning
Edited by Edith Kaan and Theres Grüter
[Bilingual Processing and Acquisition 12] 2021
► pp. 115–138

Chapter 6
Prediction in bilingual children

The missing piece of the puzzle

| Radboud University
| Radboud University
| Radboud University
| Radboud University | Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics

A wealth of studies has shown that more proficient monolingual speakers are better at predicting upcoming information during language comprehension. Similarly, prediction skills of adult second language (L2) speakers in their L2 have also been argued to be modulated by their L2 proficiency. How exactly language proficiency and prediction are linked, however, is yet to be systematically investigated. One group of language users which has the potential to provide invaluable insights into this link is bilingual children. In this paper, we compare bilingual children’s prediction skills with those of monolingual children and adult L2 speakers, and show how investigating bilingual children’s prediction skills may contribute to our understanding of how predictive processing works.

Article outline
  • What is prediction?
  • How are prediction and proficiency related?
  • What do we know about prediction skills in monolingual children?
  • What do we know about prediction skills in adult L2 speakers?
  • What do we (not) know about bilingual children?
  • How can research with bilingual children inform L2 predictive processing accounts?
  • What’s next?
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
Published online: 22 September 2021
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/bpa.12.06kar
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