Cover not available
Article published In:
10th Anniversary Celebration
Edited by Pádraig Ó Duibhir and Laurent Cammarata
[Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education 10:2] 2022
► pp. 153–181

The monolingual bias

A critical analysis

| McGill University

The developmental trajectory of monolinguals has often been used as the benchmark against which the progress of all language learners is assessed and understood, and the abilities of monolinguals are used to define the native-like competence that is widely cited as the ultimate goal for all language learners. Moreover, language learning standards and curricula to guide language teaching and learning in school, as well as frameworks and strategies for assessing language learner outcomes in school, have all been shaped in significant ways by a monolingual bias. In this article, I critically examine assumptions underlying the monolingual bias and review findings from research on preschool and early-school-age learners who acquire language under diverse circumstances. Explanations that go beyond the monolingual bias are proposed for findings of differences between children who learn language under diverse circumstances and monolingual children. I argue that current research supports the view that there are alternative pathways to becoming language competent.

Keywords: monolingual bias, bilingual standards
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Assumptions underlying the monolingual bias
    • 2.1The assumption of neuro-cognitive capacity
    • 2.2Assumptions about language separation
    • 2.3The assumption of invariant developmental trajectories
  • 3.What research on diverse learners has taught us
    • 3.1Pre-school language learners
      • 3.1.1Similarities
      • 3.1.2Differences
    • 3.2Children with developmental disorders
    • 3.3Internationally-adopted children
  • 4.School-age children in dual language programs
  • 5.Putting it all together
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 25 February 2022
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.21016.gen
References
Abrahamsson, N., & Hyltenstam, K.
(2009) Age of onset and nativelikeness in a second language: Listener perception versus linguistic scrutiny. Language Learning, 59 (2), 249–306. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Albareda-Castellot, B., Pons, F., & Sebastián-Gallés, N.
(2011) The acquisition of phonetic categories in bilingual infants: New data from an anticipatory eye movement paradigm. Developmental Science, 14 (2), 395–401. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
August, D., & Shanahan, T.
(2006) Developing literacy in second language learners. Report of the National Literacy Panel on Minority-Language Children and Youth. Lawrence Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Barratt, L.
(2018) Monolingual Bias. In The TESOL encyclopedia of English language teaching (pp. 1–7). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, E.
(2015) Bilingualism and the development of executive function: The role of attention. Child Development Perspectives, 9 1( 2 1), 117–121. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bialystok, D., Luk, G., Peets, K. F., & Yang, S.
(2010) Receptive vocabulary differences in monolingual and bilingual children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 13 ( 4 ), 525–53. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Blom, E., & Paradis, J.
(2013) Past tense production by English second language learners with and without language impairment. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 56 1, 281–294. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bosch, L., Figueras, M., Teixidó, M., & Ramon-Casas, M.
(2013) Rapid gains in segmenting fluent speech when words match the rhythmic unit: Evidence from infants acquiring syllable-timed languages. Frontiers in Psychology, 4 1. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Canagarajah, S.
(2011) Translanguaging in the classroom: Emerging issues for research and pedagogy. Applied Linguistics Review, 2 1, 1–28. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chomsky, N.
(1965) Aspects of the theory of syntax. MIT Press.Google Scholar
Chung, S. C., Chen, X., & Geva, E.
(2019) Deconstructing and reconstructing cross-language transfer in bilingual reading development: An interactive framework. Journal of Neurolinguistics, 50 1, 149–161. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Comeau, L., Genesee, F., & Lapaquette, L.
(2003) The modeling hypothesis and child bilingual codemixing. International Journal of Bilingualism, 7 (2), 113–126. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Comeau, L., Genesee, F., & Mendelson, M.
(2010) A comparison of bilingual and monolingual children’s conversational repairs. First Language, 30 (3–4), 354–374. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Conboy, B. T., & Thal, D. J.
(2006) Ties between the lexicon and grammar: Cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of bilingual toddlers. Child Development, 77 (3), 712–735. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cook, V.
(1991) The poverty-of-the-stimulus argument and multi-competence. Second Language Research, 7 (2), 103–117.Google Scholar
Council of Europe
(2000) Common European framework of references for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Language Policy Division. Strasbourg. Retrieved from [URL]
Dalen, M., & Rygvold, A.-L.
(2006) Educational achievement in adopted children from China. Adoption Quarterly, 9 1, 45–58. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
David, A., & Li Wei
(2008) Individual differences in the lexical development of French-English bilingual children. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 11 1( 5 1), 598–618. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Day, E., & Shapson, S.
(1991) Integrating formal and functional appraoches to language teaching in French immersion: An experimental study. Language Learning, 41 1, 25–58. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Bot, K., Wander, L., & Verspoor, M.
(2007) A dynamic systems theory approach to second language acquisition. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 10 1( 1 1), 7–21. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
DeGeer, B.
(1992) Internationally adopted children in communication: A developmental study. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Lund University, Sweden.
De Houwer, A.
(2009) Bilingual first language acquisition. Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Delcenserie, A.
(2016) Language, cognitive and academic abilities of school-age internationally-adopted children. In F. Genesee & A. Delcenserie (Eds), Starting over – the language development in internationally-adopted children (pp. 95–124). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Delcenserie, A., & Genesee, F.
(2014) Language and memory abilities of internationally-adopted children from China. Journal of Child Language, 41 1, 1195–1223. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
de Valenzuela, J., Kay-Raining Bird, E., Parkington, K., Mirenda, P., Cain, K., MacLeod, A. A., & Segers, E.
(2016) Access to opportunities for bilingualism for individuals with developmental disabilities: Key informant interviews. Journal of Communication Disorders, 63 1, 32–46. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fennell, C., & Byers-Heinlein, K.
(2014) You sound like Mommy: Bilingual and monolingual infants learn words best from speakers typical of their language environments. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 38 (4), 309–316. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
García, O., & Li Wei
(2014) Translanguaging: Language, bilingualism, and education. Palgrave MacMillan. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F.
(1989) Early bilingual development: One language or two. Journal of Child Language, 16 1, 161–179. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2002) Portrait of the bilingual child. In V. Cook (Ed.), Portraits of the Second Language User (pp. 170–196). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2004) What do we know about bilingual education for majority language students? In T. K. Bhatia & W. Ritchie (Eds.), Handbook of bilingualism and multiculturalism (pp. 547–576). Blackwell.Google Scholar
(2019) Language development in simultaneous bilinguals: The early years. In J. von Koss Torkildsen & J. Horst (Eds.) International handbook on language development (pp.300–320). Routledge.Google Scholar
Genesee, F., Boivin, I., & Nicoladis, E.
(1996) Talking with strangers: A study of bilingual children’s communicative competence. Applied Psycholinguistics, 17 (4), 427–442. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F. & Delcenserie, A.
(2016) Starting over – the language development in internationally-adopted children. John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F., & Fortune, T.
(2014) Bilingual education and at-risk students. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 2 (2), 165–180. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F., & Hamayan, E.
(2016) CLIL in context: Practical guidance for educators. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Genesee, F., & Lindholm-Leary, K.
(2021) The suitability of dual language education for diverse students: An overview of research in Canada and the United States. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 9 (2), 164–192. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F., Nicoladis, E., & Paradis, J.
(1995) Language differentiation in early bilingual development. Journal of Child Languages, 22 1, 611–632. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Genesee, F., & Tedick, D. J.
(2021) Issues and perspectives on student diversity and content-based language education. Special issue of the Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 9 (2). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Gildersleeve-Newman Kester, C. E., Davis, B. I., & Pena, E. D.
(2008) English speech sound development in preschool-age children from English-Spanish environments. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 39 1( 3 1), 314–328. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Grosjean, F.
(1985) The bilingual as a competent but specific speaker-hearer. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 6 (6), 467–477. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hambly, C., & Fombonne, E.
(2014) Factors influencing bilingual expressive vocabulary size in children with autism spectrum disorders. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 8 1, 1079–1089. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Harley, B.
(1998) The role of form-focused tasks in promoting child L2 acquisition. In C. Doughty & J. Williams (Eds), Focus on Form in Classroom Second Language Acquisition (pp. 156–174). Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Hoff, E.
(2003) The specificity of environmental influence: socioeconomic status affects early vocabulary development via maternal speech. Child Development, 74 1( 5 1), 1368–1378. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hoff, E., Core, C., Place, S., Rumiche, R., Señor, M., & Parra, M.
(2012) Dual language exposure and early bilingual development. Journal of Child Language, 39 (1), 1–27. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hoshino, N., & Thierry, G.
(2011) Language selection in bilingual word production: Electrophysiological evidence for cross-language competition. Brain Research, 1371 1, 100–109. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hurtado, N., Gruter, T., Marchman, V., & Fernald, A.
(2014) Relative language exposure, processing efficiency, and vocabulary in Spanish-English bilingual toddlers. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 17 1( 1 1), 189–202. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Jorgensen, J.
(2008) Poly-lingual languaging around and among children and adolescents. International Journal of Multilingualism, 5 (3), 161–176. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kay-Raining Bird, E., Genesee, F., & Verhoeven, L.
(2016) Bilingualism in children with developmental disorders. Journal of Communication Disorders, 631, 1–14. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kehoe, M., & Havy, M.
(2109) Bilingual phonological acquisition: The influence of language internal, language external, and lexical factors. Journal of Children Language, 46 1( 2 1), 292–333. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kim, H. S. K., Relkin, N. R., Kyoung-Min, L., & Hirsch, J.
(1997) Distinct cortical areas associated with native and second languages. Nature, 388 1, 171–174. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kroll, J.
(2008) Juggling two languages in one mind. Psychological Science Agenda, 22 (1). [URL]. DOI logo
Kroll, J., Bobb, S., & Hoshino, N.
(2014) Two languages in mind: Bilingualism as a tool to investigate language, cognition, and the brain. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23 1, 159–163. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kuhl, P. K., Williams, K. A., Lacerda, F., Stevens, K. N., & Lindblom, B.
(1992) Linguistic experience alters phonetic perception in infants by 6 months of age. Science, 255 (5044), 606–608. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Leopold, W. F.
(1939–49) Speech development of a bilingual child: A linguist’s record. 41 vols. Northwestern University Press.Google Scholar
Lightbown, P. M.
(2014) Focus on content-based language teaching. Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lindholm-Leary, K., & Genesee, F.
(2014) Student outcomes in one-way, two-way and indigenous language immersion programs. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 2 1( 2 1), 196–209. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lyster, R.
(1994) The effect of functional-analytic teaching on aspects of French immersion students’ sociolinguistic competence. Applied Linguistics, 15 1, 263–287. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lyster, R., & Genesee, F.
(2020) Immersion education. In C. Chapelle (Ed.) The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (pp. 570–576). Wiley.Google Scholar
Lyster, R., Quiroga, J., & Ballinger, S.
(2013) The effects of biliteracy instruction on morphological awareness. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 1 1( 2 1), k169–197. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
MacSwan, J.
(2017) A multilingual perspective on translanguaging. American Educational Research Journal, 54 ( 1 ), 3–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mady, C.
(2015) Immigrants outperform Canadian-born groups in French immersion: Examining factors that influence their achievement. International Journal of Multilingualism, 13 (3), 298–311. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2017) The bilingual advantage for immigrant students in French immersion in Canada: Linking advantages to contextual variables. International Journal of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, 20 (3), 225–251. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marchman, V. A., & Bates, E.
(1994) Continuity in lexical and morphological development: A test of the critical mass hypothesis. Journal of Child Language, 21 (2), 339–366. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Marchman, V. A., Martinez-Sussman, C., & Dale, P.S.
(2004) The language-specific nature of grammatical development: Evidence from bilingual language learners. Developmental Science, 7 ( 2 ), 212–224. DOI logo.Google Scholar
Martin, S., Hodder, C., Merritt, E., Culliton, A., Pottie, E., & Kay-Raining Bird, E.
(2021) Bilingual outcomes for a student with Down Syndrome in French. Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education, 9 (2), 223–252. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Macnamara, J.
(1966) Bilingualism and primary education. Edinburgh University Press.Google Scholar
Mehisto, P.
(2017) CLIL essentials for secondary school teachers. Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Meisel, J. M.
(2011) First and second language acquisition: Parallels and differences. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Nicoladis, E., Palmer, A., & Marentette, P.
(2007) The role of type and token frequency in using past tense morphemes correctly. Developmental Science, 10 1, 237–254. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Oller, K., Pearson, B. Z., & Cobo-Lewis, A. B.
(2007) Profile effects in early bilingual language and literacy. Applied Psycholinguistics, 28 (2). 191–230. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Otheguy, R., García, O., & Reid, W.
(2015) Clarifying translanguaging and deconstructing named languages: A perspective from linguistics. Applied Linguistics Review, 6 1( 3 1), 281–307. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2019)  a translanguaging view of the linguistic system of bilinguals. Applied Linguistics Review, 10 ( 4 ), 625–651. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paradis, J., & Genesee, F.
(1996) Syntactic acquisition in bilingual children. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 18 (1), 1–25. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paradis, J., Genesee, F., & Crago, M.
(2021) Dual language development and disorders: A handbook on bilingualism and second language learning, 3rd Edition. Brookes Publishing.Google Scholar
Paradis, J., & Govindarajan
(2018) Bilingualism and children with language and communication disorders. In D. Miller, F. Bayram, J. Rothman & L. Serratrice (Eds). Bilingual cognition and language: The state of the science across its subfields (pp. 347–370). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paradis, J., & Navarro, S.
(2003) Subject realization and crosslinguistic interference in the bilingual acquisition of Spanish and English. Journal of Child Language, 30 1, 371–393. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paradis, J., Nicoladis, E., Crago, M., & Genesee, F.
(2011) Bilingual children’s acquisition of the past tense: A usage-based approach. Journal of Child Language, 38 1, 554–578. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Petersen, J. M., Marinova-Todd, S. H., & Mirenda, P.
(2012) Brief report: An exploratory study of lexical skills in bilingual children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42 1, 1499–1503. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pierce, L., Chen, J. K., Delcenserie, A., Genesee, F., & Klein, D.
(2015) Past experience shapes ongoing neural patterns for language. Nature Communications, 6 1. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Polka, L., & Sundara, M.
(2003) Word segmentation in monolingual and bilingual infant learners of English and French. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 15th International Congress of Phonetic Sciences, Barcelona, Spain.
Poulin-Dubois, D., Bialystok, E., Blaye, A., Polonia, A., & Yott, J.
(2013) Lexical access and development in very young bilinguals. International Journal of Bilingualism, 17 ( 1 ), 57–70. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Reetzke, R., Zoui, X. K., Sheng, L., & Katsos, N.
(2015) Communicative development in bilingually exposed Chinese children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 58 1, 813–835. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rezzonico, S., Chen, X., Cleave, P., Greenberg, J., Hipfner-Boiucher, K., Johnson, C., et al.
(2015) Oral narratives in monolingual and bilingual preschoolers with SLI. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 50 1, 830–841. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ribot, K.M., Hoff, E., & Burridge, A.
(2018) Language use contributes to expressive language growth: Evidence from bilingual children. Child Development, 89 ( 3 ), 929–940. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ronjat, J.
(1913) Le developpément du language observe chez un enfant bilingue. Paris: Librairie Ancienne H. Champion.Google Scholar
Rottschy, C., Langer, R., Reetz, D. K., Laird, A. R., Shulz, J. B., Fox, P. T., & Eickhoff, S. B.
(2012) Modelling neural correlates of working memory: A coordinate-based meta-analysis. NeuroImage, 60 1, 830–846. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rutter, M., Sonuga-Barke, E., & Castle, J.
(2010) Investigating the impact of early institutional deprivation on development: Background and research strategy of the English and Romanian adoptees (ERA) study. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 75 (1). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Scott, K. A., & Roberts, J. A.
(2016) Language development during the preschool years. In F. Genesee & A. Delcenserie (Eds), Starting over – the language development in internationally-adopted children (pp. 65–94). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Sebastián-Gallés, N., & Bosch, L.
(2002) Building phonotactic knowledge in bilinguals: Role of early exposure. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 28 (4), 974.Google Scholar
Skinner, B. F.
(1957) Verbal Behavior. Copley Publishing Group. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Smith, L. B., & Thelen, E.
(2003) Development as a dynamic system. Trends in Cognitive Science, 7 (8), 343–348. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Stevens, F.
(1983) Activities to promote learning and communication in the second language classroom. TESOL Quarterly 17 1, 259–272. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Swain, M.
(2005) The output hypothesis: Theory and research. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning (pp. 471–484). Routledge.Google Scholar
Tedick, D. J., & Lyster, R.
(2020) Scaffolding language development in immersion and dual language classrooms. Routledge.Google Scholar
Thordardottir, E.
(2011) The relationship between bilingual exposure and vocabulary development. International Journal of Bilingualism, 15 (4), 426–445. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2014) The typical development of simultaneous bilinguals: Vocabulary, morphosyntax and language processing in two age groups in Montreal preschoolers. In T. Gruter & J. Paradis (Eds). Input and experience in bilingual development (pp. 141–169). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Valicenti-McDermott, M., Tarshis, N., Schouls, M., Galdston, M., Hottinger, K., Seijo, R., Shulman, L., & Shinnar, S.
(2013) Language differences between monolingual English and bilingual English-Spanish young children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of child neurology, 28 (7), 945–948. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
van Ijzendoorn, M., Juffer, F., & Poelhuis, C.
(2005) Adoption and cognitive development: A meta-analytic comparison of adopted and non-adopted children’s IQ and school performance. Psychological Bulletin, 131 1, 301–316. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Verhoeven, L., Steenge, J., & van Balkom, H.
(2011) Verb morphology as a clinical marker of specific language impairment: Evidence from first and second language learners. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 32 1, 1186–1193. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Volterra, V., & Taeschner, T.
(1978) The acquisition and development of language by bilingual children. Journal of Child Language, 5 1, 311–326. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Werker, J. F., & Hensch, T. K.
(2015) Critical periods in speech perception: New directions. Annual Review of Psychology, 66 1, 173–196. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Werker, J. F., & Tees, R. C.
(1984) Cross-language speech perception: Evidence for perceptual reorganization during the first year of life. Infant Behavior and Development, 7 (1), 49–63. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yip, V., & Matthews, S.
(2007) The bilingual child. Early development and language contact. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar