Part of
Second Language Acquisition and the Younger Learner: Child's play?Edited by Jenefer Philp, Rhonda Oliver and Alison Mackey
[Language Learning & Language Teaching 23] 2008
► pp. 27–51
Edited by Jenefer Philp, Rhonda Oliver and Alison Mackey
[Language Learning & Language Teaching 23] 2008
► pp. 27–51
Defining child second language acquisition, defining roles for L2 instruction
In this chapter, ‘child’ second language acquisition is defined as distinct fromboth ‘adult’ second language acquisition and from either monolingual or simultaneous bilingual development in childhood. We argue that ‘second language acquisition’ begins at a very early age (certainly before age 3) and suggest that there is a gradual development of features that become recognised as ‘adult second language acquisition’ after approximately age 7.
Using this definition, we explore both grammatical and pragmatic features of child second language development, observing how children behave in formal instructional settings where the ‘second’ language is either that of the surrounding community or of a distant community. We then explore what second language acquisition research can (not) teach us about second language instruction, especially the facilitating role that teachers can play in supporting child second language development.
Cited by
Cited by 26 other publications
Bretuo, Priscilla
2021. Using language to improve learning: teachers’ and students’ perspectives on the implementation of bilingual education in Ghana. Language, Culture and Curriculum 34:3 ► pp. 257 ff. 
Butler, Yuko Goto
2012. Bilingualism/Multilingualism and Second‐Language Acquisition. In The Handbook of Bilingualism and Multilingualism, ► pp. 109 ff.
Cheatham, Gregory A., Margarita Jimenez-Silva & Hyejin Park
2015. Teacher feedback to support oral language learning for young dual language learners. Early Child Development and Care 185:9 ► pp. 1452 ff.
Corcoll, Cristina
2013. Developing children's language awareness: switching codes in the language classroom. International Journal of Multilingualism 10:1 ► pp. 27 ff.
Devos, Nathan J.
2016. Learners Regulating Linguistic and Cognitive Behavior. In Peer Interactions in New Content and Language Integrated Settings [Educational Linguistics, 24], ► pp. 167 ff.
Englezou, Eliana & Elpiniki Fragkouli
2014. Literacy in the early years and English as an additional language: The case of a British international school. Journal of Research in International Education 13:1 ► pp. 46 ff.
Franco, Ximena, Donna M. Bryant, Cristina Gillanders, Dina C. Castro, Marlene Zepeda & Michael T. Willoughby
2019. Examining linguistic interactions of dual language learners using the Language Interaction Snapshot (LISn). Early Childhood Research Quarterly 48 ► pp. 50 ff.
Gillanders, Cristina, Dina C. Castro & Ximena Franco
2014. Learning Words for Life. The Reading Teacher 68:3 ► pp. 213 ff.
Ha, Xuan Van & Jill C. Murray
2023. Corrective feedback: Beliefs and practices of Vietnamese primary EFL teachers. Language Teaching Research 27:1 ► pp. 137 ff.
Han, Weifeng
2020. Chinese Multidialectal Child Learners’ Acquisition of English at the Syntax-Semantics Interface. In Universal Grammar and the Initial State of Second Language Learning [SpringerBriefs in Education, ], ► pp. 49 ff.
Haznedar, Belma
2023. Teaching and Assessment in Young Learners' Classrooms. In Handbook of Research on Perspectives in Foreign Language Assessment [Advances in Educational Technologies and Instructional Design, ], ► pp. 136 ff.
Hidalgo, Maria Angeles
2021. Differences in the task-supported negotiations of younger and older EFL children: From repair into prevention
. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 59:3 ► pp. 395 ff.
Hui, C. T. Justine, Eugena Au, Shirley Xiao, Yusuke Hioka, Hinako Masuda & Catherine I. Watson
2021. Differences in speech intelligibility in noise between native and non-native listeners under ambisonics-based sound reproduction system. Applied Acoustics 184 ► pp. 108368 ff.
IŞIK, İzel & Kamil İŞERİ
2021. Okul Öncesi Yabancı Çocuklara Yönelik Eşdizimli Sözcükler. Milli Eğitim Dergisi
Jaekel, Nils, Michael Schurig, Merle Florian & Markus Ritter
2017. From Early Starters to Late Finishers? A Longitudinal Study of Early Foreign Language Learning in School. Language Learning 67:3 ► pp. 631 ff.
Le Pichon, Emmanuelle & Maretha de Jonge
2016. Linguistic and psychological perspectives on prolonged periods of silence in dual-language learners. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 19:4 ► pp. 426 ff.
Leśniewska, Justyna & François Pichette
2016. Songs vs. stories: impact of input sources on ESL vocabulary acquisition by preliterate children. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 19:1 ► pp. 18 ff.
Lightbown, Patsy M.
2016. From Language Learner to Language Learning Researcher. In Becoming and Being an Applied Linguist, ► pp. 175 ff.
Ljunggren, Åsa
2016. Multilingual Affordances in a Swedish Preschool: An Action Research Project. Early Childhood Education Journal 44:6 ► pp. 605 ff.
Mathias, Brian, Christian Andrä, Anika Schwager, Manuela Macedonia & Katharina von Kriegstein
2022. Twelve- and Fourteen-Year-Old School Children Differentially Benefit from Sensorimotor- and Multisensory-Enriched Vocabulary Training. Educational Psychology Review 34:3 ► pp. 1739 ff.
Minas, Edith Christina
2020. The affordances theory in teaching and learning African first additional languages: A case for task-based language teaching. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies 38:1 ► pp. 1 ff.
Oliver, Rhonda & Agurtzane Azkarai
2017. Review of Child Second Language Acquisition (SLA): Examining Theories and Research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 37 ► pp. 62 ff.
Safont-Jordà, Maria-Pilar
2011. Early requestive development in consecutive third language learning. International Journal of Multilingualism 8:3 ► pp. 256 ff.
2012. A Longitudinal Analysis of Catalan, Spanish and English Request Modifiers in Early Third Language Learning. In Cross-linguistic Influences in Multilingual Language Acquisition [Second Language Learning and Teaching, ], ► pp. 99 ff.
Sopata, Aldona & Kamil Długosz
2022. The effects of language input on word order in German as a heritage and majority language. Language Acquisition 29:2 ► pp. 198 ff.
Whittle, Anna & Roy Lyster
2016. Focus on Italian Verbal Morphology in Multilingual Classes. Language Learning 66:1 ► pp. 31 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 2 march 2023. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.