Cover not available
Part of
Approaches and Methods in French Second Language Acquisition Research
Edited by Martin Howard
[Research Methods in Applied Linguistics 9] 2025
► pp. 311–337

Chapter 13
Child L2 acquisition of French

A review with a focus on research areas and methodology

 | Centre for Languages and Literature, Lund University
This paper reviews research on child L2 French (cL2) published since 2000 with a focus on research areas and methodology in a broad sense. The aim of the review is to identify methodological trends in the research, to exemplify, and to provide a discussion of prominent features. The review shows that research on cL2 French has mainly focused on the acquisition of morphosyntax based on oral production data. There are few longitudinal studies while experimental research focusing on comprehension and online processing is largely lacking. Despite being a world language, the number of different settings and L1s in cL2 French research is limited. Following trends in bilingualism research, methods for studying exposure and input have developed from an initial reliance on the Length of Exposure measure to more sensitive measures of relative exposure, but there are still few studies presenting any absolute measures of input. In recent years, a focus on the use and development of standardized tests for clinical purposes is noticeable. The review also shows that reporting practices concerning ethical considerations need to become more consistent in the future.
Keywords: French, child L2 acquisition, methodology, study designs
Article outline
  • Introduction
    • Why child L2 acquisition?
  • Procedures and research questions guiding the review
    • Step 1.Identifying the questions guiding the review
    • Step 2.Searching for the literature
    • Step 3.Selecting studies: Additional inclusion criteria
  • Results of the analysis
    • Areas of research
    • Study designs
    • Types of language data collected
    • The use and development of standardized tests
    • Study settings and methods for studying exposure and input
    • L1s and socio-economic status
    • Ethical considerations
  • Discussion and future directions
  • Conclusion
  • Author queries
  • Acknowledgements
  • Note
  • References
This content is being prepared for publication; it may be subject to changes.
References (111)
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
Ågren, M., & van de Weijer, J. (2013). Number problems in monolingual and bilingual French-speaking children: A production/comprehension divide. Language, Interaction and Acquisition, 4(1), 25–50. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Almeida, L. d., Ferré, S., Morin, E., Prévost, P., Santos, C. d., Tuller, L., Zebib, R., & Barthez, M.-A. (2017). Identification of bilingual children with specific language impairment in France. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 7(3–4), 331–358. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Armon-Lotem, S., Meir, N., De Houwer, A., & Ortega, L. (2019). The nature of exposure and input in early bilingualism. In A. De Houwer & L. Ortega, (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of bilingualism (pp. 193–212). Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Arnaus Gil, L., & Müller, N. (2018). French postverbal subjects: A comparison of monolingual, bilingual, trilingual, and multilingual French. Languages, 3(3), 29. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Arnaus Gil, L., Stahnke, J., & Müller, N. (2021). On the acquisition of French (null) subjects and (in)definiteness: Simultaneous and early sequential bi-, tri- and multilinguals. Probus, 33(2), 181–225. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Arnott, S., Masson, M., & Lapkin, S. (2019). Exploring trends in 21st century Canadian K-12 French as second language research: A research synthesis. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 22(1). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Belletti, A., & Hamann, C. (2004). On the L2/bilingual acquisition of French by two young children with different source languages. In P. Prévost & J. Paradis (Eds.), The acquisition of French in different contexts (pp. 147–174). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bley-Vroman, R. (1990). The logical problem of foreign language learning. Linguistic Analysis, 20(1–2), 3–49. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Brown, R. (1973). A first language: The early stages. Harvard University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bybee, J. L. (2006). From usage to grammar: The mind’s response to repetition. Language, 82(4), 711–733. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Bylund, E., Khafif, Z., & Berghoff, R. (2023). Linguistic and geographic diversity in research on second language acquisition and multilingualism: An analysis of selected journals. Applied Linguistics. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Canault, M., Le Normand, M.-T., Foudil, S., Loundon, N., & Thai-Van, H. (2016). Reliability of the Language ENvironment Analysis system (LENA™) in European French. Behavior Research Methods, 48(3), 1109–1124. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chevrot, J.-P., Dugua, C., Harnois-Delpiano, M., Siccardi, A., & Spinelli, E. (2013). Liaison acquisition: debates, critical issues, future research. Language Sciences, 39, 83–94. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chomsky, N. (1995). The minimalist program. The MIT press.Google Scholar
Chomsky, N., & Lasnik, H. (1993). The theory of principles and parameters. Syntax, 1, 506–569. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Chondrogianni, V. (2018). Child L2 acquisition. In D. Miller, F. Bayram, J. Rothman, J., & L. Serratrice (Eds.), Bilingual cognition and language: The state of the science across its subfields (pp. 103–126). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Crago, M., & Paradis, J. (2003). Two of a kind? The importance of commonalities and variation across languages and learners. In Y. Levy & J. C. Schaeffer (Eds.), Language competence across populations: Toward a definition of specific language impairment (pp. 97–110). Psychology Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Cristia, A., Lavechin, M., Scaff, C., Soderstrom, M., Rowland, C., Räsänen, O., Bunce, J., & Bergelson, E. (2021). A thorough evaluation of the Language Environment Analysis (LENA) system. Behavior research methods, 53(2), 467–486. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Agostini, M., Metz-Lutz, M., Van Hout, A., Chavance, M., Deloche, G., Pavao-Martins, I., & Dellatolas, G. (1998). Oral language evaluation battery of aphasic children: A French standardization. Revue de Neuropsychologie, 8(3), 319. [URL]
De Costa, P. I. (2015). Ethics in applied linguistics research: Language researcher narratives. Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
De Houwer, A. (2009). Bilingual first language acquisition (Vol. 2). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Delcenserie, A., Genesee, F., Trudeau, N., & Champoux, F. (2019). A multi-group approach to examining language development in at-risk learners. Journal of Child Language, 46(1), 51–79. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M. (2009). Individual differences in second language acquisition. In W. C. Ritchie & T. K. Bhatia (Eds.), The new handbook of second language acquisition (pp. 623–646). Emerald.Google Scholar
Dulay, H. C., & Burt, M. K. (1974). Natural sequences in child second language acquisition. Language Learning, 24(1), 37–53. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ervin-Tripp, S. M. (1974). Is second language learning like the first. TESOL Quarterly, 8(2), 111–127. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fall, M. (2020). The impact of mother tongue illiteracy on second language acquisition: The case of French and Wolof in Senegal. Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Ferré, S., Tuller, L., Sizaret, E., & Barthez, M.-A. (2012). Acquiring and avoiding phonological complexity in SLI vs. typical development of French: The case of consonant clusters. In P. Hoole, L. Bombien, M. Pouplier, C. Mooshammer, & B. Kühnert (Eds.), Consonant clusters and structural complexity (pp. 285–308). Walter de Gruyter. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Five-Graces-Group. (2009). Language is a complex adaptive system: Position paper. Language Learning, 59, 1–26. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Fleckstein, A., Prévost, P., Tuller, L., Sizaret, E., & Zebib, R. (2018). How to identify SLI in bilingual children: A study on sentence repetition in French. Language Acquisition, 25(1), 85–101. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Flege, J. E. (1995). Second language speech learning: Theory, findings, and problems. In W. Strange (Ed.), Speech perception and linguistic experience: Issues in cross-language research (pp. 233–277). York Press.Google Scholar
Gathercole, S., & Pickering, S. (2001). Research section: Working memory deficits in children with special educational needs. British Journal of Special Education, 28(2), 89–97. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Graham, A. P., Powell, M. A., Anderson, D., Fitzgerald, R., & Taylor, N. (2013). Ethical research involving children. UNICEF Office of Research Innocenti. Retrieved on 31 October 2024 from [URL]
Granfeldt, J. (2018). The development of gender in simultaneous and successive bilingual acquisition of French–Evidence for AOA and input effects. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 21(4), 674–693. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Granfeldt, J., Gullberg, M., & Muñoz, C. (2023). Input in study abroad and views from acquisition: Focus on constructs, operationalization and measurement issues: Introduction to the special issue. Second Language Research, 39(1), 3–11. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Granfeldt, J., Schlyter, S., & Kihlstedt, M. (2007). French as cL2, 2L1 and L1 in pre-school children. PERLES: Petites Etudes Romanes de Lund, 21, 6–43. [URL]
Granfeldt, J., Ågren, M., & Thomas, A. (2021). Le rôle de l’input pour le développement du vocabulaire et de la grammaire en acquisition du français par des enfants monolingues et bilingues. In Actes du XXIXe Congrès international de linguistique et de philologie romanes (pp. 1477–1487). Société de Linguistique Romane / Éditions de linguistique et de philologie. Retrieved on 31 October 2024 from [URL]
Granget, C., Dat, M.-A., Cuet, C., El Haj, P., Albochi, F., & Allawama, A. (2018). Effets de l’âge d’immersion sur la compréhension initiale d’expressions modales épistémiques en français L2. Paper presented at Congrès Mondial de Linguistique Française 2018.
Grondin, N., & White, L. (1996). Functional categories in child L2 acquisition of French. Language Acquisition, 5(1), 1–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Grüter, T., & Crago, M. (2012). Object clitics and their omission in child L2 French: The contributions of processing limitations and L1 transfer. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 15(3), 531–549. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Grüter, T. (2005). Comprehension and production of French object clitics by child second language learners and children with specific language impairment. Applied Psycholinguistics, 26(3), 363–391. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Grüter, T., & Paradis, J. (2014). Input and experience in bilingual development. John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hipfner-Boucher, K., Pasquarella, A., Chen, X., & Deacon, S. H. (2016). Cognate awareness in French immersion students: Contributions to grade 2 reading comprehension. Scientific Studies of Reading, 20(5), 389–400. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Hipfner-Boucher, K., Pasquarella, A., Prasad, S., & Chen, X. (2021). The development of cognate awareness in child second/third language learners of French in French immersion: The effects of orthographic overlap and cognate status. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 64(11), 4390–4402. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Howard, M., & Ågren, M. (2019). Introduction: La liaison en français langue étrangère. Language, Interaction and Acquisition, 10(1), 11–21. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Håkansson, G., & Nettelbladt, U. (1993). Developmental sequences in L1 (normal and impaired) and L2 acquisition of Swedish syntax. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 3(2), 131–155. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(1996). Similarities between SLI and L2 children. Evidence from the acquisition of Swedish word order. In C. E. Johnson & J. H. V. Gilbert (Eds.), Children’s language (pp. 135–151). Psychology Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Johnson, J. S., & Newport, E. L. (1989). Critical period effects in second language learning: The influence of maturational state on the acquisition of English as a second language. Cognitive Psychology, 21(1), 60–99. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Kanj, R., & El-Hassan, K. (2023). Measurement of expressive vocabulary in multilingual children using the dual-Focus approach method for test development. International Journal of Multilingualism, 20(2), 452–468. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Khomsi, A., Khomsi, J., Pasquet, F., & Parbeau-Guéno, A. (2007). Bilan informatisé de langage oral au cycle 2 (BILO-2). Éditions du Centre de Psychologie Appliquée.Google Scholar
Kihlstedt, M., & Schlyter, S. (2009). Emploi de la morphologie temporelle en français L2: Étude comparative auprès d’enfants monolingues et bilingues de 8 à 9 ans. Language, Interaction and Acquisition, 1, 89–115. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lazaruk, W. (2007). Linguistic, academic, and cognitive benefits of French immersion. Canadian Modern Language Review, 63(5), 605–627. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lenneberg, E. H. (1967). The biological foundations of language. Hospital Practice, 2(12), 59–67. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Lightbown, P. M. (1977a). Consistency and variation in the acquisition of French: A study of first and second-language development. Columbia University.Google Scholar
(1977b). French L2 learners: What they’re talking about? Language Learning, 27(2), 371–381. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
MacWhinney, B. (2014). The CHILDES project: Tools for analyzing talk, Volume II: The database. Psychology Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Maguire, M. H. (2005). What if you talked to me? I could be interesting! Ethical research considerations in engaging with bilingual / multilingual child participants in human inquiry. Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 6(1). DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Malvern, D., Richards, B., Chipere, N., & Durán, P. (2004). Lexical diversity and language development. Springer. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
McLaughlin, B. (1978). Second language acquisition in childhood. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.Google Scholar
Meisel, J. M. (2008). Child second language acquisition or successive first language acquisition. In B. Haznedar & E. Gavruseva (Eds.), Current trends in child second language acquisition: A generative perspective (pp. 55–80). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2009). Second language acquisition in early childhood. Zeitschrift für Sprachwissenschaft, 28(1), 5–34. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2011). First and second language acquisition: Parallels and differences. Cambridge University Press. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2018). Early child second language acquisition: French gender in German children. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 21(4), 656–673. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Mitchell, R., & Myles, F. (2019). Learning French in the UK setting: Policy, classroom engagement and attainable learning outcomes. Apples Journal of Applied Language Studies, 13(1), 69–93. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Netelenbos, N., Li, F., & Rosen, N. (2016). Stop consonant production of French immersion students in Western Canada: A study of voice onset time. International Journal of Bilingualism, 20(3), 346–357. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paradis, J. (2004). The relevance of specific language impairment in understanding the role of transfer in second language acquisition. Applied Psycholinguistics, 25(1), 67–82. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2007). Second language acquisition in childhood. In E. Hoff & M. Shatz (Eds.), Blackwell handbook of language development (pp. 387–405). Blackwell. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2010). The interface between bilingual development and specific language impairment. Applied Psycholinguistics, 31(2), 227–252. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paradis, J., & Crago, M. (2000). Tense and temporality: A comparison between children learning a second language and children with SLI. Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research, 43(4), 834. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paradis, J., Crago, M., Genesee, F., Beachley, B., Brown, A., & Conlin, F. (2003). Object clitics as a clinical marker of SLI in French: Evidence from French-English bilingual children. In B. Beachley, A. Brown, & F. Conlin (Eds.), Proceedings of the 27th annual Boston University Conference on Language Development. Cascadilla Press.Google Scholar
Paradis, J., Crago, M., & Prévost, P. (2004). Comparing L2 and SLI grammars in child French. In P. Prévost & J. Paradis (Eds.), The acquisition of French in different contexts (pp. 89–107). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paradis, J., & Jia, R. (2017). Bilingual children’s long-term outcomes in English as a second language: language environment factors shape individual differences in catching up with monolinguals. Developmental Science, 20(1), e12433. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paradis, J., & Navarro, S. (2003). Subject realization and crosslinguistic interference in the bilingual acquisition of Spanish and English: What is the role of the input? Journal of Child Language, 30(2), 371–393. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Paradis, J., Tremblay, A., & Crago, M. (2014). French-English bilingual children’s sensitivity to child-level and language-level input factors in morphosyntactic acquisition. In T. Grüter & J. Paradis (Eds.), Input and experience in bilingual development (pp. 161–180). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Pearson, B. Z., Fernandez, S. C., Lewedeg, V., & Oller, D. K. (1997). The relation of input factors to lexical learning by bilingual infants. Applied Psycholinguistics, 18(1), 41–58. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Preissler, A.-K. (2011). Subject clitics in child L2 acquisition of French. In E. Rinke & T. Kupisch (Eds.), The development of grammar (pp. 75–103). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Prévost, P. (1997). Truncation in second language acquisition (Unpublished manuscript).Google Scholar
(2003). Verb-types and modality in early child L2 root infinitives. In J. Liceras et al. (Eds.) Proceedings of the 6th Generative Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Conference (GASLA 2002) (pp. 238–247). Cascadilla Proceedings Project.Google Scholar
(2004). The semantic and aspectual properties of child L2 root infinitives. In P. Prévost & J. Paradis (Eds.), The acquistion of French in different contexts: Focus on functional categories (pp. 305–331). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2006). The phenomenon of object omission in child L2 French. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 9(3), 263–280. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2008). Truncation in child L2 acquisition: Evidence from verbless utterances. In E. Gavruseva & B. Haznedar (Eds.), Current trends in child second language acquisition (pp. 177–207). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Prévost, P., & Paradis, J. (Eds.). (2004). The acquisition of French in different contexts: Focus on functional categories. John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Prévost, P., Strik, N., & Tuller, L. (2014). Wh-Questions in child L2 French: Derivational complexity and its interactions with L1 properties, length of exposure, age of exposure, and the input. Second Language Research, 30(2), 225–250. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Prévost, P., Tuller, L., Scheidnes, M., Ferré, S., & Haiden, M. (2010). Computational complexity effects in the acquisition of wh-questions in child L2 French. In L. Dominguez & P. Guijarres-Fuentes (Eds.), New directions in language acquisition: Romance languages in the generative perspective. (pp. 415–443). Cambridge Scholars.Google Scholar
Prévost, P., & White, L. (2000). Missing surface inflection or impairment in second language acquisition? Evidence from tense and agreement. Second Language Research, 16(2), 103–133. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Roesch, A. D., & Chondrogianni, V. (2016). “Which mouse kissed the frog?” Effects of age of onset, length of exposure, and knowledge of case marking on the comprehension of wh-questions in German-speaking simultaneous and early sequential bilingual children. Journal of Child Language, 43(3), 635–661. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Rothman, J., Chakravarty, T., Iverson, M., Judy, T., Lingwall, A., & Long, D. (2016). Older age of onset in child L2 acquisition can be facilitative: evidence from the acquisition of English passives by Spanish natives. Journal of Child Language, 43(3), 662–686. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Scheidnes, M., & Tuller, L. (2016). Assessing successive bilinguals in two languages: A longitudinal look at English-speaking children in France. Journal of Communication Disorders, 64, 45–61. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2019). Using clausal embedding to identify language impairment in sequential bilinguals. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, 22(5), 949–967. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Scheidnes, M., Tuller, L., & Prévost, P. (2021). Object clitic production in French-speaking L2 children and children with SLI: A longitudinal comparison of elicited and spontaneous language. Linguistic Approaches to Bilingualism, 11(2), 259–288. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schimke, S. (2022). The psycholinguistics of child second language acquisition. In A. Godfroid & H. Hopp (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of second language acquisition and psycholinguistics (pp. 26–37). Routledge. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schlyter, S., & Thomas, A. (2012). L1 or L2 acquisition? Finiteness in child second language learners (cL2), compared to adult L2 learners (aL2) and young bilingual children. In M. Watorek, S. Benazzo & M. Hickmann (Eds.), Comparative perspectives to language acquisition: A tribute to Clive Perdue (pp. 282–302). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Schwartz, B. D. (2004). Why child L2 acquisition? LOT Occasional Series, 3, 47–66. Retrieved on 31 October 2024 from [URL]
Splendido, F. (2014). Le développement d’aspects phonético-phonologiques du français chez des enfants bilingues simultanés et successifs: Le VOT et la liaison dans une étude de cas multiples. Lund University. Retrieved on 31 October 2024 from [URL]
(2016). Phonetic-phonological development of early second language French Support for a child second language (cL2) mode of acquisition in phonology. Revue Française de Linguistique Appliquée, 21(2), 19–32. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
(2019). The development of obligatory liaison in early L2 learners of French. Language, Interaction and Acquisition 10(1), 71–95. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Strik, N. (2012). Wh-questions in child bilingual acquisition of French: Derivational complexity and cross-linguistic influence. Canadian Journal of Linguistics/Revue Canadienne de Linguistique, 57(1), 133–151. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Suppes, P., Smith, R., & Leveillé, M. (1973). The French syntax of a child’s noun phrases. Médécine et Hygiène.Google Scholar
Swain, M. (2000). French immersion research in Canada: Recent contributions to SLA and applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 20, 199–212. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thomas, A. (2014). Le rôle de l’aspect lexical et de la fréquence des formes dans l’input sur la production des formes du passé par des enfants apprenants du français L2 en début d’acquisition. Canadian Modern Language Review, 70(1), 1–27. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Thordardottir, E. (2011). The relationship between bilingual exposure and vocabulary development. International Journal of Bilingualism, 15(4), 426–445. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Tuller, L. (2015). Clinical use of parental questionnaires in multilingual contexts. In S. Armon-Lotem, J. de Jong, & N. Meir (Eds.), Assessing multilingual children: Disentangling bilingualism from language impairment (pp. 301–330). Multilingual Matters. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Unsworth, S. (2005). Child L2, adult L2, child L1: Differences and similarities. Utrecht University.Google Scholar
(2014). Comparing the role of input in bilingual acquisition across domains. In T. Grüter & J. Paradis (Eds.), Input and experience in bilingual development (pp. 181–201). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Unsworth, S., Argyri, F., Cornips, L., Hulk, A., Sorace, A., & Tsimpli, I. (2014). The role of age of onset and input in early child bilingualism in Greek and Dutch. Applied Psycholinguistics, 35(4), 765–805. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
White, L. (1996). Clitics in L2 French. In H. Clahsen (Ed.), Generative perspectives on language acquisition (pp. 335–368). John Benjamins. DOI logoGoogle Scholar
Yaw, K., Kytö, M., Larsson, T., Plonsky, L., & Sterling, S. (2023). Research ethics in applied linguistics. Language Teaching, 56(4), 478–494. DOI logoGoogle Scholar