Language Development in Internationally Adopted Children: A Special Case of Early Second Language Learning

The French language development of children adopted (n = 24) from China was compared with that of control children matched for socioeconomic status, sex, and age. The children were assessed at 50 months of age, on average, and 16 months later. The initial assessment revealed that the 2 groups did no...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child development 2011-05, Vol.82 (3), p.887-901
Main Authors: Gauthier, Karine, Genesee, Fred
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adopted children
Adoption
Adoption - psychology
Assessment
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child adoption
Child development
Child, Preschool
Children
Children & youth
China
China - ethnology
Comprehension
Control Groups
Developmental psychology
Emotional Adjustment
Emotions
EMPIRICAL ARTICLES
Empirical research
Expressive Language
Female
First language acquisition
Foreign Countries
France
French
French language
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Intellectual ability
Intelligence
Intelligence quotient
Internationalization
Language acquisition
Language Development
Language Skills
Language Tests
Multilingualism
Parents
Preschool children
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Quebec
Receptive Language
Reference Values
School age children
Second language
Second Language Learning
Self-expression
Social Adjustment
Socioeconomic Status
Speech Perception
Verbal Behavior
Verbal Learning
Vocabulary
Young Children
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Description
Summary:The French language development of children adopted (n = 24) from China was compared with that of control children matched for socioeconomic status, sex, and age. The children were assessed at 50 months of age, on average, and 16 months later. The initial assessment revealed that the 2 groups did not differ with respect to socioemotional adjustment or intellectual abilities. However, the adopted children's expressive language skills were significantly lower than those of the nonadopted children at both assessments. The receptive language skills were also significantly weaker for the adopted children at the second assessment. The results are discussed in terms of possible early age-of-acquisition effects that might affect adopted children's ability to acquire a second first language.
ISSN:0009-3920
1467-8624
DOI:10.1111/j.1467-8624.2011.01578.x