Developmental trajectories of linguistic and academic skills in bilingual minority language children
Paola Bonifacci
Bilingualism is a dynamic and dimensional phenomenon and multiple typologies of bilingualism can be defined. In this review we will analyse studies on children who usually speak a minority language at home (L1) and who are exposed to an L2 at school. These children are often referred to as sequential minority language bilingual children. The paper will analyse the evolutionary trajectories related to the main stages of language development in L2, both considering studies conducted on children exposed to English as an L2, and recent studies conducted on children exposed to Italian as L2. Specifically, the review focuses on the developmental trajectories of academic skills, such as reading, writing, reading comprehension and acquisition of a foreign language. The results show distinct developmental trajectories in relation to specific functions and linguistic exposure. The implications for evaluation and clinical practice will be discussed.
Keywords
Bilingualism, Learning processes, Linguistic exposure, Reading, Comprehension.