Studies on Language, L2, adoption

[Kathryn Kohnert]

I'm jumping into the discussion late, so I'm not sure if someone already
referenced this work but, if not . . .

Sharon Glennen (Dept Communication Sciences & Disorders at Towson U) & M.
Gay Masters (Dept Communication Sciences & Disorders at State U of NY,
Buffalo) recently presented work on "Language Development and Delay in
Internationally Adopted Children" in which they strongly favor a "second
first language" (vs. second language) classification for these young
children. It is my understanding that they found delayed skills in L1 at
time of adoption (for children who were cared for in large Eastern European
institutional settings), rapid attrition of these L1 skills (secondary to
minimal input in new adoptive setting) and, despite a slow start, rapid
growth in the language of the adoptive environment so that the majority of
these children indeed "caught up" in the later preschool years.
The Glennen & Masters article on internationally adopted infants and
toddlers is in press in AJSLP.

Best,
Kathi

____________________________
Kathryn J. Kohnert Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Department of Communication Disorders
University of Minnesota
115 Shevlin Hall; 164 Pillsbury Dr., S.E.
Minneapolis, MN 55104

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