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<TITLE>RE: Question to the community</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Sorry, didn't mean to de-value objective methods, just that so often the bilingualism impression here is as an unfortunate at-risk condition of poor people of colour that we must distinguish carefully from disorder (and hopefully remove anyway). I enjoyed hearing educated, accomplished bilinguals reflect on their thoughts a reminder in this monolingual society that bilingualism is also normal.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Teresa Ukrainetz</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">----------</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">From:</FONT></B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Alcock, Katie</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Sent:</FONT></B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Tuesday, November 5, 2002 3:40 PM</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Cc:</FONT></B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">'info-childes '; 'Ellina Chernobilsky '</FONT>
<BR><B><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Subject:</FONT></B> <FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">RE: Question to the community</FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Some slightly more objective work than the anecdotes suggested here (sorry, I just have a hard time with the idea of asking someone to lose a language!) has been done by Kathy Kohnert, particularly looking at naming skill and speed as children who started schooling with one language go through school. I can't recall the exact reference but I think it's in Brain and Language.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">In summary if you start school at about 6 then you become equal in home and school languages at about 8 and then cross over at 10 to become dominant in school language.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Two of my undergraduates have replicated this - one only in 9 year olds (they were English dominant or equal in the two languages, and ones who were equal in the two knew more names of objects - if allowed to name in either language - than English monolinguals, if I recall correctly). The other looked at development and roughly replicated Kathy's findings.</FONT></P>
<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Her paper may be under Kohnert-Rice.</FONT><FONT FACE="Arial"> </FONT>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2 FACE="Arial">Katie</FONT><FONT FACE="Arial"> </FONT>
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