A multilingual experience can be considered a significant asset. However, since the earliest studies in the field, research has reported mixed results regarding potential advantages such as increased cognitive ability and metalinguistic awareness. Moreover, studies investigating the influence of bilingualism/multilingualism on the acquisition of…

Since the earliest studies on multilingual advantages, it has proved difficult to disentangle language development from general cognition. It remains unclear whether language interdependence is an independent variable or whether observable effects are mediated by cognitive ability. Measurable effects of one language on another typically go hand in…

In linguistically diverse contexts, language repertoires include various literacy skills in multiple languages across different modes of representation (multiliteracies), where multilingual writing can be conceptualized as a synthesized competence that includes all languages in a person's repertoire and is continuously evolving. We respond to the…

Working memory (WM) as a key component of language aptitude has become a topical issue, with some going so far as to argue that WM can replace language aptitude. Research that specifically investigates the relationship between WM and language aptitude is rather limited. This study explores the determinants of language aptitude, with a focus on WM…

Background: In the literature so far the limited research on specific language impairment (SLI) in bilingual children has concentrated on linguistic skills in the first language (L1) and/or the second language (L2) without paying attention to the relations between the two types of skills and to the issue of linguistic transfer. Aims: To examine…

Previous research has emphasized the importance of language for learning mathematics. This is especially true when mathematical problems have to be extracted from a meaningful context, as in arithmetic word problems. Bilingual learners with a low command of the instructional language thus may face challenges when dealing with mathematical…

This study investigated the relationships between home language learning activities and vocabulary in a sample of monolingual native Dutch (n = 58) and bilingual immigrant Moroccan-Dutch (n = 46) and Turkish-Dutch (n = 55) 3-year-olds, speaking Tarifit-Berber, a nonscripted language, and Turkish as their first language (L1), respectively. Despite…

The 23rd EUROCALL conference was held in Cyprus from the 24th to the 27th of August 2016. The theme of the conference this year was "CALL Communities and Culture." It offered a unique opportunity to hear from real-world CALL practitioners on how they practice CALL in their communities, and how the CALL culture has developed in local and…

The purpose of this study was to identify factors that predict the first- and second-language proficiency of ethnic minority children at the age of six. Results of the study show two dimensions that underlie children's proficiency in either language: communicative skills versus cognitive/academic skills. (45 references) (JL)