Abstract
The majority of people in the world understands and speaks more than one language. Multilingualism is supported by the media, mobility (both legal and illegal), international economics, global literacy initiatives, progress in information technology, the drive for lifelong learning, and many other factors. Within this chapter different definitions of multilingualism will be explained; particularly relating to concepts such as successive and sequential multilingualism, and language proficiency. Reasons children are multilingual will be discussed, with particular emphasis on international migration. Features of typical and atypical speech and language acquisition will be contrasted. This will be followed by a discussion of the challenges related to assessment and differential diagnosis to distinguish between difference and disorder in multilingual children. Intervention strategies particularly, regarding the language/s of instruction and whether instruction in one language is able to be generalized to another will also be discussed. Finally, recommendations for future research will be provided.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | Communication disorders in multicultural and international populations |
| Editors | Dolores E Battle |
| Place of Publication | St Louis, Missouri |
| Publisher | Elsevier |
| Chapter | 7 |
| Pages | 120-140 |
| Number of pages | 21 |
| Edition | 4th |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9780323087124, 9780323082471 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9780323066990 |
| Publication status | Published - 2012 |