Language Development

I wrote the following research paper for a graduate course called "Second Language Acquisition." I wouldn't call it a masterpiece, nor does it make me an expert, but I got an A++ so at least one person liked it! I thought I would share it here as many of you may find it interesting. 

"Exploring the Language Development of Children Adopted Internationally"

Introduction

     International adoption provides a unique perspective to language development. In most cases, children adopted internationally spend the first few months or years of their lives being exposed to one language environment and then, upon adoption, are suddenly exposed to an entirely new language environment at the expense of the first (Snedeker, Geren, & Shafto, 2005; Glennen, 2002; Glennen & Masters, 2002; Meacham, 2006; Scott, Roberts, & Krakow, 2008). What happens to the language development process upon entering the new language environment? How long does it take international adoptees to “catch up” to their non-adopted, native speaking peers? Does the age at which a child is adopted affect language development? What does typical language development look like in the case of children adopted international?

     Research addressing questions such as these can help foster a greater understanding of the language learning process. It can also benefit educators and speech and language professionals who may work with this population. Unlike most English language learners, children adopted internationally often do not have the benefit of continuing to develop their first native language skills. Instead, they inherit a new native language and experience rapid loss of their previous language (Glennan & Masters, 2002).

     In order to garner a better understanding of this population’s general language development, characteristics, and needs, the language development processes will be discussed first. Next, the question regarding how a child’s age upon adoption affects language learning and outcomes will be explored. Finally, there will be a discussion about what typical and atypical development looks like, as well as how to identify whether or a not a child adopted internationally should be recommended for additional speech and language services. A conclusion will follow.

Part 1: Language Development

     In 2007, a study was done in order to examine the role of cognitive development and maturation on language development (Snedeker, et al., 2007). Unlike many bilingual children, international adoptees often enter an entirely new language environment at the expense of their previous one. Thus, studying this unique population provides a natural experiment in language development and acquisition.

     The study included 27 families with children adopted internationally from China. The children were between the ages of 2 years, 7 months and 5 years, 6 months and had been in the United States between 3 and 16 months. Children who had medical issues that might affect language acquisition were excluded from the study. Data compiled from parent surveys and language samples was collected every 3 months until the children had been in the country for a total of 18 months each. Results were then compared with those of monolingual infants.

     The children adopted internationally demonstrated rapid vocabulary growth. After only 3 months in the new language environment, the internationally adopted pre-schoolers had developed a vocabulary that was similar to 24-month-old monolingual toddlers. This means that the internationally adopted pre-schoolers’ vocabulary developed around 4 times the rate of the monolingual infants.

     Using the same methods, the study was also able to examine the order in which international adoptees acquired their new language. Results showed that despite more mature cognitive development, the international adoptees acquired language in roughly the same order as the monolingual infants. They first entered a one-word stage, developed into a two-word stage, and so on. The only notable difference between the two groups was the speed in which each group developed language.

     Another aspect to the language development of children adopted internationally is what happens to the language skills they have already developed in their first native language. Essentially, the development of the previous language is halted abruptly, and any skills gained in that language begin to recess rapidly. Glennen (2002) estimated that children adopted internationally lose their expressive language skills within 3-6 months and lose the rest of their first native language skills within a year of being adopted.

Part 2: Age Matters

     The age at which a child is adopted internationally varies greatly but is typically well within the period critical to becoming a fluent, native speaker of the newly adopted language (Snedeker, et al., 2007). The question, then, is not whether an internationally adopted child will acquire native speaker fluency, but when.

     Studies have shown that, in general, the earlier children are upon adoption, the sooner their language development will match their non-adopted peers (Glennan & Masters, 2002; Meacham, 2006). Age upon adoption, however, is not a predictor of future school outcomes (Meacham, 2006), though children adopted at an older age may initially struggle simply from not having much time to learn their new language before beginning school (Scott, et al., 2008).

     In 2002, a study was done that included 130 infants and toddlers adopted from Eastern Europe (Glennen & Masters). Data was collected using parent surveys from the time a child was adopted until he or she reached 36-40 months of age. The data is best represented below (see Table 1). In summary, the results show that the language skills of children adopted internationally progress rapidly and can generally be expected to rival their non-adopted, native speaking peers by school-age or earlier.

Table 1. From Glennen and Masters (2002), this chart represents the language growth of children adopted internationally from Eastern Europe as compared to their non-adopted, native speaking peers.

Part 3: Typical and Atypical Development

     In the past, significant research was unavailable to help parents and educators determine whether or not children adopted internationally had speech and language delays (Glennen & Masters, 2002). When bilingual children are assessed for similar delays, they are tested in both languages. Since children adopted internationally rapidly lose their first native language skills, however, this type of assessment is neither effective nor accurate (Glennen, 2002). In other words, testing for speech and language delays of children adopted internationally can only be compared to other children of the same population (Meacham, 2006). In an attempt to develop normative guidelines for the purposes of testing this unique population, Glennen and Masters (2002) conducted research using parent surveys, as previously discussed in Part 2: Age Matters.

     Based on their research, they were able to come up with some general guidelines as to what typical language development should look like for children adopted internationally based on the age of their adoption. In general, children adopted internationally should begin to progress rapidly in their new language. If rapid progress is not being made, that could be cause for concern, but progress is defined differently depending on a child’s age at adoption. Children participating in this study were separated into four groups based on their ages at the time of adoption: 0-12 months, 13-18 months, 19-24 months, and 25-30 months.

     Children adopted between 0-12 months of age should generally begin speaking at the same time as their non-adopted peers. Children who are adopted prior to 12 months of age should be considered for speech and language services if they are well below native-speaker milestones. However, children in this age group should not be expected to match the language abilities of their non-adopted, native-speaking peers until 30-36 months of age.

     The language abilities of children adopted between 13-18 months of age should progress rapidly. By 24 months of age, children in this age group should be averaging 50 words and using two-word phrases. Any child that does not meet these milestones should be considered for speech and language services. Children from this age group should match the language abilities of their non-adopted, native speaking peers by 37-40 months of age.

     Children adopted between 19-24 months of age progressed even more rapidly than the previous age group. By 24-27 months of age, children in this age group should already exhibit around 21 words, and by 28-30 months of age, they should exhibit a vocabulary of around 132 words. Two-word phrases also developed between 28-30 months of age. Children in this age group who cannot exhibit 50 words by 28 months of age should be considered for speech and language services. Children participating in this study, however, expressed continued delay of about 2-4 months in the areas of expressive syntax and grammar. These children should be expected to match their non-adopted, native speaking peers by the same age as the previous age group, by 37-40 months, except in the areas of expressive syntax and grammar, which will require time further development.

     Children adopted between 25-30 months of age should begin adding new words to their vocabulary immediately following adoption. Children in this age group who had only been home 2-3 months were using a vocabulary of around 32 words and were already beginning to put words into phrases. By 31-33 months of age, these same children exhibited a vocabulary of around 80 words. By 37-40 months, children averaged around 238 words and language development nearly matched that of the previous two age groups, with the exception of expressive grammar and syntax. Children adopted in this age group should be considered for speech and language services if they do not begin to add words to their vocabulary within weeks of being home or if they are not meeting the previously mentioned milestones.

     This information is summarized below in Table 2. These guidelines can be used by parents, educators, and speech and language professionals alike in order to follow the language development progress of their internationally adopted children, students, or clients.

Table 2. Based on the work of Glennen and Masters (2002) as cited in Meacham (2006).

Conclusion

     Despite the information discussed here, there is much more research that needs to be done. Future studies could include the effects of institutional care on language development, long-term effects of an abrupt change in first language, and subtle differences in language development that could be predictors of future outcomes and delays (Glennen & Masters, 2002). In the meantime, this information can provide general guidelines for understand the language development process of children adopted internationally as well a guide for assessing possible speech and language delays within this population.

References

Snedeker, J., Geren, J., & Shafto, C. (2005). Starting over: A preliminary study of
early lexical and syntactic development in internationally adopted preschoolers. Seminars in Speech & Language, 26(1), 44-53. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=16372214&site=ehost-live


Glennen, S. (2002). Language development and delay in internationally
adopted infants and toddlers: A review.American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11(4), 333. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7727119&site=ehost-live


Glennen, S., & Masters, M. G. (2002). Typical and atypical language
development in infants and toddlers adopted from eastern europe. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 11(4), 417. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7728370&site=ehost-live


Meacham, A. (2006). Language learning and the internationally adopted
child. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34(1), 73-79. doi:10.1007/s10643-006-0105-z


Scott, K. A., Roberts, J. A., & Krakow, R. (2008). Oral and written language
development of children adopted from china. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 17(2), 150-160. doi:10.1044/1058-0360(2008/015)