By Lauren Lowry Hanen Certified Speech-Language Pathologist and Hanen Staff Member Bilingualism is always a hot topic amongst speech and language professionals, probably because of the many questions it raises when it comes to children with language impairments. While parents and professionals sometimes voice concerns that a bilingual language learning environment isn’t ideal for children with language delays, research has shown that bilingualism doesn’t pose any extra disadvantage for these children (Kohnert, Yim, Nett, Kan, & Duran, 2005). Children with language delays are capable of learning two languages at least as well as their monolingual peers with language delays. This poses a challenge for us, however, as our role is to support children’s acquisition of both their first (L1) and second languages (L2). In order to do this we need grounding in principles of second language development. At times we might feel challenged to support a child’s first language, especially when we do not speak the language ourselves. But a recent article by Konishi, Kanero, Freeman, Golinkoff & Hirsh- Pasek (2014) reassures us that our knowledge of typical language development can help us promote the language development of children learning a second language. And the responsive strategies we encourage during interactions between caregivers and children are exactly what children need in order to learn their second language. Children learning English as a second language Konishi et al. (2014) focus their article on children who first learn a language other than English at home and are later exposed to English when they begin school (English as a second language learners). Many of these children come from immigrant families who tend to be of lower socioeconomic status. Due to poverty and a potentially impoverished language learning environment at home, these children are at risk for academic difficulties and often fall behind their monolingual English-speaking peers (Konishi et al., 2014). In an attempt to provide evidenced-based recommendations for helping this group of children, Konishi et al. (2014) suggest six principles that are based on research about language development in both monolingual children and children learning a second language. As you read on, you’ll find that these principles align very well with the Hanen philosophy and strategies. Principles of language learning that encourage L2 development 1. Children learn what they hear most To learn language, children need to hear language…a lot of language. Infants are wired for “statistical learning”, which means they extract regularities in the constant stream of speech to which they are exposed (Konishi et al., 2014, p. 407). But children need sufficient input in order to detect these regularities in a language. And for children learning an additional language, they need sufficient exposure to both languages as early as possible for successful language acquisition. Making this happen with Hanen Helping parents and educators add fine-tuned language to children’s everyday activities and experiences increases the language input to which children are exposed. And when adults interpret children’s messages and comment on children’s interests, children are more likely to attend to this input. Encouraging parents to use Hanen strategies when they speak their home language with their child ensures that the child will have adequate exposure to his L1. Parents sometimes wonder if they should stop speaking their home language with their child and instead speak to their child in English, even if they aren’t comfortable or fluent in English. However, sufficient exposure to the L1 is critical as children are at risk of losing their L1 unless they continually receive L1 input (Restrepo, Morgan & Thompson, 2013). And the input they receive needs to be good quality input, so parents should speak to their child in a language with which they feel comfortable. 2. Children learn words for things and events that interest them Konishi et al. (2014) explain that children’s interest plays an essential role in their language learning, as they initially map labels onto salient objects in which they are interested. In addition, once young children develop joint attention and can sustain attention for longer periods to both a caregiver and objects which spark their interest, word learning is further facilitated. In their article, Konishi and her colleagues remind us of research that has shown that: the amount of time a parent and child spend in joint attention episodes from 12-18 months of age is positively related to the child’s vocabulary size at 18 months when parents follow their child’s lead and create joint attention episodes based on their child’s object interests, their children are more likely to learn the labels for these objects than children whose parents redirect their child’s attention to other referents (Konishi et al., 2014) During episodes of joint attention, children use gesture and gaze direction to cue their word learning. Bilingual children are even more adept at using these types of cues than monolingual children (Konishi et al., 2014). Therefore, using social cues and children’s interests during engaging activities will likely boost the language of children learning a second language. Making this happen with Hanen Including a child’s interests and following his lead lie at the heart of the Hanen philosophy. That is why this is the first strategy introduced to learners at the beginning of all of the Hanen programs. All other strategies are layered upon this foundation strategy. 3. Interactive and responsive rather than passive contexts promote language learning Social contexts in which communication partners provide contingent responses are essential for language learning. As Konishi et al. (2014) explain, “interactions that involve periods of joint focus, positive affect, sensitivity, cooperation, and acceptance provide children with the scaffolding necessary to facilitate language acquisition” (p. 408). Responsive interactions involve co-regulation between participants, in which each participant continually modifies his or her behavior based on the other’s actions and needs. In this way, parents can adapt their language to scaffold their child’s language learning (Konishi et al., 2014). This type of interaction promotes both L1 and L2 development. Making this happen with Hanen The strategies parents and educators learn in all of the Hanen programs are known as “responsive interaction strategies”. These strategies are based on research that shows that caregivers’ contingent, sensitive responses are associated with optimal child language outcomes, including receptive language, speech, and vocabulary (Stock, 2002; Baumwell, Tamis-LeMonda & Bornstein, 1997; Rollins, 2003; Olson, Bates & Bayles, 1986; Beckwith & Cohen, 1989). Whether parents and educators are engaging in daily routines with children, playing with toys together or sharing books, responding contingently to children’s communication and focus is always an underlying goal. 4. Children learn words best in meaningful contexts Konishi et al. (2014) suggest that teaching vocabulary in integrated and meaningful contexts enriches children’s background knowledge and also their mental lexicons. They propose using guided play environments to scaffold children’s learning as this approach promotes “superior learning, retention, and academic achievement compared to direct instruction” (p. 410). Conversations during these meaningful, playful situations build on children’s interests, and children are more likely to retain new lexical concepts presented during these types of contexts. Play and shared reading contexts also offer the possibility of discussions which can help children learning a second language build connections between their own specific cultural and background experiences and the story or play theme. These types of discussions further enhance learning and retention of novel language. Making this happen with Hanen Children’s natural, everyday experiences are used as the context for language learning opportunities in all of the Hanen programs. Besides play and book sharing, parents and educators also learn to use children’s daily routines as meaningful contexts for learning language. Besides aiding with generalization, using everyday meaningful contexts also ensures that language intervention is an ongoing occurrence that happens throughout a child’s day. Since children learning two languages need as much exposure to both languages as possible, using the child’s everyday experiences both at home and in an educational setting maximizes their daily opportunities for language learning. 5. Children need to hear diverse examples of words and language structures Children need diverse linguistic input in order to learn language, and this includes: diverse vocabulary – Konishi et al. (2014) reference findings from several studies, including one by Rowe (2012) which we wrote about in June 2013 , which demonstrate children’s superior vocabulary and communications skills as a result of parents’ diverse vocabulary during parent- child interactions. input from multiple speakers – infants don’t always recognize a word when the gender or tone of voice varies. Konishi et al. (2014) explain that it is through hearing a language from diverse speakers that children form abstract phonological representations of words. a variety of examples of referents in diverse contexts – hearing a word in several different contexts helps children