Predicting language outcomes in bilingual children with Down syndrome

This study sought to identify whether exposure to an additional language, specifically Welsh, predicted linguistic abilities in the majority language, in this case, English. Sixty-five children between the ages of 5;5-16;9 who had varied linguistic experiences completed a range of cognitive and linguistic assessments. Results from hierarchical regression analyses show that the amount of exposure to Welsh had no impact on language abilities in English, after controlling for non-verbal cognitive abilities, short-term memory and socioeconomic status. This demonstrates that exposure to an additional language does not have a negative impact on language development, a finding that has important clinical and educational implications.PMID:37921424 | DOI:10.1080/09297049.2023.2275331
Source: Child Neuropsychology - Category: Child Development Authors: Source Type: research