Welcome to the Child Language Learning Lab

Directed by Dr. Pui Fong Kan

The Need for Language Assessments for Bilingual Children

We investigate how children become bilingual, learning one language at home (L1) and a community language (L2) during early childhood. Due to different learning environments, typically developing bilingual children may temporarily show lower language skills in one or both languages.  Unfortunately, most available assessments are designed for monolingual children, leading to bias against bilingual children. The lack of valid assessments results in two major problems: many bilingual children without disorders are misdiagnosed, while others with language disorders go unidentified and do not receive the intervention they need.

Our Research Focus

• Investigate the factors that affect the development of bilingual children.
• Identify the specific indicators of language impairment in bilingual children.
• Create alternative assessments for bilingual children.
• Develop interventions designed for bilingual children with language impairments.

Want to learn more or participate in a study? Contact us!