Bilingualism Across the Lifespan

Elena Nicoladis, PhD, is a professor in the psychology department at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. She received her PhD in developmental psychology at McGill University. Her dissertation focused on the language choice of preschool French amp ndash English bilingual children. Dr. Nicoladis's research focuses on several areas. One area focuses on language acquisition in bilingual children, in particular, how bilinguals use their two languages. The bilinguals in her studies include not only French amp ndash English bilinguals but also bilinguals who speak other minority languages, like Hindi and Chinese, as well as English. Another area focuses on the relationship between language and thought in development, including how language use and/or structure might affect children's thinking. A third area raises questions about how manual gestures are related to language use and development on the one hand and cognitive development on the other.  Simona Montanari, PhD, is an associate professor in the Department of Child and Family Studies at California State University, Los Angeles. She received her PhD in linguistics from the University of Southern California, specializing on early trilingual development. Her research, which has focused on the acquisition of phonology, lexicon, morphosyntax and communicative competence in two or three languages, has been published in the Journal of Child Language, in Bilingualism: Language and Cognition, and in the International Journal of Bilingualism, among others. Dr. Montanari has also been involved in the creation and implementation of the first public Italian/English dual language program in the Glendale Unified School District (Los Angeles County), and has been studying its educational outcomes since its launch in 2 9. At California State University, Los Angeles, Dr. Montanari teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on language development and second-language acquisition in childhood, and she is currently involved in research on phonological development in Spanish amp ndash English dual language preschoolers. She also continues to work as a consultant for the Glendale Unified School District and has designed common-core-standards-aligned curricula for its Italian/English, French/English and German/English dual-language programs.

• ContributorsIntroduction Simona Montanari and Elena NicoladisShifting Perspectives on Bilingualism Fred GeneseeI. Early BilingualismEarly Bilingualism: From Differentiation to the Impact of Family Language Practices Suzanne Quay and Simona MontanariSpeech Perception in Simultaneously Bilingual Infants Christopher T. Fennell, Angeline Sin-Mei Tsui, and Tamara M. HudonEarly Lexical Development in Bilingual Infants and Toddlers Barbara T. Conboy and Simona MontanariCode-Switching in Childhood W. Quin Yow, Ferninda Patrycia, and Suzanne FlynnII. Factors Affecting Bilingualism Across the LifespanQuantity and Quality of Language Input in Bilingual Language Development Sharon UnsworthFactors Moderating Proficiency in Bilingual Speakers Virginia C. Mueller GathercoleAge of Onset of Bilingualism Effects and Availability of Input in First Language Attrition Silvina MontrulAge of Second-Language Acquisition: Critical Periods and Social Concerns David Birdsong and Jan VanhoveCode-Switching in Adulthood Jeff MacSwanIII. Academic Achievement and Literacy in BilingualsBilingualism and Academic Achievement in Children in Dual Language Programs Kathryn Lindholm-LearyLiteracy in Adulthood: Reading in Two Languages Judith F. Kroll, Jason Gullifer, and Megan ZirnsteinIV. Cognitive Effects of BilingualismCognitive Effects of Bilingualism in Infancy amp Aacute gnes Melinda Kov amp aacute csBilingual Speakers' Cognitive Development in Childhood Elena NicoladisCognitive and Emotional Effects of Bilingualism in Adulthood Max R. Freeman, Anthony Shook, and Viorica MarianThe Contribution of Bilingualism to Cognitive Reserve in Healthy Aging and Dementia Hilary D. Duncan and Natalie A. PhillipsV. ConclusionConcluding Remarks and Future Directions Simona Montanari and Elena NicoladisIndexAbout the Editors

The time has come for language researchers to abandon the monolingual model in favor of more inclusive theories of language development and processing that are inclusive of the bilingual experience. Clearly, Bilingualism Across the Lifespan is an essential read for all psycholinguists and developmental psychologists. (PsycCRITIQUES)