"The influence of bilingualism on cognitive strategy,"
Child Development48.1009-1018.
Abstract: The hypothesis is that mutual interference between the bilingual
child's 2 languages forces the child to develop particular coping
strategies which in some ways accelerate cognitive development. The
sample consisted of 2 groups of Hebrew-English bilingual children,
1 group tested in the United States and the other group tested in Israel,
and two groups of monolingual Jewish children, with those tested in the
United States speaking only English and those tested in Israel speaking
only Hebrew. In all groups parent occupation and education level were
similarly high. WISC IQ was estimated from 4 subtests - Similarities,
Digit Span, Picture Completion, and PIcture Arrangment - and
statistically controlled. In spite of lower vocabulary level, bilinguals
showed more advanced processing of verbal material, more discriminating
perceptual distinctions, more propensity to search for structure in
perceptual situations, and more capacity to reorganize their perceptions
in response to feedback.
Cummings, Jim and Merrill Swain (1986)
Bilingualism in Education: Aspects of theory, research and practice.
New York: Longman.
Fagan, William T. and Ruth L. Eagan (1990)
"The writing behavior in French and English of grade three French
immersion children,"
English Quarterly223-4.157-168.
Abstract: Is the concern valid that French immersion programs may be
detrimental to achievement in English writing skills? The results of the
present study indicate otherwise. The writing in English and in French
of 12 grade three children in French immersion was fairly comparable
across languages, with some advantage in both process and product for the
English writing. The effect of the home, however, on development in English
cannot be overlooked. Furthermore, it cannot be determined what the progress
of the children would be in English if they had received some instruction
in that language.
Harding, Edith and Philip Riley (1986)
The Bilingual Family: A Handbook for Parents.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
A practical discussion of the problems of raising children in bilingual
or multilingual situation. Quite a few different situations and examples
are discussed. Most of the examples discussed involve European languages,
but much of the advice given will prove relevant in other situations.
deHouwer, A. (1995)
``Bilingual Language Acquisition,''
in P. Fletcher and B. MacWhinney (eds.)
Handbook of Child Language
pp. 219-250.
Romaine, Suzanne (1995)
Bilingualism.
Oxford: Blackwell. 2nd edition.
A detailed treatment of issues having to do with bilingualism.
Sorenson, A. (1967)
"Multilingualism in the Northwest Amazon,"
American Anthropologist69.670-684.
Describes extensive multilingualism in one region of the Amazon Basin.
Verhallen, Marianne and Rob Schoonen (1993)
"Lexical Knowledge of Monolingual and Bilingual Children,"
Applied Linguistics14.4.344-63.