Abstract
Genesee and Delcenserie’s book is a complete and comprehensive review of research related to the unique language-learning experience and development of internationally-adopted (IA) children, who begin acquiring their first language (L1) at birth, but stop learning this language and start acquiring a new one when they are adopted by families who speak a different language. The book comprises seven chapters discussing a variety of issues related to this population of language learners, from their general development (Chapters 1 and 2) to different stages of language development (Chapters 3 to 7).
In the introduction, Genesee clearly establishes the importance of studying IA children, as they are different from typical monolingual and second language (L2) learners. They differ from monolingual learners because their birth language exposure is discontinued early on and their exposure to the adopted language is delayed in comparison with monolinguals’ L1 exposure. They differ from L2 learners because their L1 exposure ceases when they start acquiring their adopted language, whereas L2 learners learn their L2 while still being exposed to their L1. Genesee raises important practical and theoretical implications of studying IA children, as this research can help us understand better the language learning development of these children and other language learners.
In Chapter 1, Rice, Jackson, Mahoney and Tan, focus on pre-adoption stress and adversity and how they affect post-adoption development in IA children. This chapter reviews research that indicates that the most common sources of IA children’s stress and adversity before being institutionalized are family poverty, inadequate medical care and maternal separation, whereas the main factors contributing to their stress and adversity after being institutionalized are lack of individualized care and qualified caregivers, insufficient access to learning materials and opportunities and inappropriate medical care. Rice et al. discuss the impact of these pre-adoption factors on the post-adoption development of IA children, with research revealing that children who experience severe and prolonged pre-adoption adversity are more likely to suffer from post-adoption developmental delays, sensory processing problems, neurobiological impairment, attention problems and learning disabilities. The chapter concludes by discussing research on resilience in IA children with severe pre-adoption deprivation which reveals that most experience a developmental catch-up and recovery after adoption.
In Chapter 2, Finet, Vermeer, Juffer, Bosmans and Bijttebier discuss IA children’s post-adoption cognitive development. This chapter presents a series of natural, experimental and meta-analysis studies investigating the effects of adoption on the cognitive development and academic performance of adopted children. The results reveal the positive effects of adoptive and foster care on these children, with their cognitive development catching up once they are placed in an adoptive or foster family and being higher than that of children who remain institutionalized. These studies also signal the importance of age of adoption and the severity of pre-adoption deprivation for adoptees’ cognitive development, with early adoption and less adverse institutional experiences leading to more positive cognitive development. Finally, research is presented which exposes the detrimental effects of institutional deprivation on children’s executive functions, especially for those who experience prolonged deprivation.
Chapter 3, by Scott and Roberts, focuses on the attrition of the birth language and the development of the adopted language during IA children’s pre-school years. It reviews research indicating that loss of the birth language occurs within the first months after adoption, even for children who initially use this language or those who are adopted at older ages. It also presents research showing that IA children are able to catch up and develop their phonological, lexical and pragmatic skills to age-appropriate levels within the first year after adoption, with morphosyntactic development being slower for some adoptees and age of adoption being an important factor for the development of the birth language.
Delcenserie’s chapter (Chapter 4) focuses on the language development of school-age IA children, also reflecting on their cognitive development and academic performance. In terms of language development, this chapter considers the scarce research on these children’s development of phonology, vocabulary, grammar, and an additional foreign language; overall, it suggests that they perform within age-appropriate levels, although more poorly in most of these areas than non-adopted children matched on age, gender and socioeconomic status. Delcenserie discusses the literature on school-age IA children’s memory and executive functions, which again illustrates age-appropriate verbal memory and executive function abilities, although these remain weaker than those of non-adopted controls. Similar findings are presented in relation to academic achievement, which point to poorer academic performance of IA children in comparison with non-adopted children.
The fifth chapter, by Norrman, Hyltenstam and Bylund, focuses on the long-term language development of adult international adoptees. It presents literature on IA children’s language development in the short and medium terms, which points to them following the same developmental stages as monolingual children when they start acquiring their adopted language (with vocabulary being acquired faster than monolinguals), but to differences appearing in language proficiency after the first years post-adoption. In terms of long-term language development, Norrman et al. present studies that identify subtle differences between international adoptees and monolingual speakers even in adulthood, especially at the phonological and lexical levels, and suggest that adult adoptees are more similar to non-adopted near-native L2 speakers than to L1 speakers. Norrman et al. propose that these differences are due to IA children’s delayed exposure to the adopted language.
Chapter 6 provides important information for the assessment and diagnosis of IA children who need speech and language support. As Glennen explains, determining which IA children need support at an early stage is difficult while they are transitioning between the birth language and the adopted language because they are initially not proficient in the latter and, consequently, do not meet age-level expectations. Glennen suggests that, during this transition phrase, IA children should be assessed using normative data based on other IA children with a similar background and, once they reach age-appropriate language skills, they can be assessed using standard procedures for monolingual children. This chapter also describes IA children’s typical language-learning patterns at different adoption ages and how to assess them in order to identify those who need speech and language support. Diagnostic considerations for vocabulary, grammar, verbal memory and attention are provided, together with recommendations to identify and treat IA children who may not ‘officially’ qualify for speech and language intervention.
In the seventh and final chapter, Pierce, Genesee and Klein focus on whether IA children’s birth language is lost or retained when the adopted language is acquired, particularly from a neurocognitive perspective. The chapter includes research that argues for the complete loss of the birth language as well as research that, conversely, suggests the retention of some elements. Pierce et al. present evidence that the birth language is preserved to some extent and that different language areas undergo attrition to different degrees, with phonology appearing to be retained to some extent. This pattern is explained in relation to the optimal period for language development, suggesting that IA children develop mental representations of the L1 speech sounds during this early period, which makes L1 phonology more likely to be retained and for these representations to be able to affect the processing of the adopted language.
To conclude, this book brings together up-to-date research to provide an interesting, accessible and comprehensive review of central current issues relating to the language development of IA children. The volume would be valuable to an eclectic readership, including experienced researchers and beginners in the field, academics and students in the linguistics, psychology and education fields, as well as speech and language therapists and interested parents and teachers.