CLD 421

Building on the concepts of first language acquisition, this course explores how young children process, navigate and manage more than one language. Bilingualism and multilingualism will be investigated from social, cultural, historical, educational and political perspectives, focusing on young children in the Canadian context, but also drawing on current language landscapes of other countries (e.g. USA, the European Union, Iceland and Japan). Theories of second language learning in the early years will be compared and critiqued. Implications for working with bilingual and multilingual children and families will be discussed. The practical component of the course will allow students to work directly with a bilingual or a multilingual family.