Bilingual children experience more variation in their language environment than monolingual children and this impacts their rate of language development with respect to monolinguals. How long it takes for bilingual children learning English as a second language (L2) to display similar abilities to monolingual age-peers has been estimated to be 4-6 years, but conflicting findings suggest that even 6 years in school is not enough. Most studies on long-term L2 development have focused on just one linguistic sub-domain, vocabulary, and have not included multiple individual difference factors. For the present study, Chinese first language-English L2 children were given standardized measures of vocabulary, grammar and global comprehension every year from 4 ½ to 6 ½ years of English in school (ages 8½ to 10½); language environment factors were obtained through an extensive parent questionnaire. Children converged on monolingual norms differentially according to the test, with the majority of children reaching monolingual levels of performance on the majority of tests by 5 ½ years of English exposure. Individual differences in outcomes were predicted by length of English exposure, mother's education, mother's English fluency, child's use of English in the home, richness/quality of the English input outside school and age of arrival in Canada. In sum, the timeframe for bilinguals to catch up to monolinguals depends on linguistic sub-domain, task difficulty and on individual children's language environment, making 4-6 years an approximate estimate only. This study also shows that language environment factors shape not only early-stage but also late-stage bilingual development.

This study investigated the referring expressions used for first mentions of participants and entities in narratives by Mandarin heritage language (HL) and monolingual children. Referring expressions for first mentions in Mandarin comprise lexical, morphological and syntactic devices. Results showed that HL children used less adequate referring expressions for first mentions than the monolinguals, mainly due to overgeneralization of classifiers and lack of vocabulary knowledge. However, HL children did not differ from monolinguals in their use of relative clauses and post-verbal NP placement to mark first mentions. These results suggest that incomplete acquisition of the HL may vary across different linguistic subdomains (Montrul, 2008); specifically, domains requiring a great deal of input to acquire, such as vocabulary and the large repertoire of classifier morphemes, might be more vulnerable in HL speakers than syntax. Mixed modeling analyses revealed that older age of arrival, higher maternal education levels and a rich and diverse Mandarin environment at home predicted stronger narrative outcomes, also pointing to an important role for input in HL acquisition.

This study examined the phenomena of incomplete acquisition, attrition, and protracted acquisition of the L1 in HL children by focusing on the comprehension and production of subject and object relative clauses (RCs) in Mandarin HL children. A cross-sectional design (study 1) and a longitudinal design (study 2) were both included. Our results showed that HL children were comparable to monolinguals for the comprehension of RCs in both study 1 and 2. For the production of RCs, although monolinguals outperformed HL children in study 1, HL children’s production of RCs was convergent with monolingual-like levels over time (study 2). We conclude that the reduced L1 input HL children receive in the host country does not necessarily lead to deficient acquisition of the L1. Perhaps for some complex structures in the L1 (e.g., RCs), HL children may need more time than monolingual children to accumulate the critical mass of input needed to acquire them.

The cumulative effects hypothesis (CEH) claims that bilingual development would be a challenge for children with specific language impairment (SLI). To date, research on second language (L2) children with SLI has been limited mainly to their early years of L2 exposure; however, examining the long-term outcomes of L2 children with SLI is essential for testing the CEH. Accordingly, the present study examined production and grammaticality judgments of English tense morphology from matched groups of L2 children with SLI and L2 children with typical development (TD) for 3 years, from ages 8 to 10 with 4-6 years of exposure to English. This study found that the longitudinal acquisition profile of the L2 children with SLI and TD was similar to the acquisition profile reported for monolinguals with SLI and TD. Furthermore, L2-SLI children's accuracy with tense morphology was similar to that of their monolingual age peers with SLI at the end of the study, and exceeded that of younger monolingual peers with SLI whose age matched the L2 children's length of exposure to English. These findings are not consistent with the CEH, but instead show that morphological acquisition parallel to monolinguals with SLI is possible for L2 children with SLI.

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Playas are one of the major sources of saline and alkaline dust in northern China, which release a large amount of sand and dust material every year, severely impacting the quality of the atmosphere, production and life on the Inner Mongolian Plateau in northern China. The surface characteristics of playa activation processes influence the horizontal salt migration flux, but the salt transmission volume of playas is almost unknown in dry salt lakes in a typical steppe. The functional relationship between horizontal salt dust transmission volume and the grain size content was ascertained for four different surfaces at situ sites in the Chagan Nur playa in northern China. After collecting salt dust from four surfaces (crust, broken crust, activated and sandy saline surface) formed during different stages of the desiccation process, the salt dust transmission was assessed based on the wind velocity profile, grain size, and total wind erosion particulate matter (TWEP) profiles above the playa surfaces. The particle size gradually increased from the center of the lake to the shore, while the water content decreased. The wind speed, friction velocity, and roughness of the four surfaces were as follows: sandy saline surface

IntroductionThis study uses linked administrative data to identify Albertan children and youth (aged 0 to 25 years) with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Cerebral Palsy (CP) or Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), and to examine their government service use patterns from 2005/06 to 2010/11. Objectives and ApproachThe analysis looks at whether children with ASD, CP and FASD have similar government service use patterns and how their service use patterns changed over time. Six Government of Alberta ministries’ data were linked (Health, Justice, Education, Advanced Education, Children’s Services and Community and Social Services). Individuals were defined as having ASD, CP or FASD if, at any point during the study period, they had a diagnostic code for one of three conditions (ASD, CP or FASD) from a health service (i.e., physician visits, or emergency room visits, or hospitalizations), or accessed disability support programs for ASD, CP or FASD. ResultsThe results showed different service use patterns for the three conditions: (1) a higher proportion of children with ASD were students with special needs compared to children with FASD and CP; (2) a lower proportion of children with FASD received FSCD services compared to children with ASD and CP; (3) a higher proportion of children with FASD were involved in the Child Intervention system and were Income Support recipients compared to children with ASD and CP. Moreover, the study showed that there was a decrease in accessing services and programming from Persons with Development Disabilities (PDD) for young Albertans with ASD, CP and FASD from 2005/06 to 2010/11. In contrast, the use of another adult disability program that provides only financial assistance, Assured Income for Severely Handicapped, increased over time. Conclusion/ImplicationsThe use of population-based linked administrative data allows a comprehensive and comparative study for government service use patterns. The findings have implications for cross-ministry policy and program development, resource allocation, and service coordination and delivery to young Albertans with ASD, CP and FASD.