Child L2 acquisition

Successive childhood bilingualism or child second language (L2) acquisition is the acquisition of an L2 during childhood after some properties of the first language (L1) are already in place. The study of child L2 development can inform us about the mechanisms and processes involved in second language learning and highlight the ways in which these mechanisms are similar or different from those reported for L1 children and L2 adults. Therefore, it is important to investigate how child L2 development compares with child L1 development and adult L2 acquisition, what the role of the L1 in the acquisition process is, whether and when age of L2 exposure effects are observed in the acquisition of an L2 during childhood, and how input quality and quantity can shape the child L2 acquisition process.