ESLC2025ONTHEMOVE

Dual language learners (DLLs) are more heterogenous in their language development than their monolingual peers. This heterogeneity in their rate of development and their outcomes means some DLLs overlap with children who have communication disorders in their English second language (L2) abilities. In this keynote we will explore answers to the following questions: (1) What are the reasons that DLLs vary so much in their L2 abilities and what can teachers do to support slower DLLs? (2) What causes overlap between the profiles of child L2 speakers and children with communication disorders and how does this complicate identifying language differences versus disorders? (3) Do children with communication disorders have the capacity to learn two languages?