ABSTRACT
Language learning is a combination of inherited genetics and the child’s environment. This chapter reviews genetic influences on language and literacy, then discusses the impact of the environment. The importance of quality caregiving as an environmental factor is reviewed along with information about neurobiological impacts of poor caregiving on language development. The chapter then discusses the unique language learning situation of internationally adopted children who have to learn a new language after adoption. Neurobiological information about second language learning in internationally adopted children, developmental milestones, and language outcomes are discussed in depth with information specific to the child’s age of adoption. School-age internationally adopted children tend to have relative weaknesses in some areas of language more than others, primarily grammar and verbal memory. These issues and their implications for success in school are also reviewed.
