While it may be tempting to think that multilingual learners are simply individuals who have two (or more) languages in their head, in reality it's more than that--it's a collection of experiences. Important things to keep in mind are:

• Attainment of developmental proficiency in language and acculturation is multifaceted and complex and requires linguistically appropriate education.
• Both language acquisition and acculturative knowledge acquisition are and must be understood as developmental processes.
• Use of normative standards developed on monolingual speakers are not representative of bilinguals and their varying language experiences in both of their languages.
• Once a bilingual, always a bilingual—individuals do not suddenly cease to be bilingual/bicultural simply because they have become dominant or proficient in English.
• Bilingual/bicultural experiences differ markedly from monolingual/monocultural ones and have important implications for academic and cognitive development across the lifespan.
• Early influences on language development have profound and lifelong effects that manifest in nearly all types of academic, cognitive, linguistic, and neuropsychological measurements.

In Summary: The Bilingual-Bicultural Experience

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