Goh, Shaun Kok Yew

Although multiple studies across the world have shown that low language ability associates with three major clusters of low socio-emotional functioning in childhood- behavioural, emotional and ADHD type, little is known about how these relationships come to develop, while even less is known among children who grow up learning two or more languages. This is of global concern, as a substantial number of individuals who speak two languages exist around the world and even form the majority in some countries such as Singapore. Moreover, both low language and low socio-emotional functioning is closely associated with multiple negative costs in later life to community and state resources. In this chapter, I first focus on the pre-school period and provide a framework for understanding the early development of language. Next, recent systematic reviews regarding the contribution of language to socio-emotional functioning are synthesised. In brief, both cross-sectional and longitudinal reviews report linkages between language and socio-emotional functioning. Such linkage can be variable, with age, level of language proficiency and type of socio-emotional functioning postulated as explanations for such variability. Finally, as Singapore is a country with a substantial number of children who grow up learning two or more languages, findings regarding the estimates and nature of the relationship between language and socio-emotional functioning in multi-lingual environments are discussed.