Abstract
Abstract This article reviews conditions in the East African country of Kenya that put students at an advantage for learning second languages. The author focuses on a group of students with mental retardation, a group historically regarded by some as being poor second language learners. Examples are cited of students attending a special education school for the developmentally disabled in Nairobi who demonstrate fluency in three or more languages. Students’ proficiency in these languages is similar to that of their monolingual US counterparts with similar handicapping conditions. Factors contributing to multilingualism among these Kenyan students, as well as among their nondisabled counterparts, include strong and pervasive national bilingual education policies, societal expectations that multilingualism should flourish in present and future generations, and constant demand for the use of several languages in the students’ environment. These policies, expectations, and practices in turn stem from the need...
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