Supporting Young Indigenous Children's Language Development in Canada: A Review of Research on Needs and Promising Practices

Abstract

This article offers an original review of research and reports about young Indigenous children's language development needs and approaches to meeting them. The review addresses not only children's acquisition of an Indigenous language but also their acquisition of other languages (e.g., English and French), because their progress in one linguistic domain affects their progress in others. Indigenous children have inequitable access to supports for optimal health and development and experience persistently high rates of academic failure. A search of peer-reviewed literature yielded no empirical studies that systematically assessed Indigenous children's language development and no controlled studies that evaluated the outcomes of early language facilitation programs or early interventions. Investments in culturally appropriate supports for optimal language development of young First Nations, Métis, and Inuit children are relevant to a range of policy areas, including Residential School healing programs, social justice, education, literacy, community development, employment, and literacy.