Language Development and Bilingualism Across the Lifespan Lab
Our research group examines how language develops among monolingual and bilingual children and adults (Altman et al., 2012; Altman et al., 2024a, Altman et al., 2024b) with particular attention to the interplay between linguistic, cognitive, and sociocultural factors. We investigate foundational language components such as syntax, vocabulary (Altman et al., 2017), metalinguistic awareness, and narrative skills, and how these processes evolve within multilingual environments. Our work highlights the dynamic nature of bilingualism, the role of family language practices, and the impact of cultural identity, language use and educational engagement.
Our research program includes several major strands:
Linguistic foundations and language impairment:
We identify sensitive linguistic markers-including syntactic complexity, lexical access, narrative macrostructure, fluency measures (Fichman et al., 2019), and metacognitive processes (Altman et al., 2018)-that differentiate typical development from language impairment. This includes establishing validity conditions under which monolingual assessment tools can be used reliably with bilingual children when adapted with appropriate norms (Altman et al., 2021, Armon-Lotem et al., 2021, Rose et al., 2022).
Bilingualism as a dynamic developmental system:
We investigate how exposure, age of exposure and family language policies shape linguistic profiles in both home and societal languages (Altman et al., 2014; 2021;2024). Our work explores bidirectional influence between languages and demonstrates how environmental factors interact with linguistic abilities across development.
Narrative development and intervention:
Narrative competence is used as a window into linguistic and cognitive functioning (Altman et al, 2016; Fichman et al., 2017;Lipner et al, 2025). We study macrostructure, microstructure, fluency, and error patterns across languages, and evaluate narrative interventions (Malki-Levy et al., 2025, Dadon-Jorno et al., 2024; Lipner et al., 2021) that support language growth in both the home language and the societal language, including cross-linguistic transfer effects (Lipner et al., 2019).
Sociocultural identity and educational engagement:
A significant line of research examines the experiences of immigrant children, showing that cultural identity—particularly identification with Israeli identity—is strongly associated with increased school engagement and academic participation (Toledano et al., 2024).
Applied innovation and technological development:
We lead the development of the Multi digital language-screening platform, an AI- and LLM-based system that generates individualized language profiles for young children. This platform enables precise, data-driven early identification and supports differentiated, culturally responsive intervention in educational settings.
We collaborate closely with early childhood centers, schools, municipalities, clinical practitioners as well as the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education. The group provides professional training, develops culturally responsive assessment tools, and supports early identification of language difficulties across diverse linguistic communities. Our work aims to promote equitable educational opportunities for bilingual, multilingual, and immigrant populations.
We maintain active collaborations with researchers in Europe, United States, and Australia. These partnerships involve cross-linguistic studies, comparative assessments, narrative research, and large-scale projects addressing multilingual education and socio-emotional adaptation in diverse cultural and sociolinguistic contexts.
Our team includes graduate students, research assistants, speech-language clinicians, and collaborators from linguistics, psychology, education, and data science. Together, we integrate empirical research with technological development and applied practice, advancing understanding of multilingual development and creating tools that translate research into meaningful educational impact. We welcome further collaborations.
Last Updated Date : 04/12/2025
