Resumen de Development of the First Language is not a Barrier to Second-Language Acquisition: Evidence from Vietnamese Immigrants to the United States

Anne Nguyen, Fay Shin, Stephen Krashen

• Elementary and middle school children in California who speak Vietnamese as a first language reported high levels of oral competence in Vietnamese and a desire to maintain Vietnamese language and culture. There was no evidence, however, that the development of the first language was a barrier to second-language acquisition.