Gifted and Talented Bilinguals

Although it is widely accepted that levels of intelligence and aptitude vary among individuals, giftedness is still somewhat controversial in the field of education and educational research. Despite this, there is still a small but growing body of research about giftedness and bilingualism. Generally, a verbally gifted person has an aptitude for both learning languages and learning about languages; however, verbal giftedness does not necessarily lead to bilingualism and being bilingual is not an automatic indication of verbal giftedness. As with most types of intelligence, verbal intelligence is usually determined by a standardized assessment, such as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) or the Scholastic Aptitude Test—Verbal (SAT-V), reflecting a focus on academic skills. Standardized assessments are not catchalls and generally do not adequately identify culturally and linguistically diverse children who are gifted. Additionally, verbally gifted bilinguals may not display their talents in traditionally expected ways, thus highlighting the need to find alternate forms of assessment and identification. Finally, gifted bilingual and English language learner (ELL) students are generally underrepresented in all types of gifted education programs, regardless of what area these children excel in.

Generally, although verbal intelligence, verbal giftedness, and linguistic intelligence may be used interchangeably, verbal aptitude refers to the potential for giftedness or intelligence. Also, some researchers distinguish between verbal intelligence/giftedness and linguistic intelligence. For these researchers, verbal intelligence and verbal giftedness may include verbal reasoning skills or literacy skills, whereas linguistic intelligence suggests knowledge of and about languages. This entry discusses linguistic intelligence, identifying and testing for verbal giftedness, and language minority children and giftedness.