KEFAD, cilt.20, sa.3, ss.1312-1339, 2019 (Hakemli Dergi)
In the speech of a bilingual or multilingual individual, the effects of each language can be seen on the other
language(s) that she/he produces. First language (L1) effects can be seen in the second language (L2), and L2
effects can be seen in L1 in different skill areas. In second language acquisition studies, it is important to take into
consideration the relationship between the languages and how they are learned. Today, an increasing number of
schools are challenged by learners from different linguistic backgrounds who have different prior literary
experiences. Although bilingualism of minority children is considered to be a disadvantage, related research
reveals that bilingual students who are competent in both languages attain a high level of achievement at school.
This study considers the conditions under which bilinguals and multi-linguals acquire languages and examines
how L1 affects the acquisition of other languages, how the children’s first-language literacy affects their second-
language reading skills, and the attitude towards bilingualism and multilingualism. This paper illustrates how
the first language plays an important role in the acquisition of mainstream languages for immigrant children by
investigating the language skills of bilingual children of Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands.