Individual Differences in Bilingual Language Experience

Abstract “Bilingualism” is an umbrella construct that encompasses individuals with different language experiences. The diversity of these experiences generates the need for a paradigm shift from testing group effects to studying individual differences within and between different bilingual communities. In this entry, we discuss the most recognized dimensions of bilingual language experience, the most common methods of their measurement, and the current methodological challenges faced by researchers who aim to describe and understand the language variation of bilinguals. While recent calls to consider individual differences in language experience have already greatly advanced our understanding of the bilingualism phenomenon, this line of research is only gaining momentum. Ultimately, collaborative research efforts to develop a comprehensive measurement toolkit and trace the relationships between different language dimensions should help to determine how individual language experiences translate into bilingual profiles within and across different bilingual communities.