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First Language is an international peer reviewed journal that publishes the highest quality original research in child language acquisition. Child language research is multidisciplinary and this is reflected in the contents of the journal: research from diverse theoretical and methodological traditions is welcome. Authors from a wide range of disciplines - including psychology, linguistics, anthropology, cognitive science, neuroscience… View full journal description

This journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

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Articles most recently published online for this journal.
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Research article
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Developing Presupposition in Mandarin-Speaking Preschoolers: A Dual Analysis of Cognitive and Pragmatic Features in Peer Interactions

  • Ting Zhang
  • Lulu Cheng
  • Haoran Mao
  • Yanqin Liu
  • Shujie Zhang
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Research article
First published  

Focus Comprehension in Mandarin-Speaking Children Aged 6 to 8: A Comparison Between Children With Cochlear Implants and Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • Yuchen Pan
  • Yiqi Song
  • Yuan Wu
  • Ying Zhang
  • Dandan Liang
Open Access
Article commentary
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A Response to the Commentaries on Riches (2026)

  • Nick Riches
Free access
Editorial
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Introduction to the Special Section on ‘DLD: A Consequence of Exemplar-Based Learning?’

  • Chloe Ruth Marshall
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Most read articles in this journal in the last 6 months.
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Research article
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Deaf children need language, not (just) speech

  • Matthew L. Hall
  • Wyatte C. Hall
  • Naomi K. Caselli
Open Access
Research article
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Universal strategies for the improvement of expressive language skills in the primary classroom: A systematic review

  • Keeley L. Dobinson
  • Julie E. Dockrell
Open Access
Research article
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How diverse is child language acquisition research?

  • Evan Kidd
  • Rowena Garcia
Open Access
Research article
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First-language acquisition in a multimodal language framework: Insights from speech, gesture, and sign

  • Dilay Z. Karadöller
  • Beyza Sümer
  • Aslı Özyürek
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Most cited articles published in this journal in the last 3 years. These statistics are updated weekly using data sourced exclusively from CrossRef.
Open Access
Research article
First published  

Sometimes larger, sometimes smaller: Measuring vocabulary in monolingual and bilingual infants and toddlers

  • Krista Byers-Heinlein
  • Ana Maria Gonzalez-Barrero
  • Esther Schott
  • Hilary Killam
Open Access
Research article
First published  

First-language acquisition in a multimodal language framework: Insights from speech, gesture, and sign

  • Dilay Z. Karadöller
  • Beyza Sümer
  • Aslı Özyürek
Open Access
Research article
First published  

Topic maintenance in social conversation: What children need to learn and evidence this can be taught

  • Kirsten Abbot-Smith
  • Julie Dockrell
  • Alexandra Sturrock
  • Danielle Matthews
  • Charlotte Wilson
Open Access
Research article
First published  

Text complexity and variety factors in narrative retelling and narrative comprehension among Arabic-speaking preschool children

  • Khaloob Kawar
  • Elinor Saiegh-Haddad
  • Sharon Armon-Lotem
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Articles with the highest Altmetric score from the last 3 months, indicating influence and impact.
40th Anniversary Virtual Special Issue

Edited by Chloë Marshall, PhD. Editor-in-Chief of First Language.

Virtual Special Issue in celebration of International Developmental Language Disorder Awareness Day 2019

Edited by Chloë Marshall, PhD. Editor-in-Chief of First Language.

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Registered reports

NEW! Authors can now submit a Registered Report to First Language via the Peer Community in Registered Reports (PCI RR). Further guidance can be found at PCI Registered Reports (peercommunityin.org).

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Editor

Chloe Marshall

UCL Institute of Education, University College London, UK

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Call for papers

FLA welcomes papers for upcoming special issue: “The acquisition of African languages”
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