Fifty percent of the world’s population is estimated to be bilingual. I am from Quebec, Canada and the majority of people grow up speaking both national languages French and English. Furthermore, if you come from an immigrant family like me, then you may grow up speaking a third language as well. In my case, I grew up speaking English, French and Portuguese as of birth.
The literature centering on bilingualism uses several definitions of bilingualism, which can become confusing to the reader. In essence to be bilingual is to be proficient in two or more languages. However you do not need to be considered fluent in each language to be considered bilingual, most people have different levels of proficiency in each of their languages due to several factors (e.g. how frequently they need to communicate in that language).
I learned Portuguese as of birth but given that I need to communicate primarily in English in my community (living in California) and in French (with my family – dominant home language), my proficiency in speaking Portuguese is lower than French and English. The frequency with which a language is used also factors into proficiency. I learned Spanish, Italian and Russian in school and my proficiency for Spanish has increased ever since I moved to California as I use it on a regular basis to communicate with families in my profession. I also live in a household with Russian speakers therefore my understanding of the language has increased due to my communication surrounding. Similarly, children will learn the languages they are surrounded by at home, at school, from television, etc.
There are different ways to acquire languages and bilinguals are sometimes classified as simultaneous or sequential bilinguals. Simultaneous bilingualism means learning at least two languages as of birth at the same time. Sequential bilingualism means learning one language as of birth and then a second/third language later on, usually past the age of three. However, there may be people who can be considered both simultaneous/sequential bilinguals. I consider myself to be one of these types of bilingual learners. I learned French, English and Portuguese as of birth, then I learned Spanish, Italian and Russian as a young adult.
Many children grow up bilingual around the world and bilingualism has known benefits.
Research with bilingual people has shown that being proficient in more than one language has cognitive benefits (e.g. better memory, attention, and problem solving skills) and might even delay the onset of dementia in the older bilingual adult population. If you are interested to learn more about the facts and benefits of bilingualism click on the following link for a great list of references.
Code-switching is very common among bilingual people. It simply means mixing two or more languages when speaking. Code-switching can take place within a sentence when a person decides to insert a word from another language. It can also happen within a conversation. The conversation may start in English then change to French and then regress back to English.
Why do bilingual people code-switch? There are several reasons; here are a few examples of voluntary code-switching:
Bilingual people also code-switch involuntarily when speaking with other bilingual speakers simply out of habit. Subconsciously they switch languages and only sometimes realise later on that they started speaking a different language. Adults understand that code-switching is only appropriate when speaking with another person who speaks the same languages or else they will not always be understood. However, children do not necessarily code-switch voluntarily but rather do so because they do not know the words in the other language. Given that children are still developing their language skills it is crucial that their communication partners provide the correct model. A child will learn from their parents so be mindful that if you are code-switching in front of your child then they will also do so. However, they will not have the skills to do so meaningfully and may lack the necessary vocabulary in each of the languages spoken.
In my experience, most of the parents I have encountered are concerned that their children will be confused or delayed if they learn more than one language. Some parents fear that learning a new language may affect the progress made by the child in the current language. Often times when bilingual families discover that their child has speech language impairment (SLI), they ask if they should limit their environment to a single language to help the child given their deficit. I try to educate parents that if their child has SLI then they will have difficulty with one or multiple languages. The number of languages does not interfere.
A child with SLI who only speaks English will need the same support to speak English as a child who speaks English and Spanish. These children will need therapy and support to use any of their languages whether it is one or multiple languages. Limiting the child to a single language will not necessarily help them because they will still need assistance to use that language appropriately. Also, as a parent you need to be speaking a language which you feel comfortable speaking so as to model the entire linguistic system (i.e. sounds, vocabulary, and grammar) appropriately to help facilitate your child’s language acquisition.
Let’s put this into context – A Spanish immigrant family speaks Spanish primarily in the household as it is the parents’ native tongue and children attend school that is predominantly English. Now let’s say that the child gets diagnosed with a speech language impairment (this would affect both Spanish and English learning). If the parents were to decide that they only want to speak English to help their child, they will actually do a disservice to their child. If their English skills are poor, then the child will not have access to the complete linguistic system required to learn English accurately. This decision will hinder the child even more given their speech language impairment. It would be better for the parents to continue modeling Spanish at home and support their child develop their Spanish language skills using helpful strategies.
Click on the following link for more information and research articles about raising a child with SLI or developmental disorder in a bilingual setting.
It is important for you as a parent to know your strengths and which language you feel comfortable speaking with your child. If you are bilingual and want to communicate in both languages with your child then you should! You just have to do it in a way that your child has access to all the components of that language. That is why it is preferable to not mix your languages when speaking to your child. All bilinguals code-switch and sometimes it becomes second nature but we do so voluntarily because we have developed our linguistic skills and can manipulate languages easily with practice. Sometimes as adults we may do it even subconsciously. Children however are still in the developing stage and as we know sometimes code-switch simply because they know the word in one language but not in the other. For this reason, it is important for the parent to re-iterate the child’s utterance in the language being spoken (e.g. you are speaking English and the child inserts a word in Spanish – “mommy, donde book?” you would then reply “mommy, where is my book? Your book is on the table.”).
If your child has SLI it is beneficial to use a single language for a conversation/activity at a time, a typical child may not need such structure to acquire more than one language but it is helpful for a child with SLI. The most important thing to avoid is mixing multiple languages into a single sentence. Use complete sentences in whichever language you are using at that time. More importantly, have your child answer back to you in the same language. If they cannot do so, then tell them the correct sentence and have them repeat it as best as they can. If they cannot imitate the sentence, then that’s fine as long as they were exposed to the correct form they should have used (always depends on the child’s verbal skills and age!)
If you speak only one language and your child is learning a second language at school then you should continue to use your primary language when speaking to your child, especially if you are not proficient enough in the school language. What does that mean proficient enough? Everyone has different proficiency levels for each spoken language.
I think that if you can teach your child basic sentences that are functional in everyday activities then speak that language with them. However, if you only know how to say a few words in that language then you may want to stick to your dominant language. If you feel proficient in two or more languages then you can speak in either language with your child. Use your parental judgment and observe how your child is developing their language.
If the child starts the conversation then follow their lead and continue speaking the language in which they addressed you. If you start the conversation, then try to stick to the same language throughout that entire conversation. Sometimes you might choose to do certain activities or daily routines in a certain language. Varying the languages used can also help the child learn the vocabulary in each language (e.g. one morning you might want to speak Spanish during breakfast and teach vocabulary related to breakfast in Spanish and another morning use French).
If you are going to someone’s household where one language is used then you would want to stick to that language while at the person’s household so that your child gets used to using that language in that environment. In my case, growing up we would speak primarily Portuguese at my grandparents’ house because their dominant language is Portuguese so it was the ideal time to practice that language.
If you are raising a bilingual child and have concerns about their speech or language then I suggest you consult your pediatrician or a speech language professional as it is always best to have peace of mind and address your parental concerns. Make sure that if they assess your child however that they take into consideration the different languages they speak and look at the child’s vocabulary/grammar in each language.
A bilingual child cannot be compared to a monolingual child. If both children speak English, the monolingual child might have a wider vocabulary in English than your bilingual child, but you need to think of your child’s languages as a single language in terms of vocabulary repertoire. A bilingual child may know 50 words across two languages whereas a monolingual child may know 50 English words; the amount of words is the same. Your bilingual child has more information to process given the multiple languages, but this is beneficial in the long run as it will increase the speed with which they process information.
Now I know what you are thinking, more information to process will make it harder for my child with SLI, so wouldn’t one language be easier for him? No, because once again if your child has SLI then he will have difficulty learning any language whether it is one or two. He will need support and strategies to facilitate language learning and/or speech so do not dismiss the benefits of bilingualism so quickly.
Lastly, language is such an integral part of one’s culture and identity so please do not seclude your child from a cultural community by limiting their linguistic surrounding. Seek help from speech language professionals to assist you in raising a bilingual child if they have a speech language impairment.
Embrace cultural and linguistic diversity! Share your experience!
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