13 Jan 5 Common Questions Parents of Bilingual Children Have

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5 Common Questions Parents of Bilingual Children Have

As speech-language pathologists, we are trained to recognize the signs of typical and atypical language development for monolingual and bilingual clients. Here at Sound It Out Speech Therapy, we get a lot of questions about the do’s and don’ts of raising a bilingual child, and we wanted to answer 5 common questions:

1. Will teaching my child more than one language confuse them?
Not at all! Remember, more than half of the world’s population is bilingual, and there is no evidence to suggest that a child cannot learn more than one language, whether that is simultaneously (learning 2 languages at the same time) or sequentially (learning one language for a few years before starting a new language).

2. Will teaching my child more than one language cause a language delay?
Nope! Bilingualism does not in any way delay language development for typical and language impaired children (Kohnert, 2013).

3. My child has a diagnosed speech and/or language disorder, should I only speak to them in one language?
Keep up the bilingualism! Speaking multiple languages to your child will NOT worsen their language impairment, and speaking only one language will not improve or “cure” their language impairment. Studies across the world have shown that children with language impairments CAN successfully learn multiple languages.

4. My bilingual child doesn’t talk the “same” as his/her peers, should I be worried?
Not necessarily. Bilingual speech and language development doesn’t always look the same as monolingual speech and language development (Rojas and Iglesias, 2009). Bilingual children often learn certain vocabulary (like foods and household items) in one language, and then learn academic vocabulary in the majority language when they attend school. They might not know how to say every word in both their languages; maybe they only say the spanish word for apple (manzana) and only use the English word for history. We call this being an imbalanced bilingual (Paradis, Emmerzael and Sorenson Duncan, 2010). Also, if your child is starting to learn a second language several years after learning their first language, they may go through a silent period for several months while they develop their new language skills. All of this is perfectly normal! However, if your child is seriously delayed in meeting their language milestones (https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart/) then contact your local Regional Center, public school or a speech-language clinic nearby to get an assessment.

5. Why should I raise my child to be bilingual?
Great question! Children who are raised bilingual have been shown to have improved family relationships and reduced household conflict (Tseng and Fuligni, 2000). Your family’s language and culture are important and will be valuable resources for your child in the future. Of course, being bilingual can also help give your child an edge when competing for scholarships, fellowships, and jobs later in life. Furthermore, research has shown that being bilingual can significantly improve recovery following stroke and can stave off the symptoms of dementia for up to 5 years (Bialystok et al., 2016)! Bottom line, being bilingual is pretty awesome.

There is so much to gain by being bilingual and really nothing to lose. The best way for your child to learn any language is to have a strong parent model, and they will learn the most if you speak to them in whichever language is most comfortable for you. Have fun and keep talking with your child!

Helpful Links:

  • Language Development Chart: https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/chart/
  • More info on raising a bilingual child: https://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/learning-two-languages/
  • A great resource for families of children who are English Language Learners: https://www.colorincolorado.org/families

Written by: Naguine Bensimon Tree, M.A., CCC-SLP, bilingual certification

References:

  • Bialystok, E., Abutalebi, J., Bak, T. H., Burke, D. M., & Kroll, J. F. (2016). Aging in two languages: Implications for public health. Ageing Research Reviews, 27, 56-60. doi:10.1016/j.arr.2016.03.003
  • Kohnert, K. (2013). Language disorders in bilingual children and adults. San Diego, CA: Plural Publishing.
  • Paradis, J., Emmerzael, K., & Duncan, T. S. (2010). Assessment of English language learners: Using parent report on first language development. Journal of Communication Disorders, 43(6), 474-497. doi:10.1016/j.jcomdis.2010.01.002
  • Rojas, R., & Iglesias, A. (2009). Making a Case for Language Sampling. The ASHA Leader, 14(3), 10-13. doi:10.1044/leader.ftr1.14032009.10
  • Tseng, V., & Fuligni, A. J. (2000). Parent-Adolescent Language Use and Relationships Among Immigrant Families With East Asian, Filipino, and Latin American Backgrounds. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62(2), 465-476. doi:10.1111/j.1741-3737.2000.00465.x