In a world of nearly 7,000 distinct languages, mass globalization, and melting pot of cultures—bilingualism in our world’s youth is widespread. In today's global village, bilingualism has its inherent strengths; however it is also something that requires understanding and learning about bilingual language development by parents and educators.
“Bilingualism describes individuals who possess fluency in two languages with strong vocabulary, syntax skills and listening proficiency in each respective language.”
Many articles on raising children to be bilingual contain advice to parents about what to expect with children learning a second language… and almost every article contains “Myths of raising bilingual children.” Upon mental absorption these alleged truths, many parents grow fearful of raising children in a dual-language household. This was true for a Rasmussen College General Education Coordinator, Kari Nollendorfs—who is a mother to three multilingual children proficient in Latvian, German and English. She notes, “Each day, my eldest daughter did the smallest thing that seemed to disprove the myths of bilingualism—those same myths that were so blatantly were stated by experts. Needless to say—her resilience to these myths took my breath away.”
From household to classroom—here is a case study on disproving myths of raising a bilingual child—
1. Exposing a child to multiple languages causes language delay.
Some sources cite that bilingualism can lead to language delay, but studies point to the fact that monolingual and bilingual children reach language development milestones simultaneously. According to Nollendorfs, “I now know this to be a myth. We held our breath, but our daughter managed to start speaking at around 10 months old.”
2. Mixing languages is a sign of confusion.
Children’s brains are informational sponges. They take in stimuli everyday—and learn to organize their thoughts and linguistics very well. Nollendorfs notes, “It is my experience that children don’t care what you call an object. Just give them the cookie.”
3. A parent must be fluent in the target language in order to raise her child bilingual.
Classrooms have evolved over time to meet the needs of the ever-increasing multi-lingual and cultural population by offering language courses as early as kindergarten. Nollendorfs references a personal anecdote: “One of our favorite games to play in the car was “Mama says… and Papa says.” I would start with “Mama says tree and Papa says . . .” And my children would have to fill in the correct Latvian word. It didn’t even matter if I knew the word or not. My children would correct each other.”
4. Children will just absorb the language like a sponge.
One lesson we’ve learned is that raising bilingual children is hard work. It takes a conscious effort every single day. If children don’t have reasons to use each language, then they won’t. My family and I spend a huge portion of the day repeating these phrases in Latvian “What are you supposed to say?” or, “Ask again please in Latvian,” and “Say it again in Latvian.”
5. More than two languages will confuse the child.
When bilingual child attempt to learn a third language, they will actually progress faster. “At the ages of three and four years old, our children went on their first trip to Germany. I attempted to speak as much German with them as possible,” notes Nollendorfs.
6. Children can learn language through watching television.
Though this method can aid in language retention—it is essential to learn beyond the screen. Learning modalities could include games, activities, and repeating phrases, as mentioned above.
7. They will need English as a Second Language when they start school.
So what does this teach us as educators and parents? Nollendorfs answers, “Of all the people in the world, I should have been easily convinced of my ability to raise my children to be bilingual. When reality came, it was much harder than I had expected, but the hardest thing for me was to trust my gut and know in my heart that I was doing the right thing, even though the world and my children sometimes tried to disprove me. But I now know the evidence was merely anecdotal and some of the biggest myths of bilingual children were soundly dispelled at our household.”
About the Author: Kari Nollendorfs is a General Education Coordinator for Rasmussen College at the Brooklyn Park, MN college campus; where she assists students seeking degrees online and on campus. She has worked in the field of language teaching for more than 19 years. Kari holds a Master's degree in Applied English Linguistics and a Bachelor's degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Comments (27)
- Learn Spanish
I would agree, Kari. My wife is Russian and our daughters have been able to speak both languages (English/Russian) without any delays in learning English. It's amazing to me that they don't get confused.
Thank you.
How do we Stop these Myths from Influencing Public Education? - Joseph: ESL Course Developer
Even if language learning myths are rampant with parents of preschool children, why should these myths pervade our public schools?
The next generation of bilingual children will be adults before our public schools discover that the language learning beliefs held dear are myths.
Besides, politics, bigotry and funding shortfalls; our public school teachers and students are distracted by high-stakes tests...and there is little time to learn to communicate in one language...let alone two.
Joseph Chmielewki, M.S, L.P.C.
http://web2.0esl.com
My experience - Mark Baloun
This is right on, Kari. I was born in the Czech Republic and moved to Germany at only two years of age, then when I was four we immigrated to the USA. I can tell you from my experience that I learned all three languages very fluently and without a problem, I dont remember ever being confused or having any issues. Throughout elementary and high school I always scored well above the norm in all language arts classes and on standardized state testing. I speak English without an accent and still retain fluencybin the other two languages. I have read many studies saying that bi and trilingual children perform better in school because the additional language learning opens addition pathways in the brain that would never have been used. I performed well throughout school and always had a great memory whichni attribute to the fact that I learned multiple languages growig up. I would recommend this to any parent that has the opportunity to teach their children as many languages as possible.
How Can I Learn a New Language - Marquis Van De Mark
When I was a missionary with my church while living in Los Angeles, California I was working in the Spanish neighborhoods, coming from the Mid-west I did not speak much Spanish language.
Living in the area and interacting with the spanish speaking people allowed for me to pick up the basics of the language. A new word here, a new word there, after a couple years I could speak a sentence or two.
It was the immersion in the culture and the desire to learn the language that was around me allowed for me to pick up the spanish language.
Children who are spanish speaking and want to learn English can immerse themselves in the areas where people speak the language and by making efforts they will pick up a word or two, then a sentence or two and before they know it they will pick up a second language.
It's all about the immersion...That's what allows for you to speak a new language.
What if you don't know the language very well? - Tate
I love the thought of raising a bilingual child. How many more opportunities will this child, and their family, have to impact the world and learn about and be exposed to another culture. But what if you really don't speak the second language very well. Then what.
Tate
Bilingual - Henk
Good Post Kari,
I think it is not easy to teach a child a second language if it is not spoken at home. Living in Germany with an English background (me) we spoke German at home, my wife is German. We had the idea that he should be solid in one language first and then start the second later.My son refused to speak English to me when I tried speaking to him later on. He was so used to me speaking in German that it felt akward to him speak anything but German to me. I now think too, that children can learn more than one language from an early stage on without getting confused, but there has to be a constant effort to teach them.
Henk
Thank You for this Infomation - Tom Bennett
My wife and I have been struggling with weather to teach our children how and to speak Spanish at such an early age. This has helped us make I think the right decision for our children.The way our culture is changing it can only be a plus for our children. Thanks.
Learning A Foreign Language - John
I agree that there are many myths out there and think that it is great to educate not only our kids but also ourselves on other languages. It is a wonderful thing if parents can educate themselves and then also educate their kids and teach them another language. It is never a bad idea to learn another culture and language. I used this to help me build upon my Spanish education.
http://goarticles.com/article/Communication-In-A-Foreign-Language/4445712/
Bilingual in Greece - Katy Smith
I raised three children in Greece, as a native English speaker. The strangest thing happened with us. My daughter refused to answer in English when I spoke to her, up to the age of 3, until we came to the US for a vacation, then she just started speaking English with everyone, without a problem. My kids all entered the school system in America at grades 1,2 and 4 with no remedial issues. Just from me speaking English to them at home in Greece.Katy Smith
Has anyone found good language learning sites? - Travis Intini
Has anyone found good language learning sites for kids? I have heard on different social media that there are a few good ones out there. I follow MyLingo on Twitter. They haven't launched yet, but they're promising to be a more engaging language learning resource for the younger generation. I have a 15 year old and he has lost his spanish terribly since moving to the states, but as you know there is no forcing a 15 year old to learn.
You can see the site here
<a href="http://www.mylingo.org">MyLingo</a>
WElsh - personal trainers Manchester
Both me and the wife are English but we live here is Wales. The schools around us try and encourage children to speak/learn Welsh but the take up is very,very low.
Importance of a second language for your employment and future - James
Its becoming increasingly more important for ones child and yourself to learn a second language just to be more relevant and to be able to keep up with the competition. Demand for simple Spanish speakers is on the rise and its best to get your child and yourself to gradually learn the basics. It automatically makes you stand out from the competition and besides you are also able to help more people other than those speaking your language only.
I recently read an article stating how case workers increasingly find it more difficult to do their work effectively due to this language barrier.
Learn - Tuition
It is important to know another language. English is not the only one.
- Karla
What an informative blog post... A child must give a special attention as he/she is just adopting and learning new things. We should have to be very careful of what he/she sees and hear... Kids are very sensitive and they easily adopt those things...
- Free Coloring Printable
Learning another language is very important. Because increasingly stepping into the future, the broader After all, the language must be learned. So not only english that we need to be. Thanks
Language - Bob
In the ever changing world - speaking another language will be key. My Daughter is in her 4th year of Spanish - wish I had done the same bit it really didn't seem that important back in the late 70's when I was in school!
Children that are bilingual - Joesph
I agree that it's unfortunate to hear that such myths regarding the raising of bilingual children still exist, so I'm glad you cleared the air on this subject.
These are certainly myths! - Expertmom.info
Raising bilingual kids I can only agree to what you are saying. They have no problem switching between the languages and they spoke early. I am not native in English and that has not made any difference. Thanks for posting on this!
Raising bilingual children - Name
My wife is Mexican, and we live in the States right now, and one of the most important things for our children is to also teach them Spanish. As of now, 6 year old and 4 year old, they are having no trouble speaking both English and Spanish, and I can see this being very helpful for them in the future, both in personal professional lives.
Bilingual Child - Cindy Williams
Yes indeed, raising a child has its challenges especially if done in conjunction to learn another language. The way we've done it (in an English speaking environment) is that we always spoke French at home (me and my husband) and that from the word get go. We knew that eventually our daughter would speak English, being immersed in it. Let's face it, all her little friend always spoke English. When time for school arrived, we met with few teachers and decided to use the "French Immersion" tactic. It worked well. As a result, my daughter is now 32 and fully bilingual. We were lucky though as I was English and my husband was French. So the knowledge of the language was without a doubt an added benefit.
I also hear that in China, kids are thought multiple language simultaneously. How they achieved this is beyond my comprehension but for what I could read, it is successful.
Well here was my little tidbits about bilingualism. I found your article to be the most interesting and dead on the subject at hand.
Cheers
Cindy Williams
- EProTool.com
Bilingual child attempt to learn a third language, they will actually progress faster :-)
wonderful - Barbara Kroll
What a wonderful article: informative and succinct!
- david-electricidad
the world has an infinity of language. dialects, languages ​​and the possibility is remote communication
- web tasarımı
I beliveve bilangual child this is very interesting thing
inspiring - wish I had done this - Matthew Shelton
Well I see some of my nieces and nephews growing up bilingual and like your article points out, it is NOT confusing and actually is great for them. Here in the US especially it takes a conscious decision and concerted effort to raise your child bilingually because English is so dominant. Then there’s something else that I wish was not a myth, and that is that it is harder to learn languages in later years.
The words are what matter. - jesus-ilusionati en la noche
Certainly there are many myths and legends in regard to bilingual education. I, personally, I am intrigued how children learn to distinguish between words in a language or words of another, keeping both languages ​​in watertight compartments.
Agreed - Fred
I have a bilingual daughter and I agree that most of these ideas are myths. Especially important is #4. I speak English and my daughter grew up in a non-English speaking country but by the time she was 5 she spoke almost exclusively in English and the reason was because I couldn't get people to talk to her in the local language, everyone just wanted to talk to her in English. So even though she was hearing the other language all around her all the time, she was only speaking English. There has to be people interacting with the child- watching tv isn't enough, like you said.
