Bilingualism in Young Children: Separating Fact From

Fiction
By Lauren Lowry
Hanen Certified Speech-Language Pathologist and Hanen Staff Member

Note: “bilingual” refers to someone who speaks two languages; “monolingual” refers to someone
who speaks one language

The Facts: What We Know About Bilingualism

Our world is becoming increasingly multilingual. Consider some of the following statistics:

In Canada....

 11.9 % of the population speaks a language other than English or French at home (1). In Toronto,
31% of the population speaks a language other than English or French at home (2).

In the United States....

 21% of school-age children (between ages 5-17) speak a language other than English at home
(3). This number is projected to increase in the coming years (4).

Worldwide, it is estimated that....

 there are more second language speakers of English than native speakers (5).
 there are as many bilingual children as there are monolingual children (10).

These trends mean that many children are being raised as bilinguals. Sometimes bilingualism is a
necessity, as a child’s parents may not be fluent in the majority (dominant) language spoken in the
community. Therefore, the child may learn one language at home and another at school. But sometimes
bilingualism is a choice, and parents may wish to expose their child to another language, even if they do
not speak a second language themselves. This could be due to the many benefits of being bilingual.

Benefits of Bilingualism
 Bilingual children are better able to focus their attention on relevant information and ignore
distractions (7, 8). For more information, click here for our article “Are Two Languages Better
Than One?”.
 Bilingual individuals have been shown to be more creative and better at planning and solving
complex problems than monolinguals (9, 10).

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This article may not be further copied or reproduced without
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  The effects of aging on the brain are diminished among bilingual adults (7).
 In one study, the onset of dementia was delayed by 4 years in bilinguals compared to
monolinguals with dementia (10).
 Bilingual individuals have greater access to people and resources (9).
 In Canada, employment rates are higher for French/English bilinguals than monolinguals (7).
 Canadians who speak both official languages have a median income nearly 10% higher than that
of those who speak English only, and 40% higher than that of those who speak French only (7).

The cognitive advantages of bilingualism (e.g . with attention, problem solving, etc.) seem to be related
to an individual’s proficiency in his languages (10). This means that a person will benefit more from his
bilingualism (cognitively) if he is more proficient in his languages.

How Children Learn More Than One Language

Bilingual acquisition can take place in one of two ways:

1. Simultaneous Acquisition occurs when a child is raised bilingually from birth, or when the
second language is introduced before the age of three (10). Children learning two languages
simultaneously go through the same developmental stages as children learning one language.
While bilingual children may start talking slightly later than monolingual children, they still begin
talking within the normal range (11). From the very beginning of language learning, simultaneous
bilinguals seem to acquire two separate languages (10). Early on, they are able to differentiate
their two languages and have been shown to switch languages according to their conversation
partner (e.g. speak French to a French-speaking parent, then switch to English with an English-
speaking parent) (12, 13).
2. Sequential Acquisition occurs when a second language is introduced after the first language is
well-established (generally after the age of three). Children may experience sequential acquisition
if they immigrate to a country where a different language is spoken. Sequential learning may also
occur if the child exclusively speaks his heritage language at home until he begins school, where
instruction is offered in a different language.

A child who acquires a second language in this manner generally experiences the following (10):

 initially, he may use his home language for a brief period.

 he may go through a “Silent” or “Nonverbal” Period when he is first exposed to a second
language. This can last from a few weeks to several months, and is most likely a time when the
child builds his understanding of the language (14). Younger children usually remain in this phase
longer than older children. Children may rely on using gestures in this period, and use few words
in the second language.
 he will begin to use short or imitative sentences. The child may use one-word labels or
memorized phrases such as “I dunno” or “What’s this?”. These sentences are not constructed
from the child’s own vocabulary or knowledge of the language. Rather, they are phrases he has
heard and memorized.
 eventually, he will begin to produce his own sentences. These sentences are not entirely
memorized, and incorporate some of the child’s own newly-learned vocabulary. The child may
use a “formula” at first when constructing sentences and insert his own word into a common
phrase such as “I want…” or “I do….”. Eventually the child becomes more and more fluent, but
continues to make grammatical mistakes or produce sentences that sound abbreviated because
he is missing some grammatical rules (e.g. “I no want eat apple” instead of “I don’t want to eat an
apple”). Some of the mistakes a child makes at this stage are due to the influence of his first
language. But many of the mistakes are the same types of mistakes that monolingual children
make when they learn that language.

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This article may not be further copied or reproduced without
written permission from The Hanen Centre®.
Fiction: Some Myths about Bilingualism
#1. Bilingualism causes language delay.

FALSE. While a bilingual child’s vocabulary in each individual language may be smaller than average, his
total vocabulary (from both languages) will be at least the same size as a monolingual child (10, 15).
Bilingual children may say their first words slightly later than monolingual children, but still within the
normal age range (between 8-15 months) (11). And when bilingual children start to produce short
sentences, they develop grammar along the same patterns and timelines as children learning one
language (5). Bilingualism itself does not cause language delay (10). A bilingual child who is
demonstrating significant delays in language milestones could have a language disorder and should be
seen by a speech language pathologist.

#2. When children mix their languages it means that they are confused and having trouble becoming
bilingual.

FALSE. When children use both languages within the same sentence or conversation, it is known as
“code mixing” or “code switching”. Examples of English-French code-mixing: “big bobo” (“bruise” or “cut”),
or “je veux aller manger tomato” (“I want to go eat..”) (10). Parents sometimes worry that this mixing is a
sign of language delay or confusion. However, code mixing is a natural part of bilingualism (17). Proficient
adult bilinguals code mix when they converse with other bilinguals, and it should be expected that
bilingual children will code-mix when speaking with other bilinguals (5).

Many researchers see code mixing as a sign of bilingual proficiency. For example, bilingual children
adjust the amount of code-mixing they use to match that of a new conversational partner (someone
they’ve never met before who also code mixes) (5). It has also been suggested that children code-mix
when they know a word in one language but not the other (13). Furthermore, sometimes code-mixing is
used to emphasize something, express emotion, or to highlight what someone else said in the other
language. For example, “Y luego él dijo STOP” (Spanish mixed with English: "And then he said STOP!")
(10). Therefore, code-mixing is natural and should be expected in bilingual children.

#3. A person is not truly bilingual unless he is equally proficient in both languages.

FALSE. It is rare to find an individual who is equally proficient in both languages (16). Most bilinguals
have a “dominant language”, a language of greater proficiency. The dominant language is often
influenced by the majority language of the society in which the individual lives (6). An individual’s
dominant language can change with age, circumstance, education, social network, employment, and
many other factors (16).

#4. An individual must learn a second language as a young child in order to become bilingual.

FALSE. There is a “Critical Period” theory that suggests that there is a window of time (early childhood)
during which a second language is most easily learned. This theory has led many people to believe that it
is better to learn a second language as a young child. Young children have been found to achieve better
native-like pronunciation than older children or adult second language learners. And they seem to achieve
better long-term grammatical skills than older learners (10). But other findings have called the idea of a
critical period into question. For example:

 older children (in middle elementary school) have been shown to have advantages when learning
“academic” English. “Academic” language refers to the specialized vocabulary, grammar, and
conversational ability needed to understand and learn in school (10). This is likely easier for older
children because they learn their second language with more advanced cognitive skills than
younger children, and with more experience with schooling and literacy (10).

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written permission from The Hanen Centre®.
  older children and adults seem to be advantaged when initially learning vocabulary and grammar
(10, 16, 18).

Therefore, while younger children seem to become more “native-like” in the long-term, older children may
pick up vocabulary, grammar, and academic language more easily in the initial stages of language
learning.

#5. Parents should adopt the “one parent-one language” approach when exposing their child to two
languages.

FALSE. Some parents may choose to adopt the “one parent-one language” approach, where each parent
speaks a different language to the child. While this is one option for raising a bilingual child, there is no
evidence to suggest that it is the only or best way to raise a child bilingually, or that it reduces code
mixing (10). Parents should not worry if they both speak their native language to the child or if they mix
languages with their child (19), as it has been recognized that children will mix their languages regardless
of the parents’ approach (10). Many approaches can lead to bilingualism. Parents should speak to their
child in a way that is comfortable and natural to them.

#6. If you want your child to speak the majority language, you should stop speaking your home
language with your child.

FALSE. Some parents attempt to speak the majority language to their child because they want their child
to learn that language, even if they themselves are not fluent in the majority language. This can mean that
conversations and interactions do not feel natural or comfortable between parent and child. There is no
evidence that frequent use of the second language in the home is essential for a child to learn a second
language (10). Furthermore, without knowledge of a family’s home language, a child can become isolated
from family members who only speak the home language. Research shows that children who have a
strong foundation in their home language more easily learn a second language. Children are also at great
risk of losing their home language if it is not supported continually at home.

How to Support your Bilingual Child

There are many ways to support your child’s bilingualism:

 Do what feels comfortable for you and your family. Don’t try to speak a language with your child if
you are not comfortable or fluent In that language
 Don’t worry if your child mixes his two languages. This is a normal part of becoming bilingual
Provide your child with many opportunities to hear, speak, play, and interact in your home
language.
 If you think your child has a language delay, consult a speech language pathologist for advice
regarding the best ways to help your child learn more than one language.

References

1. Statistics Canada (2007). 2006 Census: Immigration, citizenship, language, mobility and
migration. Available online: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/071204/dq071204a-eng.htm
2. Toronto.ca. Toronto’s Racial Diversity. Available online:
http://www.toronto.ca/toronto_facts/diversity.htm
3. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Available online:
http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=96

© Hanen Early Language Program, 2015.

This article may not be further copied or reproduced without
written permission from The Hanen Centre®.
4. American Speech Language Hearing Association. The Advantages of Being Bilingual. Available
online: http://www.asha.org/about/news/tipsheets/bilingual.htm
5. Genesee, F. H. (2009). Early childhood bilingualism: Perils and possibilities. Journal of Applied
Research on Learning, 2 (Special Issue), Article 2, pp. 1-21.
6. Paradis, J. (2010). The interface between bilingual development and specific language
impairment. Applied Psycholinguistics, 31, 227-252.
7. Canadian Council on Learning (2008). Parlez-vous français? The advantages of bilingualism in
Canada. Available online: http://www.ccl-cca.ca/pdfs/LessonsInLearning/Oct-16-08-The-
advantages-of-bilingualism.pdf
8. Poulin-Dubois, D., Blaye, A., Coutya, J & Bialystok, E. (2011). The effects of bilingualism on
toddlers’ executive functioning. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 108 (3), 567-579
9. Center for Applied Linguistics. Benefits of being bilingual. Available online:
http://www.cal.org/earlylang/benefits/marcos.html
10. Paradis, J., Genesee, F., & Crago, M. (2011). Dual Language Development and Disorders: A
handbook on bilingualism & second language learning. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes
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11. Meisel, J. (2004). The Bilingual Child. In T. Bhatia & W. Ritchie (Eds.), The Handbook of
Bilingualism. pp 91-113. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
12. Genesee, F. (2009). Early Childhood Bilingualism: Perils and Possibilities. Journal of Applied
Research in Learning, 2 (Special Issue), 2, 1-21.
13. Genesee, F., & Nicoladis, E. (2006). Bilingual acquisition. In E. Hoff & M. Shatz (eds.), Handbook
of Language Development. pp. 324-342. Oxford, Eng.: Blackwell.
14. Tabors, P. (1997). One Child, Two Languages. Paul H Brookes Publishing.
15. Pearson, B.Z., Fernandez, S.C., Lewedeg, V., & Oller, D.K. (1997). The relation of input factors to
lexical learning by bilingual infants. Applied Psycholinguistics, 18, 41-58.
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Toronto, Ontario: Multilingual Matters Inc.
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18. Flege, J.E. (1999). Age of Learning and Second Language Speech. In D. Birdsong (ed.), Second
Language Acquisition and the Critical Period Hypothesis. pp. 101-131. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
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Research. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics. Retrieved October 24, 2011 from
http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/digest_pdfs/RaiseBilingChildi.pdf

© Hanen Early Language Program, 2015.

This article may not be further copied or reproduced without
written permission from The Hanen Centre®.