MULTILINGUAL CHILDREN: DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN THE MYTHS AND TRUTHS

There is a common misconception that bilingual children are disadvantaged, and lag behind their peers. Bilingual children get confused learning two languages at once. Kids may experience speech delay due to language confusion. It’s impossible for your child to learn a second language while trying to master their first. These are some of the most common misconceptions of Bilingual children. In reality, research suggests quite the opposite.

Despite one of the biggest misconceptions, bilingualism doesn’t cause confusion. Learning more than one language at once doesn’t cause confusion. In fact, some research suggests that bilingual kids are smarter.

With so many myths and misconceptions about raising bilingual children, many parents become discouraged and are afraid of raising their kids with multiple languages. So here’s to busting those myths and looking at the facts.

Do children get confused if each parent speaks to them in a different language?

Each parent speaking a different language to their children does not confuse them. In fact, the OPOL approach is a very effective method of language learning because it teaches children to differentiate between different languages at an early age.

OPOL stands for One Person One Language. It’s exactly what it sounds like - each parent/person speaks one language to your child. This method is most effective through consistency. In other words, if each parent sticks to their language and speaks only in that language to the child all the time.

It’s about ensuring that they get enough exposure to the language and teaching them to differentiate between different languages.

If your child mixes languages does it mean that they are confused?

It’s very common for bilingual children to mix languages up. This doesn’t mean that they are confused. Children who are learning different languages at the same time are taking in two or three times the vocabulary. It’s completely normal for them to mix them up on occasion.

For instance, if they are speaking Spanish, but can’t think of a word or phrase that they need, they may compensate by using some English. It’s all part of the learning process.

Does Language confusion cause a speech delay?

Speaking different languages doesn’t cause a speech delay. If your child has a speech delay, it will often occur in both or all languages. Language development is different in all kids. Whether a child is monolingual or bilingual, some children just start talking later than others.

If a child is experiencing a speech delay, it does not mean that they are confused. Children first listen and take everything in. When they are ready they will start to speak, and then usually catch up very quickly.

Bilingual kids can process two languages from a very young age

Research has found that bilingual/multilingual babies are able to tell the difference between words in their various languages. Furthermore, learning more than one language enhances the cognitive control system long before the onset of speech.

One particular study found that toddlers don’t only know that they are hearing different languages, but are also able to tell them apart.

The fact is, young children are able to learn languages much more easily and quickly than adults. Essentially, the earlier your child starts learning another language, the better.

Western expats arriving in Hong Kong don’t need to worry about their kids having to learn a new language.

Moving to a new country is often stressful. But moving to a place where the community language is different provides an additional challenge.

Many expat families in Hong Kong worry about their children lagging behind at school if they speak their heritage language at home. They think that their child will be disadvantaged at school because they don’t speak the community language.

However, children are a lot more adaptable than we give them credit for. They tend to pick up languages very quickly. Speaking the heritage language in the home is actually an advantage because it gives the child the chance to be immersed in two different languages. It also ensures that they will keep up both languages as they grow up.