Bilingualism is one of the most historically controversial topics in modern education, with a history of debate that goes back to the first half of the 20th century.
In the past, a lot of this controversy was legitimately due to a lack of research, or uninformed education policies being instituted. But now, an ever-growing body of research is pointing to the positives of bilingualism, and it would do well to be informed about them.
Here are seven of the most important questions about bilingualism that can help dispel the widespread misinformation and misconceptions about it.
1. What does it mean to be bilingual?
Bilingual, at its most basic, means that you can speak two languages. Some people believe that to be considered bilingual, one must have equal or native-like proficiency in both languages, but this discounts people who speak a mother tongue natively, and a second tongue effectively, though without the same proficiency. In fact, most bilingual people use their languages for different purposes, and develop their skills in each language according to their needs. Most bilingual people therefore are actually not equally proficient.
The best definition of bilingual is simply someone who uses two languages in their daily life, regardless of their proficiency in either.
2. Does early-life bilingual education cause developmental delays?
This is one of the most popular and enduring myths about bilingual education, and it’s what most frequently gives parents pause when enrolling their child in a bilingual school. The fact is, the research does not support the notion that bilingual exposure results in speech disorders or developmental delays.
Besides – more than half the world’s population already raises its children in bilingual or even multilingual environments!
3. Is there a best time for second language acquisition?
Research by cognitive scientist’s shows that native-like language acquisition should start by the age of 10 for maximum effect, with acquisition tapering off by the age of 18
However, a separate body of research seems to indicate that age is less of a factor than we’ve thought for a long time. The difference in learning styles between adults and children might actually be a bigger determinant than previously thought, because children are more constantly immersed in the classroom and have plenty of opportunity to be quizzed and to interact with other speakers, while adults might only be learning in their free time.
4. Is it bad to mix languages inside sentences?
Many bilingual cultures will know about code-switching, or the phenomenon of alternating between two languages when in conversation. Code-switching gets a bad rap for the potential of sullying development and proficiency in either language. However, research shows that it doesn’t actually have an impact on learning.
While it’s not inherently bad to code-switch, it’s important to be aware of the learning and maintenance styles associated with each language. Budding bilingual children should be given the support they need for both languages at all times.
5. What are the positive effects of bilingualism?
We’ve covered this many times: bilingualism confers many advantages to students. They generally perform better at school and demonstrate improved executive function, memory, and cognitive flexibility, among others. It also makes bilingual speakers more open-minded, and offers a variety of new worldviews – a valuable asset in an increasingly globalised and multicultural world.
6. Do bilingual children have a smaller vocabulary than their monolingual counterparts?
In each language that they know, a bilingual child may not know as many words compared to a monolingual native. However, this is because they learn according to need – they might know the right words for something in the language they use at school, while in their language at home, they have a different vocabulary available to them. Two different studies confirmed this, and also showed that about 30-37% of bilingual children’s vocabulary is composed of double translations – i.e. the same concept expressed in two languages.
7. Do bilingual people translate in their head from one language to another?
Mental cross-translation between two languages is a common occurrence early on when one is just starting to learn a second language. However, as proficiency grows in the second language, speakers start to speak naturally without translation.
8. How can parents support their bilingual children’s language acquisition?
One of the most important ways by which children learn anything is by mirroring their parents, and this holds true for language attitudes. If a child can speak the same two languages that their parents speak, then it falls on the parents to reinforce the weaker language at home. Even if the parents do not speak the child’s second language, it’s important that they provide encouragement and support for learning that language, or else the child may become unmotivated to learn it.
We also provided a list of ways on how to encourage bilingualism at home. Goal setting, gentle mistake correction, and constant exposure to culture in the second language are some of these methods.
9. Do children forgot their learned languages?
Children are very quick to learn new languages, but also very quick to forget them if they’re not maintained. Like an untrained muscle, an unused or unsupported language may wither away. That’s why language support is so important to maintain bilingualism in youth.
10. What approaches should be used to support bilingual children?
Every approach has its own unique advantages and disadvantages. For example, the most popular and easiest to adopt method is the so-called “one person, one language” technique, where the child speaks one language with one parent, and another language with the other. This is very useful for parents with different mother tongues, but it may lead to the minority language not getting as much support.
Another technique involves starting with one language from a young age, and then slowly introducing the new language at the age of 4-5. This is more complex but it ensures strong proficiency in the mother tongue initially.
One of the best ways to learn is to combine home strategies with bilingual education programmers at school. Swiss International School in Dubai’s many bilingual streams are an excellent solution to bilingual support and maintenance, and offer an array of competent mother tongue speakers in many classes who will engage students in their languages of choice.
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Swiss International School in Dubai’s many bilingual streams are an excellent solution to bilingual support and maintenance, and offer an array of competent mother tongue speakers in many classes who will engage students in their languages of choice.