Q & A - My child is learning two languages

August 20, 2024•6 min read

"One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way." - Frank Smith

Working mostly with bilingual children, I’m often asked questions by concerned parents who say “My child is learning several languages, what should I do?”. Here is an article that summarizes their questions and that might answer some of yours.

First, to clarify the text, here are the definitions of some acronyms used in the article:

L1 = first language
L2 = second language
monolingual = a child who speaks only one language
bilingual = a child who speaks 2+ languages

Q: The earlier they learn, the better?

A: Not necessarily true, no study proves it.

The false idea many have about learning a second language is that the earlier children start learning it, the better it will be. However, during school, at around 8 years of age, children learn with an awareness of the importance of using the second language and demonstrate better long term results. As they socialize and start learning about online media, the learning of an L2 becomes more explicit, especially in regards to vocabulary. In fact, the only aspect of language that was found to benefit from early language exposure is pronunciation, and still, that can be learned with time!

This means that we do not have to encourage children to learn a language early if it is not in their current environment. It also means that parents don't have to speak a language they do not master or naturally use at home! If you force yourself to do so, you might end up losing your L1, all while teaching your child an incorrect form of the L2!

Q: What is the best way to teach my child a language?

A: Be natural!

If you naturally speak your native language at home, do so with your child. It is very important that your child has a solid foundation in his native language (in this case L1) to learn a second language (L2) later. It's like building a house; the more the foundation in L1 is solid, the more blocks of L2 your child will be able to build up with confidence.

If your child’s environment is naturally bilingual, he will naturally learn both languages, so stay natural in that case as well. Yes, even if it means that you mix languages as you speak! That's a subject for another blog post ;)

Q: My child is learning a second language at school, should I start speaking that language to him?

A: No.

If the environment is only in L1 at home and the child begins to learn an L2 in school, continue to talk to him in L1. Never, ever, should a L2 replace the L1, because the loss of L1 can harm the development of L2.

Q: Is being a bilingual child like being two monolingual children in one?

A: Yes and no.

Bilingual children develop their skills in both languages in a similar, yet different way compared to monolingual children.

How are they similar? The bilingual child’s overall language development follows the same pattern as that of a monolingual child. The different language milestones are reached at the same times for monolinguals and bilinguals. So in a way, the bilingual child is like the monolingual child if we consider everything he says/understands in both languages. If you want help with these milestones, download my FREE Milestone Checklist HERE.

How are they different? A child is rarely exposed to two languages equally. Therefore, the bilingual child’s two languages complement each other to give him a distinct profile. For example, if he speaks L1 and L2, he will have a L1 vocabulary slightly smaller than that of a child who only speaks L1 and a L2 vocabulary slightly smaller than that of a child who only speaks L2. But, if we add both vocabularies of both languages together (L1 + L2), the bilingual child will have a total vocabulary that is slightly larger than that of a child who speaks only L1 or only L2. Also, a bilingual child is different because both languages may be "specialized" in a certain vocabulary subject. For example, if he mostly uses French at school and English at home, he will know more educational terms (shapes, colors, etc.) in French and more daily routine terms (bath time, clothing, food, etc.) in English.

Q: My child and his friend have always been in the same classes, why do they not have the same level of bilingualism?

A: Several factors are at play for each language.

The learning of two different languages differs from one bilingual child to another. Learning two languages at the same time depends on several factors, such as:

the age at which he started to be exposed to each language;
the environment(s) in which each language is used;
the language’s status (majority or minority);
the similarity between the two languages ( French-English vs. English-Arabic);
and most of all, the time of exposure to each language in % or hours: at school (in class, during recess or lunch time, etc.) and at home (with siblings, tv, neighborhood, etc.).

Q: Is my child confused because he's mixing both languages when he speaks?

A: No.

From a very young age, children can differentiate the languages that surround them. Your child understands that he speaks two languages and is able to learn and develop them with different people and/or in different places. If he is mixing both languages in his sentences, which we refer to as code-mixing, it does not mean that he is confused. He knows that you understand him and uses the word that comes most quickly and naturally to his mind. Code-mixing is normal when we are bilingual and usually adjusts itself with time and practice.

Q: How do I know if my child has a language difficulty when he's bilingual?

A: If your child has a language difficulty (comprehension, expression or pronunciation), these difficulties will be found in both languages and when we consider the totality of the child's language abilities. It is not because he speaks or is exposed to different languages that he has difficulty learning language. In fact, even if the child has language difficulties, he can still become bilingual. But this will be the topic of another post ;)

To sum up, remain calm if: