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If you have Netflix, you should look up "Science of Babies". It is fascinating and even mentions multi-linguism. Babies at a very young age - I'm talking infant - can detect the inflection differences in various languages. So, if a person is speaking Spanish and another English, the baby can tell there is a difference. They lose this ability at some point, however. The documentary does a better job at explaining but I was so excited about seeing it while I was pregnant with my daughter.
I've also read that children in multi-lingual homes may have a speech delay because it is just taking them longer to sort things out. Eventually, however, they will catch up and there won't be any kind of difference in their learning ability. My nephew grew up in a tri-lingual home: English, Mandarin, and Cantonese. I just about died laughing one day when he said one sentence in three different languages. He is a great kid and speaks perfect English, his dominant language, and never had any learning issues when he started school.
I speak "Chinglish" to my daughter as my Mandarin Chinese is very spotty. I have definitely passed it on to her. She'll say "my beibei", beibei the chinese word for blanket. Based on online mommy groups I'm in, my daughter does seem slightly behind but then again, I think some moms have a tendency to exaggerate how well their child speaks but that's just my opinion. When my daughter interacts with other kids her age though, I don't seem to notice any difference in her speech development.
My niece who is 6 months older than my daughter hardly even speaks and she comes from a solely English speaking household (I don't know why my bro doesn't speak Chinese to them but to each their own) so no, I don't think it's a negative thing to come from a bi-lingual or multi-lingual home. I think every child is different and they will develop at their own pace. Speaking multiple languages may slow down how early they speak/comprehend words but it may not. Or, even if it did, the child will catch up. I personally think it's a great thing, especially since our world is getting so integrated!
just for the record, I learned 4 languages growing up and I'm totally fluent in all of them... I have no confusion whatsoever Teach your kids as many as possible, it will be the best gift you will ever give them!!
It think it depends on how it's done.
Where I live there are many "bilingual" kids but they do more poorly on the standardized tests and do worse in science and math than kids that are mono-lingual. You see immigrants who learned English in high school or later more able to read and write in English because they had a solid language base in one language first. With those who grew up in two language you get a lot more of that mixing of languages -- so much that many cannot communicate in one language. It's common to hear "da me la pencil", "esta working", "digo he cannot go" which can make them unable to converse with monolingual speakers of either language. They don't even realize they are mixing two languages because that's how they learned.
Where I live there are many "bilingual" kids but they do more poorly on the standardized tests and do worse in science and math than kids that are mono-lingual. You see immigrants who learned English in high school or later more able to read and write in English because they had a solid language base in one language first. With those who grew up in two language you get a lot more of that mixing of languages -- so much that many cannot communicate in one language. It's common to hear "da me la pencil", "esta working", "digo he cannot go" which can make them unable to converse with monolingual speakers of either language. They don't even realize they are mixing two languages because that's how they learned.
Nearly 30% of the kids at high tech high (a public elite according to Newsweek) were raised bilingual.
The apparent "issues" mythology attributed to learning two languages is not the languages themselves but the fact that some children are not truly learning both at once. Some kids learn one language at home and then English at school. That is ESL not bilingualism. Some kids are learning one language from a speaker who is not native or proficient in that language. That can cause grammatical problem. But if a child speaks to one parent in one language and one in another and they are both fluent. Than there exist benefits not confusion.
Definitely no. In non English speaking world most of the children are studying another language and there is no problem with it. Earlier you start, easier it will be for children to study foreign language.
The apparent "issues" mythology attributed to learning two languages is not the languages themselves but the fact that some children are not truly learning both at once. Some kids learn one language at home and then English at school. That is ESL not bilingualism. Some kids are learning one language from a speaker who is not native or proficient in that language. That can cause grammatical problem. But if a child speaks to one parent in one language and one in another and they are both fluent. Than there exist benefits not confusion.
The TAKS scores and other standardized tests scores are very low along the border where kids are learning two languages. SAT scores in particular. I've seen absolutely no benefit to kids to have two languages, many are illiterate in two languages.
The most bilingual regions of the USA are definitely not the most literate and kids are deprived of math and science because everything is about making them have two languages.
The TAKS scores and other standardized tests scores are very low along the border where kids are learning two languages. SAT scores in particular. I've seen absolutely no benefit to kids to have two languages, many are illiterate in two languages.
The most bilingual regions of the USA are definitely not the most literate and kids are deprived of math and science because everything is about making them have two languages.
The problem is that in these areas, the kids are NOT bilingual. They are as someone else said, learning on language at home and the other at school.
Parents in these situations may not speak the second language at all or may not speak it fluently or with good grammar.
The TAKS scores and other standardized tests scores are very low along the border where kids are learning two languages. SAT scores in particular. I've seen absolutely no benefit to kids to have two languages, many are illiterate in two languages.
The most bilingual regions of the USA are definitely not the most literate and kids are deprived of math and science because everything is about making them have two languages.
You completely ignored the fact that those children are not being raised truly bilingual.
Maybe read it this time?
"The apparent "issues" mythology attributed to learning two languages is not the languages themselves but the fact that some children are not truly learning both at once. Some kids learn one language at home and then English at school. That is ESL not bilingualism. Some kids are learning one language from a speaker who is not native or proficient in that language. That can cause grammatical problem. But if a child speaks to one parent in one language and one in another and they are both fluent. Than there exist benefits not confusion."
I find it interesting that there are even people who find learning multiple languages a detriment. Americans are probably one of the few people who don't learn a second language in school. If anything, English is a REQUIREMENT as a second language in many countries. Our society is becoming more global. I think competitively speaking, it's a detriment not to be able to speak a second language fluently.
I came to the States at a young age. I was in a unique position. My primary language was Portuguese. Just before moving to the States when I was 5, I went to my parents motherland for a month. Well, I forgot all my Portuguese, picked up Chinese - my parents native tongue - and then here I was finding myself submersed in English. I did well in school. I speak English perfectly. I love to write ... in English. I know my grammar. I'm a great speller.
If kids don't do well academically it's not b'c they are bi-lingual. It's the environment at home. Parents need to be involved in their children's education. I occasionally speak "Chinglish" (mix of Chinese and English) with my friends but that's mainly for entertainment purposes. I speak soley Chinese to my Mom and perfect English everywhere else. I know when I'm speaking Chinese; I know when I'm speaking English. No confusion whatsoever.
Unfortunately, my daughter will be well versed in the language of Chinglish. My Chinese isn't good enough to pass on a proper set of Chinese vocabulary. Sure, now she says "My beibei" (beibei being "blanket" in Chinese) but she understands when I say "Where is your 'blanket'" even if she can't say blanket right now. I'd rather my daughter pick up some things from me rather than nothing at all. She has to at least be able to understand what Grandma is telling her. I am absolutely positive she will do well in school. She's got her dad's smarts (she's half Chinese, half white - yes, my husband is the "smart one" so don't go thinking any stereotypes please) and I will impart my discipline. When she is older, she will be going to both "regular" English-speaking school and Chinese school, just like I had to do. When she starts college, she can choose to continue learning Chinese or not. It will be totally up to her.
I put one of my kids in dual language -- and I would never do it again.
At the time I thought it would be a good idea, he'd have two languages down pat. They had the English speaking teacher in the morning and the Spanish speaking teacher in the afternoon. This was his whole elementary school education. Essentially just a half day of any somewhat useful education. Two plus two, then dos mas dos -- but not much more than that as far as math. Science was even less.
Big mistake. He got very little of math and science. Not one of the kids in that dual language class has done well in high school. It took him until 12th grade to finally catch up in math -- and he should have been great in math. Not only that he doesn't speak Spanish, he may understand some - but he won't speak it.
I would never do that again with another child. It's far better to get kids ahead in math and science -- and American kids are slipping fast in those fields as it is.
The problem is that in these areas, the kids are NOT bilingual. They are as someone else said, learning on language at home and the other at school.
Parents in these situations may not speak the second language at all or may not speak it fluently or with good grammar.
They actually are considered to be bilingual and they are learning two languages simultaneously -- so much that they cannot speak one language at a time. It's extremely common to hear sentences like "esta working", or "las breicas en la troca", or "da me la pencil" --- and many cannot speak anything other than this kind of language. I see it even in the workplace where not one sentence every comes out in one language or the other, always mixed. Somehow their minds grabbed part of the verb "esta" over "is" but then grabbed "working" over "trabajando" and they aren't consciously aware they do this and the spelling errors in these bilingual kids is simply atrocious -- check on some of the news or you tube comments. You can almost always tell when someone's only or first language is Spanish, they get the spelling of "hecho" or "se vende" correct and are also more likely to spell correctly in another language -- and vice versa with English.
I think it's great to learn another language -- but you should have a solid primary language first.
I do know a couple where she is from Germany and he is from the USA and each speaks to the children in German only or English only - and the children seem to be able to differentiate between the languages. Something like that might work.
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Teach your kids as many as possible, it will be the best gift you will ever give them!!
