Multilingual children: pros and cons. Part two: the 4 potential disadvantages.
January 21st 2008 08:44
Part 2, the 4 potential disadvantages.
I have been speaking French to my son since he is born.
He is today 4 years old and his progress learning the two languages from birth are very encouraging.
Living in Sydney and therefore in a predominantly English speaking environment, his English is of course better than his French. He tends to speak English more naturally and very well. On the other hand, he understands perfectly everything I say as I only and always speak French to him.
The speaking for the second language is more mixed with English words and less fluent at the moment, but when he goes to France on holidays, he catches up with the language very quickly.
There are basically only 4 potential disadvantages, although not necessarily true in every case:
The speaking later:
There is technically no scientific evidence proving that multilingual children begin speaking later.
Yet, some parents have noticed that there is a 3 to 6 months delay compared to monolingual children.
Well, thinking about it, it does make sense; at the end of it those children are learning 2 languages at the same time… meaning that they are learning twice as many words than other children.
But if you think of it, 6 months is a little price to pay for the ability to speak two or three languages!
Mixing words:
Children learning more than one language at a time are more likely to mix words; it is very common and again makes sense.
.It is important to say that this is a temporary phenomenon.
Generally it disappears around the age of 4 or 5.
Please, don't forget that children who are learning only one language also often use wrong words until they learn the right ones; it is just a natural part in the process of learning a language.
This will automatically disappear when the vocabulary in each language increases. The best way to deal with this is to stay consistent when talking to your children. Your patience will be rewarded, guaranteed.
Additional effort for the parents:
Raising a multilingual child is a long term commitment.
It will require you some extra effort to provide enough language exposure, extra encouragement, keeping your language rules consistent.
It can feel a bit awkward at first, it did for me.
Speaking my first language to my newborn while surrounded by English speaking people felt a bit silly at first, but then it became natural and today it is actually the other way around, I can’t see myself speaking English to him.
As I said in the first part, it always feels more natural to express our emotions in our first language.
Parents of multilingual children totally agree that the benefits for their children are well worth the effort.
Reading and writing:
Ok, teaching a multilingual child to read and write will add to the academic load, there is no doubt about it, especially if you expect perfect literacy in both or more languages.
Some parents are happy if their child speaks only in another language, some others will add the reading and writing abilities, it’s up to you really.
There's no doubt that multilingual children have more advantages. Your extra effort will give them a valuable skill they'll use in numerous ways for the rest of their lives.
I have been speaking French to my son since he is born.
He is today 4 years old and his progress learning the two languages from birth are very encouraging.
Living in Sydney and therefore in a predominantly English speaking environment, his English is of course better than his French. He tends to speak English more naturally and very well. On the other hand, he understands perfectly everything I say as I only and always speak French to him.
The speaking for the second language is more mixed with English words and less fluent at the moment, but when he goes to France on holidays, he catches up with the language very quickly.
There are basically only 4 potential disadvantages, although not necessarily true in every case:
The speaking later:
There is technically no scientific evidence proving that multilingual children begin speaking later.
Yet, some parents have noticed that there is a 3 to 6 months delay compared to monolingual children.
Well, thinking about it, it does make sense; at the end of it those children are learning 2 languages at the same time… meaning that they are learning twice as many words than other children.
But if you think of it, 6 months is a little price to pay for the ability to speak two or three languages!
Mixing words:
Children learning more than one language at a time are more likely to mix words; it is very common and again makes sense.
.It is important to say that this is a temporary phenomenon.
Generally it disappears around the age of 4 or 5.
Please, don't forget that children who are learning only one language also often use wrong words until they learn the right ones; it is just a natural part in the process of learning a language.
Additional effort for the parents:
Raising a multilingual child is a long term commitment.
It will require you some extra effort to provide enough language exposure, extra encouragement, keeping your language rules consistent.
It can feel a bit awkward at first, it did for me.
Speaking my first language to my newborn while surrounded by English speaking people felt a bit silly at first, but then it became natural and today it is actually the other way around, I can’t see myself speaking English to him.
As I said in the first part, it always feels more natural to express our emotions in our first language.
Parents of multilingual children totally agree that the benefits for their children are well worth the effort.
Reading and writing:
Ok, teaching a multilingual child to read and write will add to the academic load, there is no doubt about it, especially if you expect perfect literacy in both or more languages.
Some parents are happy if their child speaks only in another language, some others will add the reading and writing abilities, it’s up to you really.
There's no doubt that multilingual children have more advantages. Your extra effort will give them a valuable skill they'll use in numerous ways for the rest of their lives.
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