Bringing Up Bilingual Babies: Stages of Second Language Acquisition Every Parent Should Know

Where do you begin to introduce children to a new language? When do you begin? And how do you know how well they’re progressing? Like many aspects of child development, learning a new language falls on a continuum and progress varies from child to child. Still, research in language learning does detail five stages of second language acquisition that can serve as a helpful roadmap for parents.

 To describe bilinguals, experts in the field often refer to children as simultaneous bilinguals or sequential bilinguals (also referred to as successive bilinguals). Simultaneous bilinguals are children from birth to three years-old who learn two languages at the same time. These children go through the same developmental stages as those learning one language. Parents of simultaneous bilinguals often become worried because their children might begin speaking slightly later than monolingual children. Still, this should not be diagnosed as a “language delay” because bilinguals still start to talk within the typical age range. After all, they are learning double the vocabulary in half the time.

Sequential bilinguals are children who learn a second language after a first language is already established. For this reason, sequential bilinguals begin learning the second language after the age of three. Despite the myth that ‘earlier is better,’ sequential bilinguals who pick up a language later are also able to attain native-like fluency in two languages. They will, however, move through the stages of second language development delineated below. The remainder of this article describes the five stages of second language acquisition (SLA), answering three critical questions that all parents should know: What should you expect at this stage? What might you hear? What can you do about it?

A few important considerations:

• Research demonstrates that for sequential bilinguals to progress quickly through the stages of second language acquisition, they should have a firm foundation in their first language.

• Although perfect bilingualism is often considered the gold standard, remember that bilingualism is dynamic and serves many purposes. Don’t be discouraged if your child is not able to attain native-like fluency.

• Remember that language learning is hard no matter what age you are. Set expectations for your children but remember that interest and motivation play a critical role in language learning as well.

• Language is tied to culture. Go on language adventures that allow children to also experience the culture. Read books that feature culturally-relevant characters who speak the target language (or better yet, who are bilingual).

Five Thoughts on Crazy Rich Asians

I watched Crazy Rich Asians last night and I have thoughts!

(1) I was really moved by the Chinese (Mandarin and Canto) music that was unapologetically not English. Deeply appreciated the mix of Chinese pop songs from Hong Kong and China as well as the English songs with Chinese words (that weren’t necessarily direct translations, re: Yellow by Coldplay), all perfectly capturing the spectrum of Asian-American experiences. 

(2) I related, surprisingly, to the Singaporean characters who were raised bilingual and bicultural, educated abroad or possibly in international schools, and who seamlessly weave between two worlds #TCK. 

(3) Unsurprisingly, I related less to the Asian-American character though my heart did burst when her own mother said she looks Chinese but is different. Feeling like an outsider because of how you look is never fun... especially if you’re fluent in the culture(s). Despite not fully relating with the Asian-American narrative, I caught myself feeling bad/awkward that the White woman next to me didn’t laugh at any of the amazing Asian references that I LOLed at. I’m glad she’s there to learn about life as I see it, and I guess I’m ok with being the insider for a change. 

(4) I loved all the normal things that were not played up as Asian because they were just... normal! Mah jong 💕 using chopsticks 💕 outdoor food markets 💕 using ‘la’ at the end of sentences because that’s how we talk ga ma 💕 the glorious and flavorful non-Chinese takeout food 💕 aunties and uncles 💕 and motifs on the importance of family, of saving face, of being a good host, of passive aggressiveness, of demonstrating love through sacrifice, of filial piety.

(5) I knew people had talked about being moved by an all Asian cast, but didn't realize how validating it would actually feel until I saw it on the big screen. No stupid kung fu. No annoying sidekicks. But attractive, funny, relatable protagonists. Asian and American. Having said that, I must say again that I am neither Asian nor White. I’m mixed, which is also more than the mere combination of the two. I may check two boxes on forms if I have the option, but really there should be a new box for what I am... an entirely distinct third identity.

*spoiler alert*

(6) After chatting with my friend, Greg Hsu, I appreciated his insight on how Crazy Rich Asians was a traditional rom-com in many ways, but did not ascribe to western norms of how romantic comedies might end. Remaining true to the importance of filial obedience in Asian culture, Nick and Rachel's engagement does not happen until Eleanor assents to it. Even then, she gives Rachel a brief smile instead of a big, warm "we accept you" embrace that we are used to seeing/expecting in western films. CRA shows the hard decisions Asian(-American)s make when dealing with family, love, and filial obedience.

Why Multilingual Children Thrive in Hong Kong

Children in Hong Kong grow up immersed in languages from all over the world. They use Chinglish to order food on the grungy side streets of Causeway Bay and Yau Ma Tei (gai daan zai / 雞蛋仔, anyone?). They mimic the MTR lady who asks passengers to “please stand back from the doors” in three languages. They even have the ability to identify nuances in the accents and vernacular of American, Australian, British, Canadian, Canto, Kiwi and Singaporean Englishes. While these three examples are idiosyncratic of children who grow up in Hong Kong, they also speak to three important reasons why multilingual children thrive in the 21st century.

Global Citizens/全球公民

The trilingual MTR lady teaches Hong Kong children to be global citizens. In this case, a child is exposed to three languages that communicate the exact same message. Global citizens are people “who identify with being part of an emerging world community.” In this example, children see language as the vehicle that carries a message to this world community, rather than fixating on language as an identity marker. In other words, multilingual children bridge linguistic identities and disrupt the ideology of One Nation, One Language (e.g., China = Chinese, Germany = German, Japan = Japanese). Research also demonstrates that children who speak multiple languages have heightened interpersonal skills and are often better communicators, which makes them strong players in building a global community.

Open-Minded Citizens/開明的公民

How does street food turn you into an empathetic citizen? The key is to understand what type of food we are talking about. While some vendors have waffles dripping with peanut butter and condensed milk, others have squid tentacles doused in barbecue sauce or cheese-filled beef balls that squirt when you take a bite. Moving indoors to the multicultural food courts of any shopping mall, children are exposed to new foods with foreign names like nasi goreng, bi bim bap, pho dac biet or daal chawal. But what does that have to do with being open-minded? Developing a multiethnic palette heightens children’s awareness of foods that are different from what they might normally eat at home, and cultivates an appreciation for things that would otherwise be labeled as grotesque, unappealing, or ‘other’. Research affirms this phenomenon as multilingual children readily embrace differences and are more likely to venture into another person’s shoes (or kitchen!)before casting judgment.

Intelligent Citizens/聰明的公民

Finally, beyond the obvious social advantages of speaking multiple languages, scientists show that being multilingual makes you smarter. While distinguishing between the various Englishes spoken in Hong Kong may seem like a trivial feat, the cognitive processes enabling this understanding should not be underestimated. In fact, research in the cognitive sciences demonstrate that bilingual children in the early years outperform monolingual counterparts on various mental puzzles and executive functioning skills. They also learn faster when presented with new speech or visual cues. Extending this research to the elderly population, bilingual patients are more resistant to the onset of dementia and other symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease than monolingual patients.

As children in Hong Kong are exposed to a diversity of languages, they have opportunities to become more global, open-minded and intelligent citizens. Now, it is our responsibility to equip them with the linguistic skills needed to fully thrive in Hong Kong’s globalised community.

Five Tips to Introduce a New Language at Home

Learning another language is one of those things that you often wish your parents had been more persistent about when you were a child. It’s like wishing they’d made you play an instrument or specialize in a sport. After all, hindsight is 20/20.

Now that the tables have turned and you are thinking about how to raise children to speak a new language, chances are you will face the same challenges your parents did. Children are reluctant to speak a new language because it’s hard, it takes work, and more often than not, there’s no real purpose for speaking it. Drawing from principles in second language research, here are five tips to introduce a new language in your home.

Incorporate the New Language in Daily Routines

Languages aren’t learned overnight. Actively participate and try to incorporate the target language into daily routines so that children can practice and master them in specific contexts. In the target language, go through bedtime routines (e.g. brushing teeth, taking a shower, changing into PJs); use high frequency phrases like “what homework do you have today?” or “what would you like for a snack?” into your conversations (note: start with yes/no questions and then move to open-ended questions); sing a bedtime song or say a bedtime prayer; start and end conversations with children when you see them after school. The ultimate goal is for children to use the language in consistent and meaningful ways.

Enrich the Household with Vocabulary Labels

Children learn languages by being immersed in print-rich environments. As children develop early literacy skills in both languages, label your household with vocabulary in both languages. This provides children with emergent reading and writing opportunities in each language, and also fosters an appreciation for bilingualism. Start by labelling rooms with common nouns. Once these are acquired, try verbs, then adjectives, and finally short phrases.

Engage Learners in Topics that Interest Them

Children can become motivated to learn new languages when they are interested in the content. Provide children with opportunities to explore topics that interest them in the target language. Take them to the library to borrow books of their choice, extend their computer time if they watch YouTube music videos in a specific language, or bring them to local restaurants to order ethnic foods and engage with native speakers of that language.

Be a Language Learning Role Model

Young kids want to be just like their parents, and they notice more than we ever give them credit for. When children see that you are learning a language, you model the importance of language learning and demonstrate how to approach challenges and frustrations. Pick up a new language and share in the daily discipline of learning vocabulary words. Work on your pronunciation and accent in front of your children and demonstrate how nerve-wracking but important it is to practice speaking with others. Do not underestimate the influence you have over your children.

Manage Expectations for Fluency and Progress

Helping a child learn a new language is no easy feat. It is a long process that requires years to master. While it is important to have high expectations of our children, we must also remember to set realistic expectations that reflect the stages in second language development. Measure a child’s success by indicators beyond just fluency. This could include vocabulary knowledge, reading or writing, confidence to speak or general interest in the language or culture. While native-like fluency is desirable, remember that most people fall short of this gold standard – and that’s ok. Recognize that children are on a path towards fluency and celebrate the many successes along the way.

These five research-informed strategies are by no means exhaustive. If you have other tips that work in your household, please do share them below!

Using Multiple Languages to Support Bilingual Learners

Classrooms today are becoming increasingly diverse. Children from various cultural and linguistic backgrounds bring so much color and depth to the classroom. But a number of challenges can also emerge when working with students who speak different languages. How do you address the needs of multilingual learners when they are developing emergent literacy skills in not one, but sometimes two, or three languages? How could you use multiple languages to help language learners make sense of what they’re reading?

One effective strategy is called translanguaging. Translanguaging bridges the languages spoken at home with the linguistic demands of schools. More specifically, it allows students to use words from two linguistic repertoires to communicate effectively. One manifestation of this might be a student who uses Spanish in one sentence and English in another, or one who blends the two languages together within a single sentence. Blending languages together is, after all, what people from naturally bilingual households do. Thus, allowing children to draw from these natural linguistic resources has the opportunity to engage students in the learning process as they wrestle with new knowledge.

So what does this look like in the classroom? This article highlights three critical considerations drawn from the “Translanguaging: Guide for Educators” published by the City University of New York. These recommendations, used in part or in whole, are sure to benefit our bilingual learners as they make them feel both valued and included.

1) Use Multilingual Texts

An essential component of translanguaging is that students from linguistically diverse backgrounds have access to multilingual texts. These texts could be stories that come in multiple translations, texts with both languages on the same page, or books that are written by authors from culturally diverse backgrounds. Research shows that using multilingual texts help build language learners’ background knowledge, and simultaneously support home language literacy development. In addition, children feel more confident because these books validate their linguistic and cultural identity. Putting theory into practice, here are a few suggestions on how to use multilingual texts in your classroom.

• Include multilingual texts in your classroom library (here are some resources)
• Translate one of your students’ favorite stories and read it aloud on a special day
• Have students read books in multiple languages side-by-side
• Have a group of students translate an English story that they love, and place it in the library for others to learn about that language
• Supplement class content with readings in students’ home languages about the same topic or theme, which can be read at home with parents
• Make sure students have bilingual dictionaries (picture dictionaries help!) to enable problem-solving when they face linguistic challenges

2) Think About the Language Process

Break down the reading process for children. Take into account the linguistic demands of a reading task, and have students first read the text in their home language so they can become familiar with key vocabulary words and content. Then, ask students to read the passage in English at school to reinforce concepts and facilitate language transfer.

After reading, have students engage in conversations about the text, allowing them to speak in any language they choose. This allows students to share precisely about their favorite part of the story, about how the story relates to their own experience, or about what they would do differently if they were the main character. The purpose is for students to interact with and make meaning of the text. Finally, when students share ideas with the class, ask them to speak in English (telling them beforehand, of course!). Now that they have formulated their arguments, they will be able to focus on how to accurately express themselves in their second language.

3) Actively Promote Multilingualism

Allowing students to use the (often blended) languages that they speak at home in the classroom will, at first, feel strange to them. Shouldn’t the language of school be English only? While many teachers do not discourage students from using their home language in class, they also do not explicitly encourage it. Make the classroom an environment that embraces multilingualism. Let students know that their languages are welcome, and that they are important for learning a second language. To cultivate this, use multilingual posters, books, signs and student work on the walls. React positively to students who ask for help in a different language. Allow students to translate for each other. Discuss with the class why being multilingual is an asset in today’s society.

Here are a few questions you can ask the class to help get the conversation started:

• Where do you hear people speaking different languages? Do you think it is useful to speak more than one language?
• Do you know of any famous people who can speak more than one language? When do you think they use their languages? Why do you think being bilingual helps them?
• In class, do you think it’s ok for your classmates to use the language they speak at home? Why or why not?

Engaging children in conversations that question the power and privilege ascribed to particular languages stops them from defining themselves (and their languages) as second class, and shows them what is truly powerful and truly a privilege — being bilingual.

Streaming Platforms Show Promise—And Risks—For Developing Literacy In Preschoolers →

Featured in EdSurge article published by Jenny Abamu

Some people will testify that they learned new languages fluently simply by sitting in front of a screen and streaming. One person on a Duolingo forum noted after six months of watching Turkish soap operas that she could conversationally speak the language. According to new research coming out of New York University, that may be a possibility for preschoolers.

There are so many programs out there that are saying they are educational for kids—like us, buy us or watch us because we are educational. But what does educational really mean?
- Kevin Wong, an adjunct instructor from NYU

Children under eight-years-old view content on mobile devices for an average of 48 minutes per day, according to a recent survey by Common Sense Media. Luckily, researchers also found an increase in the amount of quality content available for preschoolers to view—meaning kids have more options to build literacy skills while streaming.

In a recently-published paper called, “Learning Vocabulary From Educational Media: The Role of Pedagogical Supports for Low-income Preschoolers,” Kevin Wong, an adjunct instructor from NYU, identified existing educational media accessible to low-income preschoolers. Then his team went deeper to learn what teaching strategies built within content were most effective for literacy development.

“If the quantity of media consumption is not going down, then our goal is to see what the quality [of media consumed by preschoolers] looks like,” explains Wong. “There are so many programs out there that are saying they are educational for kids—like us, buy us or watch us because we are educational. But what does educational really mean?”

Researching Smartphone Content

To run the analysis, Wong’s team reviewed 4,600 pieces of media that could be accessed through tablets or mobile devices—noting that many low-income families often have at least one smartphone at home. Much of the media his team reviewed came from familiar household names and included episodes of popular children’s shows like Sesame Street and Dora the Explorer.

The team then ran random samples of the content to learn how many new vocabulary words viewers were exposed to and how the show aimed to teach children those terms through character dialogue. While watching the shows on places Netflix, Hulu or Amazon Prime they took notes of the language and teaching styles. Overall, 66 percent of media that was labeled as educational taught students new vocabulary words, an increase from other studies in the past.

Wong says there are some caveats to the study’s finding. “As we look more deeply into those words, we noticed that 98 percent of them are nouns, which is helpful, but the kids need to be learning all parts of speech. They need verbs; they need adjectives. And if you think about videos, they are a very appropriate way of teaching verbs.”

In addition to the lack of diversity within the vocabulary being taught, Wong’s team also found that many of the words were too simple for the target age group—meaning students wouldn’t necessarily be prepared for first-grade or kindergarten just by streaming videos.

“The quality of the words that they are learning is a missed opportunity,” Wong explains. “It could be harder, more varied and consistent. But it's kind of a digital wild west.”

Elmo or My Teacher

To examine how the vocabulary words were taught Wong’s team looked at the differences between the way an educator in a classroom may teach new words and how characters such as Elmo taught on screens.

“If a teacher points to something and provides visual support, does Elmo also point to something and provide visual support?” explains Wong. “That's the kind of instructional approaches that we're looking at on screen.”

Working with 3 to 5-year-old preschoolers from headstart programs in New York City, the team measured what cues the children responded using vocabulary tests and eye-tracking technology. The technology looks like a computer screen but has infrared diodes underneath that catch the reflections off of the retinas in children’s eyes.

With the eye trackers, researchers found that kids were paying more attention to the whole screen when Elmo was talking about the definition. But when Elmo directed their attention to a specific word by saying things like, “hey, look at this,” then students were more likely to look and learn the new word.

Yet, this language acquisition also varied depending on the child’s level of English proficiency. Children with stronger language proficiency skills were more likely to learn from the shows which could pose a problem for low-income families who rely on such media but don’t speak English as a first language.

Wong notes that his team is focused on children from low-income communities because they often don’t have the same resources to learn outside of schools as other wealthier families. Many parents working multiple jobs may be too tired to read to children before bed or may not be able to afford additional tutoring. Giving low-income children access to quality digital media has the potential to close some out-of-school educational gaps that they may experience.

“Within the current system,” Wong asks, “can media really help bridge that gap so students come to school on a level playing field knowing the same words that other kids might know?”

Is Perfect Bilingualism Attainable?

Raising children to speak two languages is no easy feat. Parents often find themselves enrolling children in language immersion programs, exposing them to different languages at home, encouraging them watch cartoons in another language, and sometimes even hiring language tutors or nannies to speak to their kids in foreign languages. But does this process need to be so hard? All we want is for our kids to become bilingual.

While many parents might define bilingualism as a person who can speak two languages with native-like fluency, this ‘gold standard’ is often unreasonable and unattainable. Bilingualism exists on a continuum, where a speaker has varying levels of linguistic proficiency in a first language and a second language. The following article seeks to uncover a nuanced understanding of what it means to be bilingual, in hopes of breaking down the seemingly daunting task of raising bilingual children.

Receptive Bilinguals

A receptive bilingual is someone who has native-fluency in one language, and can understand but not speak a second language. Many second-generation immigrant populations in the United States are receptive bilinguals, where they understand the mother tongue used by their parents, but respond to their parents in English – the language of school and society. While many are quick to categorize receptive bilinguals as monolingual, the reality is they belong on the bilingual spectrum. With an astute awareness of linguistic diversity (e.g., distinguishing in Cantonese between “唔該” thank you or excuse me, and “多謝” thank you for a gift); and with an appreciation for the sociocultural idiosyncrasies that are embedded within a language (e.g., using “你食咗飯未啊？” Have you eaten yet?, as a greeting), receptive bilingual speakers are far different from children who speak one language and understand one culture. With America becoming increasingly diverse, it is imperative that we become a society with more receptive bilinguals.

Dominant Bilinguals

A dominant bilingual is a person who is more proficient in one of two languages. These speakers tend to have native fluency in language one, with elementary to average proficiency in language two. This category might include people who develop a decent command of a foreign language in school or living abroad. It might also include people in the workplace, who gain notable proficiency in their second language within a specific domain (e.g., politics, education, fashion, or business). In these contexts, people accumulate essential work-related vocabulary, phrases, and cultural mannerisms to work in their second language. While society often illegitimizes the linguistic prowess of dominant bilinguals, or believes that they need to work harder to attain native-like fluency in their second language before it can be considered a ‘second language’, the reality is that they, too, are a far cry from being monolingual, and deserve a place on the bilingual continuum.

Balanced Bilinguals

A balanced bilingual is a person who is equally proficient in language one and two, but does not necessarily pass for a native speaker in either language. This might occur among populations who are immersed in two languages but are not equipped with a strong literacy foundation in either. It may also occur among children who move from country to country, adapting well from one linguistic environment to the next. Balanced bilinguals have a commendable repertoire of languages, but are unfortunately subject to criticism for their lack of native-like fluency in any language. Like the receptive and dominant bilingual speakers, balanced bilinguals are assets in today’s globalized economy as they navigate cross-cultural differences and bridge linguistic divides.

Equilinguals

Speakers who are equilingual speak two languages with native-like fluency. In other words, they are indistinguishable from native speakers of either language. This is the strictest form of bilingualism, which is considered by many as the gold standard. While being an equilingual speaker reaps obvious benefits, the reality is that perfect bilingualism is often an unattainable and unreasonable expectation, as perfection is an unfair bar to hold a child to. In addition, parents may feel paralyzed by the burden of raising perfectly bilingual children. Therefore, revisiting what it really means to become bilingual – that is, to be placed on the bilingual spectrum, frees us from striving for flawless fluency, and enables us to instill bilingualism as a norm in this next generation. 

“Someone who is trilingual speaks three languages.
Someone who is bilingual speaks two languages.
Someone who is monolingual is American.”

Let’s not make that joke a reality. Reconsider what it means to be bilingual, and strive together for an intercultural, multilingual nation.

Dual-Language Programs Expand in NYC Schools, Bridging Cultural Barriers (Radio Show Feature) →

Uptown Radio Show 180323

Featured in Radio Show published by Colin Marston in Uptown Radio

Back in January, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña launched 33 new Pre-K dual language programs — classrooms where the curriculum is taught in two different Languages. The De Blasio administration has pushed hard for these programs in New York City — where around a quarter of 3 to 4 year-olds learn English as a second language. And this new approach is changing the way communities understand cultural differences. Our reporter Colin Marston has more.

It’s an early Thursday morning here at the Preschool of America in Flushing, Queens and dozens of 3 and 4 year olds are flooding into their classrooms. But this isn’t your average pre-school class. Here students are learning about wind in English, followed by rainbows and colors in Mandarin.

“We have the Chinese New Year theme, so we will talk about Chinese stories,” said Yimei Li a student teacher here at the preschool, which already has a dual-language program. Like a teaching aid, she bridges the gap between Mandarin and English learning, and leads Mandarin instruction. The difference here is that literacy is taught through content. Sometimes that means talking about leprechauns.

“Last week we have the lucky leprechaun and then we don’t have the leprechaun in China so some children couldn’t understand the leprechaun but then we will compare, we will compare Chinese fairies and the leprechaun,” said Li.

Yet it goes so much more beyond the pot of gold and a fiery dragon. These programs are reinventing how Americans think about cultures different then theirs. Dual language programs are leading the shift from the dominant world language model, where Spanish or French is taught for 45 minutes, to an immersive one that includes learning about magnetism in Hebrew or Renaissance art in Italian. They’re teaching kids a different set of skills in a globalized world.

“Intercultural competence is kind of the big thing. It’s being able to navigate different cultures, being able to take perspective, to understand where people are coming from,” said Kevin Wong. He studies the importance of how early childhood language skills set them up for success.

“So I think that this is where a lot of this happens, in the school, in elementary schools, you know starting young.”

But the implementation has been tricky. Dual language challenges a lot of norms about American education. There’s the fact that many teachers don’t speak two languages, especially when it’s a language much less common than Spanish or French. There’s standardized testing, which often fails to take into account the experiences of bilingual learning.

And the fact that there’s no one clear idea of what dual language is. David Rogers, Executive Director for Dual Language Education of New Mexico explains.

“These programs are growing so quickly and in so many different parts of the country that we have to sit down and say where do we need to reach consensus on definition and terminologies?”

In New York, there’s the issue of classrooms not having an equal ratio between English language learners and their native speaking counterparts. Andrea Sanpietro, the education director of Preschool of America, sees this issue play out first hand.

“Because of where we’re located we usually do get a lot of Asian American children wanting to enroll in our program.”

But not enough native English speakers.

“We do want to encourage that multiculturalism. And we don’t have a perfect 50-50 mix of course, but we’ll have some children of a different background,” said Sanpietro

Even with these issues, dual language is here to stay. Instead of having immigrants lose their native languages to enter American society, dual language programs argue against seeing identity as a zero-sum game. By 2044, the US will be a minority-majority country, with a polyphony of different voices. In an age of bans, borders, and populist rhetoric these children here in Flushing show a different future of cultures learning together.

For Columbia Radios News, I’m Colin Marston

Raising Bilingual Children: Who Should Speak What?

Just the other day, I was on the subway in New York City when a family of three sat in the seats across from me. The mother was Japanese and spoke to her two children, who looked distinctly Eurasian, in Japanese. Asking about their day at school, the children replied in English, French and a little bit of Japanese, seamlessly switching between languages as if they were all one and the same.

With more than half of the world able to speak two or more languages, multilingualism is slowly becoming a priority in the United States, with an estimated 20% reportedly bilingual in 2012. In addition to the obvious linguistic and cultural benefits of being multilingual, research shows that there are both cognitive and social benefits as well. To raise bilingual children, parents are recognizing that they need to start early — well before kids set foot in school. Wanting to immerse their children at home during those critical years of language development, parents are starting to ask: should one parent speak one language, while the other speaks another? What should children speak at home in light of the languages that will be taught in school, spoken among peers, seen on TV and heard in the community? This article addresses these questions by highlighting six research-based models that effectively cultivate multilingual speakers at home.

1. Two home languages (one parent, one language)

A Spanish-speaking mother and an English-speaking father in the United States.

In this model, it is important for one of the parents’ native languages to reflect the language spoken in the community, so that it can be reinforced in the child.

2. Non-dominant home language (one language, one environment)

Korean-speaking parents in an English-speaking area of the United States.

Because Korean is used at home, the child needs early exposure to English outside the home (e.g. in nursery school, in the neighborhood, with extended family).

3. Non-dominant home language without community support

Cantonese-speaking parents in a Chinese community in the United States.

This model is most common among immigrant families. The child will require support as they learn English in school.

4. Double non-dominant home language without community support

A Brazilian mother (Portuguese-speaking) and Haitian father (Haitian Creole-speaking) living in a migrant neighborhood in the United States where Portuguese and Haitian Creole are used.

The child will require support as they learn English in school.

5. Non-native language used by one parent

Both parents speak English and the mother uses her second language, Tagalog, with the child in the United States.

The child will benefit from early Tagalog support from outside the home (e.g. in a Tagalog-speaking nursery, with extended family, in community-based programs).

6. Language mixing and code-switching

Both parents speak English and Hindi and reside in a community where Hindi and English are used interchangeably in the United States.

A child’s peer group is very important. If they have similar linguistic practices and weave languages together when they speak to each other, the likelihood of raising multilingual children is much higher.

These six models provide children with platforms that promote multilingual development. They also have varying longitudinal effects that depend on the language(s) spoken in the community. In models 1, 2 and 5, for example, there can be changes in proficiency over time. Although children grow up exposed to two or more languages, as they grow older and spend less time at home, the languages in society play a stronger role and may diminish a child’s second language ability. In models 3, 4 and 6, however, where multilingualism is a characteristic of the environment outside the home, the child will have more opportunities to use their languages outside the home.

Raising bilingual children requires a lot of intentional planning and can be a lot of work. It requires parents to persevere in a particular language when using another language might be easier. It also requires additional linguistic support as children navigate the two languages at school and at home. To persist, keep the long-term benefits of multilingualism in sight, create multilingual norms and routines around the home, celebrate bilingual milestones with your children, and find families who raise children in a similar way. Though raising children is often a thankless job, bilingualism is a gift that they will undoubtedly thank you for one day.

Have you tried using any of these models? How has your experience been? Please take a moment to share in the comments section below.

Bilingual Learning: Double the Vocabulary, Double the Time?

With the United States becoming increasingly diverse, and school districts beginning to make accommodations that promote bilingualism, one of the most pressing questions that our schools face is whether bilingual education is worth the additional investment of time and resources. If bilingual children need to develop two lexical repertoires and monolingual children need to develop one, does that mean bilinguals require double the amount of time to learn vocabulary? After all, they have twice the number of words to learn.

To address this, let’s first establish how children learn new words through defining vocabulary breadth and depth. Vocabulary breadth refers to the number of words that children know. By the age of 3-4 years old, children generally understand 1,000-2,000 words, and are able to express about 800-1,500 of them. By the end of high school, this number increases to approximately 40,000 to 50,000 words. Vocabulary depth refers to how well a child understands a word, which includes the sound and spelling of the word (phonics), how the word can be broken apart (morphology), when and how to use it (pragmatics), and what meanings the word might have (semantics). With all these dimensions to learning a single vocabulary word, do bilingual children need more time and resources to learn two linguistic systems? The answer is it depends on how you look at it.

On one hand, researchers have shown that the rate of vocabulary acquisition is similar in both monolingual and bilingual speaking children. To understand how this works, we need to think about the context in which vocabulary is learned. For example, a child who speaks Chinese at home may learn about 1,000 house-vocabulary, food-vocabulary, and family-vocabulary words in Mandarin. Then at preschool, she learns about 1,000 classroom-vocabulary, subject-vocabulary, and playtime-vocabulary words in English. Meanwhile, a monolingual speaker learns all home and preschool vocabulary words in English. While both children learn vocabulary at a similar rate, acquiring approximately 2,000 words before entering elementary school, these 2,000 words may be pieced together from different languages for the bilingual learner, according to the context in which each word was learned.

On the other hand, vocabulary can take more time to develop in bilingual children if they are not given the resources needed to nurture bilingual growth. Entering school, bilingual children (i.e. English Language Learners) are tested for language proficiency, usually in the dominant language, English. When these children are unable to produce vocabulary words in English, we often assume that they have no concept of what the vocabulary words might mean. The reality is they probably do, but just not in English. Children identified as ELLs are given remedial help and play catch up by assigning English words to concepts they already know. Meanwhile, their monolingual schoolmates are learning new words and new concepts in mainstream classes at a much faster rate than bilingual learners.

Research shows that when bilingual children are provided optimal environments for learning both languages, they are able to develop sizable and deep vocabularies in both languages. In order to know what these optimal environments should be, it is critical for schools to perform accurate - and possibly bilingual - assessments of what children know when they enter school. Using this information, schools can create individualized language plans that address the specific gaps of knowledge in both lexical repertoires. Without this crucial intermediation, children’s vocabulary growth becomes vulnerable and stunted, which grossly affects the trajectory of their first and second language development.

As America becomes increasingly diverse, and school districts take steps to prioritize bilingual education, challenges will continue to arise as we consider the linguistic support needed in this transition from home to school. Still, if children have the potential to learn two languages just as well as one language, how might that impact this next generation as they engage in our globalized economy?