“Does bilingualism impede language development?”
“Is my child’s language delayed because they are confused when hearing two languages?”
“I want to teach my child two languages, but their speech is delayed and I’m worried it will make things worse.”
These concerns are all too common among multilingual parents and families, or those deciding whether or not to raise their children in a multilingual home. The uncertain outcome may feel even more overwhelming if your child is already facing developmental delays. So what is the truth about bilingualism, or multilingualism, and language development?
The short answer: Multilingual children do not show speech and language delays as a result of learning two or more languages.
The long answer:
As early language learners (ages 0-5), multilingual children may appear to be delayed in one or both languages. This is simply because they have a lot more to learn! For example, the average vocabulary size of a 21-month-old is 50 words. For a bilingual child, that vocabulary is being shared between two languages, which means approximately 25 words per language – and some of those words might be for the same concept, but in each language (e.g., milk and leche). So the multilingual child may know as many, or more, words than their monolingual peer, but when looking at only one language at a time, or looking at only the number of concepts those words express, it will look like less.
Typically, by 5 years of age, bilingual children are operating within the average range, and will have completely caught up to their peers in both languages by age 10. Because they are proficient in not just one, but two languages, their overall understanding of the structure of languages is deeper than that of their monolingual peers. So bilingual children are not doomed to a language delay, but in fact often develop stronger language skills in later childhood and adulthood!
You may see a difference in your child’s proficiency in one language over the other depending on how much you speak to them in each language. Language development will be benefited most by your child hearing fluent speech – this may affect how much you choose to expose your child to each language, depending on how fluent you are in each language.
A final consideration is to be made for children who have developmental delays or disorders. Although the research is limited, simultaneous bilingualism (learning two languages at the same time from birth) does not appear to negatively impact language development in children with severe developmental disorders. Children with severe developmental disorders will typically have more difficulty with language learning in general, but do not seem to have any greater difficulty with language development when two languages are present. Some studies tentatively suggest that children with Down Syndrome and Autism Spectrum Disorder experience some benefits from bilingualism. That being said, children with developmental delays or disorders will typically have greater difficulty learning a second language sequentially (learning one language first, and then learning another language). For these children, consider which languages necessary for them to interact with their environment – including the primary language at home, school, the community, and future employment opportunities – as well as their opportunities for hearing these languages spoken fluently.
At ABLE Health in Tukwila, we serve many bilingual children and families. If you have questions about your child’s language development, whether they know one language or many, schedule an appointment with one of our speech-language pathologists by calling (206) 458-5360.