Child Development in a Bilingual vs. Monolingual Household

Language is a central marker for culture, and many families try to retain their mother tongue by teaching it to their children. If your household is bilingual, you likely speak your native language as well as English. Children are remarkably adept at picking up languages, and many can switch between both with ease. You may worry that this will affect your child's English skills at school, but in fact, being bilingual can be an advantage in communication, including reading and writing in all languages.

  1. Communication

    • Your child's language development begins long before he learns his first words. According to Kamloops Children's Therapy, it is more important for your toddler to understand language than it is for him to speak it, in order to enhance speech development and all communication. Communicate and interact with your toddler extensively to help him learn to move his mouth and tongue to form words. Hence, if you are more comfortable speaking in your mother tongue, speak to your child most often in this language. Learning to communicate in any language is important for your child's emotional and social development.

    Reading and Writing

    • Older children who spend their early school years in a non-English-speaking country can transfer their understanding of language patterns when learning English. The Frankfurt International School advises that if your child is already literate in his mother tongue, he can apply these reading and writing skills when he learns his second language, English. This includes reading comprehension and being able to decipher the meaning of an unfamiliar word by reading it in the context of a sentence.

    Understanding

    • Jim Cummins, Ph.D., a professor of language at the University of Toronto, notes that an advantage of being bilingual is being more flexible in understanding and thinking. He writes that bilingual children continue to develop their abilities in both languages throughout the primary school years. Speaking two languages leads to deeper understanding of language in general and how to use it effectively. Your bilingual child has more practice in processing language and developing the speech centers of his brain. In fact, your child's development of his mother tongue is a strong indicator of his ability to grasp English or another second language.

    Academic Language

    • Teaching your child your mother tongue is important for building speech and conversational skills in any language. However, Cummins notes that bilingual children may have a slight delay in academic language skills. This means that native speakers may have a better grasp of essay writing and speaking in formal language such as in a student debate. Most bilingual children catch up to their English-speaking peers in academic language within the early years of school.

    2. Previous:

    Next:

    • How to Check a Baby's Testicles
      While a baby boy grows in the uterus, his testicles are located inside his abdomen. Just before birth, in most cases, the testicles descend into the scrotum. It is estimated by the American Academy of Pediatrics that about one in 30 baby boys has an
    • Workspace Ideas for Kids
      Your school-age child will soon outgrow the kitchen or dining table and require a designated workspace. Create a quiet place for him to concentrate on homework, hobbies and projects. You can use a desk or make a custom workspace in your childs bedroo
    • The Use of Extended Families in Ethnic Child Rearing
      As the saying goes, "It takes a village to raise a child," and many ethnic cultures take this quite literally, with several members of an extended family helping to nurture and educate a child. In many cases, the extended family is part of