Understanding Bilingualism - A Parent/Teacher’s Guide to the Basics

Virginia Woronoff, M.S., CCC-SLP

Bilnigual Speech Pathologist at Communicate with Kate Speech Therapy

Bilingualism has become quite the buzzword in our globalizing world, but what role does it play in the academic and therapy setting? Consider this your need to know guide on the subject. 

So, what is bilingualism? 

Most of us are familiar with the term. Bilingualism is the ability to use two languages by speaking, reading, and/or writing. Around half of the world’s population is bilingual or multilingual and the research shows this skill (aka: super power) has many benefits. For example, in children, it can increase their empathy and ability to understand a different perspective, vocabulary, response time, creativity, memory, problem solving skills, and boost their sense of cultural belonging. In adults, it increases job opportunities, allows for connections with more people and studies show it can also delay the onset of dementia. 

A lesser known fact about bilingualism is that it is a continuum, meaning one’s language dominance/proficiency can change over time and circumstance. For example, many of my bilingual students who were stronger in English pre-pandemic, came back to in-person learning in the fall/winter of 2020 and were stronger in Spanish. This is completely normal! Consider, before the pandemic, the majority of their day was conducted in English at school, but during the pandemic lockdown the circumstances changed and most of their time was spent at home in a predominantly Spanish speaking environment. 

Did you know there is more than one type of bilingualism? 

Bilingualism is defined and organized in many ways, but here are four main types of bilingualism as they pertain to language acquisition. 

1. Early Simultaneous Bilingual

   1. A child who learns two languages as a result of exposure to two languages since birth

2. Early Successive Bilingual

   1. A child who learns part of a first language (L1) and is then exposed to a second language (L2) in early childhood

3. Consecutive Bilingual

   1. The acquisition of a second language (L2) after the first language (L1) has been learned. Consecutive bilinguals use their first language to learn their second.

4. Passive Bilingual 

   1. The ability to understand a second language, but not to speak one 

* Pro tip for teachers and parents: For consecutive second language learners, it is best to present new information in the dominant language (L1) and known information in the second language (L2) 

Why is it important to know what “type of bilingual” a child is?

As bilingualism is a continuum, best practice indicates that a bilingual speech and language evaluation should always be completed in both languages. Completing a language profile to determine language dominance is the first thing you can expect your bilingual speech language pathologist to do in order to determine the best evaluation and treatment plan for your child. 

Does my child have a language disorder/delay or are they learning a second language?

This is a great question often asked by concerned parents or teachers. It can be hard to recognize and interpret the differences in second language acquisition versus a disorder/delay as a monolingual speaker with no specific intensive training on the topic. A good rule of thumb is: true disorders will present in both/all of the child’s languages. That being said, when in doubt contact your local bilingually trained SLP for a comprehensive evaluation. This will help us avoid pulling students out of class to receive special education for a misdiagnosis as well as preventing students from receiving the special education services they need to succeed due to underdiagnosis. 

Will bilingualism confuse my child? 

This is a myth! There is a multitude of research that indicates that bi/multilingualism does not cause delays or disorders. Even if your child has been diagnosed with a communication disorder they are still able to learn more than one language, given they have the appropriate levels of exposure and need to acquire the second language. We all want our children to communicate and express themselves as best they can and to feel connected to their families, communities, and cultures. Many bilingual children are also bicultural. Language and culture are closely linked. Limiting a language that naturally occurs in the child’s environment is more likely to cause confusion than it is to limit it. 

Consider, monolingual children are able to quickly learn the difference between the ways men and women speak or polite versus impolite speech. Bilingualism and a child’s ability to differentiate with whom to speak which language is a very similar process. Like bilingual adults, bilingual children occasionally add a word from one language while speaking another. This is known as code switching and it is not indicative of a disorder as the grammatical structure of the language being spoken is maintained.  

What is the best approach to raising bilingual children?

There are many great approaches to raising bilingual children. It is important to investigate all of the options and choose what is best for your family. If you find you are struggling with this, specialists in the field can help guide you. The four most popular approaches are as follows:

1. One Parent, One Language

   1. This approach is often used when both parents are native speakers of different languages or if one parent is bilingual and the other is not but they want to raise bilingual children. For example, the mother always speaks to the children in Arabic and the father always speaks to them in Japanese.   

2. Minority Language at Home

   1. This approach is popular among families with both parents who speak the minority language. For example, both parents will speak to their kids in Portuguese at home and then the community English is used.

3. Context, Time, & Place

   1. This approach involves choosing a set amount of time and specific locations to use each language. For example, in the kitchen we speak Spanish and in the bedroom we speak English or in the morning we speak Dutch and in the afternoon we speak German. This is a common approach in bilingual schools (i.e. we speak Italian in history class and English in math class).

4. Mixing Languages 

   1. This approach happens naturally and does not require planning. It is popular among bi/multilingual parents that live in a country with two or more national languages (i.e. Canada- English and French). 

Bilingualism is multifaceted and such a valuable skill. If you have concerns about your bi/multilingual child’s speech and language contact your local bilingually trained speech and language pathologist.   

Written by Virginia Woronoff, M.S., CCC-SLP

Virginia (Gigi) is a bilingual ENG/SPA Speech Pathologist who is passionate about supporting educators, parents and other health professionals working with bi/multilingual children. Gigi is orginally from the USA.