One thing common to most Singaporeans is being bilingual. As a multi-cultural society with a population descended from immigrant forefathers, most Singaporeans speak at least two languages.
There are many claims about the benefits of bilingualism. These include increased cognitive flexibility, improved focus and creativity, on top of greater career opportunities in a global world.
However, the learning of an additional language raises the question of additional cognitive load, especially for children who may already be struggling with developmental language disorders (DLD). As speech therapists, we regularly face this question from anxious parents of children with language difficulties.
In this article, we will discuss some of the common misconceptions surrounding bilingualism and share what research has taught us thus far.
Myth #1: Using two languages with my child with DLD increases his difficulties.
FALSE
Since a child is already struggling with specific language impairment, it would only be logical to assume that the addition of one more language would add further stress to his difficulties. Indeed, many doctors and even speech pathologists make the recommendation for parents to use only one language with their child with DLD.
In this regard, numerous research have investigated the accuracy of this recommendation. The general consensus is that bilingualism does not make a child’s DLD worse.
Based on the literature on this topic, no additional delays were found for bilingual children when they were compared to monolingual children with language difficulties. This finding applies not just for DLD, but also for children with Down Syndrome and even Autism.
Myth #2: My child has DLD, so I should stop using my mother tongue and use only English with him.
FALSE
This myth is based on the same belief as the myth before it. It all boils down to the misconception that an additional language adds on to a child’s difficulties. By using one less language, mental resources can be freed up to master the remaining language well.
Because of this, parents of bilingual families often choose to give up their home language in favour of the mainstream language. They believe that doing so will give their child more exposure and practice with the mainstream language which the child. However, this strategy often backfires because doing so deprives the child of the numerous benefits that a home language can bring. What are some of the issues of losing a strong home language?
Reduces bonding and intimacy with parents
In some families, parents may be fluent in their home language but not in the mainstream language. Therefore, when parents in these families stop using their home language, they may lose the ability to engage in deep conversations with their children. Since communication is essential for sharing experiences, emotions and difficulties, the loss of a common language can have an impact on family bonding and individual well-being.
Even in the case where parents are able to converse fluently in the mainstream language, there remains other relatives in a child’s life who may only speak the home language. By giving up the home language, the child thus loses connection to these important others.
Maintains ties to their cultural roots
Language also helps to preserve culture. How is this so? Consider the fact that some terms and concepts exist in one languages but not in others. For example, the Inuit people have different words to describe snow which do not exist in English. The existence of these words highlights the centrality of snow in their daily lives: one where the texture and colour of snow determine if one should spend the day fishing or staying indoors. When we lose these words, we also lose the connection to these cultural roots.
Furthermore, many songs exist in one language but not the next. The difficulty of learning a foreign song only attests to the challenge of keeping the music tradition of one’s culture alive once the language is long gone.
In addition, the sharing of a common language with people of similar backgrounds also serve to hold the community together. This is because when people share something in common, it helps them to feel closer. The loss of a language thus weakens person’s connection to his people and cultural roots.
Robs the child of a foundation to build their second language
Research has shown that a sound mastery of one language serves as the foundation upon which a second language is built. The loss of the home language thus has a downstream impact on the acquisition of the mainstream language.
Furthermore, in the cases where parents are not fluent in the mainstream language, they may be unable to use it as much in their daily interaction with their child. This means that the child may not be getting any additional exposure to the mainstream language, which was a motivation behind their parents’ decisions in the first place. Even worse, parents who are weak in the mainstream language may not provide a good model for their child. This means that both quantity and quality of input in the mainstream language are compromised. This is definitely not an ideal situation for children who are already struggling with language.
In the face of these findings, there is really no reason for giving up the home language.
There is no evidence that an additional language causes further harm
As covered in the argument against the previous myth, no evidence has been found that using a second language can disrupt the learning of the first language.
Myth #3: I should use the one-parent-one-language rule with my child with DLD.
MAYBE
Another less extreme way of managing a bilingual child’s supposed “cognitive” load is the one-parent-one-language rule. This strategy was first recommended over 100 years ago, in the days before the cognitive load theory of bilingualism was squarely debunked. Even though this line of argument has been quelled, there remain another argument to support its use: It reduces confusion for children speaking more than one language.
Many people believe that bilingual children may be confused because of their usage of words from two languages in their conversation. However, research has shown that these children do have a sound knowledge about which word belong to which language. The reason they intermix their words is due to a more practical reason. Just as we adults may sometime experience a phenomenon known as tip-of-the-tongue where we have problem retrieving the word, we may sometime have difficulties doing so in one language. In the face of such situations, we may then replace that unretrievable word with one that is more readily available: that of the other language. Doing so should not be mistaken as a sign of confusion. Rather, it should be regarded as a sign of pragmatic use of cognitive resources.
However, it is not like the one-parent-one-language rule is without merits. In the scenario where parents may have a tendency to use one language over another, the use of this strategy will ensure that the child gain an equal exposure to both languages. However, this is only the case if the following holds true: That the child spends similar amount of time with both parents.
In the case where a child is usually at home with one parent while the other is at work, the child may gain an unbalanced exposure to the language of the stay-at-home parent. In this scenario, an alternative to consider might be to use one language on even days of the week and the other on odd days of the week.
The bottom-line is, the one-parent-one-language is not the only strategy that parents can employ. What parents should consider is their ability to provide a high quality and high quantity environment regardless of strategies so that the child can gain an adequate exposure to both languages.
Myth #4: I should not introduce a second language to my child with DLD
FALSE
Again, this train of argument has bearings on parents’ concern about their child’s ability to cope with two languages. Simultaneous bilinguals are children who have picked up two languages before the age of 3, and they usually have no difficulties doing so. If they are affected by DLD, the condition will impact both languages with no discrimination.
Sequential bilinguals are children who have picked up a second language after they have developed a strong foundation in the first language. In sequential bilinguals, the second language is usually not acquired with as much ease as the first language.
Given this, it therefore this begs the question of whether the introduction of a second language would add more strain to a child’s challenges. This is a valid concern, and one that unfortunately, has limited research.
The preliminary verdict is that children with DLD can catch up to their monolingual peers in the second language, provided that they receive sufficient exposure to the second language. What this means is that you should not hold back on teaching your child a second language just because he has DLD.
However, like the child’s first language, the second language may also be affected by their DLD. Therefore, your child will need therapy to help with his second language as well.
Conclusion
To sum it up, it appears that bilingualism confers more advantage than disadvantages. This applies to children with DLD as well. So if you are a parent of a child with DLD, rest assure that the learning of a second language will not compound his issues. What other myths about bilingualism have you heard? Share them below!
