Get Started Early
But by the time a baby is about 10 months old, he begins to narrow down the range of sounds to those that he hears around him. So if you want your child to learn a second language, it's best to introduce it in the first year of life.
The research that has been conducted to date shows that sequential bilingual children with language impairments can learn a second language, although there seems to be an advantage for children whose languages are both highly supported in their community and school.
The Disadvantages:
Children raised bilingually run the risk of not mastering either language, and subsequently having difficulties in successful completion of a formal education.
Bilingualism causes language delay. FALSE. While a bilingual child's vocabulary in each individual language may be smaller than average, his total vocabulary (from both languages) will be at least the same size as a monolingual child (10, 15).
One of the biggest concerns that parents have about raising children in a bilingual household is that it will cause confusion. But is there any scientific evidence that young bilinguals are confused? The first question to ask is what confusion would look like.
The idea that two languages causes language delays in children has been a long-standing myth in the United States. However, research has dispelled this myth. Children are able to learn two languages at the same pace as other children who are learning only one language.
Babies and children form neural connections at a rapid pace, which makes learning new languages easier. As the brain develops, it becomes more specialized and reinforces the neural pathways that are regularly used. This is why those who learn a language at a very young age have the accent of a native speaker.
The Second Year
When bilingual children are approximately 18 months old, they should be understood by others approximately 25% of the time. Additionally, they should have a vocabulary ranging from 20 to 50 words between all of the languages they speak.
Though most brain development happens from infancy to the early ages of adolescence, it is entirely possible to learn a new language at any age in life. If you are thinking of raising a bilingual child, remember that it is never too late to make a start.
Think about books, music and games. Play music in your child's other language in the car, read them books in it and buy games, puzzles or dolls online that use that language too. Children will never learn simply by 'soaking' up other languages so you will have to do some more active teaching yourself.
It's true that learning two languages is more complex than learning one single language and there can sometimes be certain delays or differences. But in the long term, such a delay does not affect the child's language abilities.
Kids (including toddlers) can learn to speak multiple languages at the same time. 2, 3, 4….or more languages at once.
Howell and colleagues (2009) reported that, in a group of 38 bilingual children who stuttered, 94.7% of them stuttered in both languages.
Sometimes delays may be a warning sign of a more serious problem that could include hearing loss, developmental delay in other areas, or even an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Language delays in early childhood also could be a sign of a learning problem that may not be diagnosed until the school years.
Actually young dual-language learners achieve the same language milestones as monolingual children when it comes to babbling, saying their first word, understanding familiar words, combining words (“Mama, up!”), and reaching a 50-word vocabulary.
In fact, according to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), about 15 percent of children between the ages of 18 and 24 months old are late talkers. There are several reasons why a 2-year-old is babbling but not talking. Sometimes, it may be because they are shy or introverted.
According to The Hanen Centre, “a late-talker is a toddler (between 18-30 months) who has good understanding of language, typically developing play skills, motor skills, thinking skills, and social skills, but has a limited spoken vocabulary for his or her age.”
According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), late talkers are toddlers (18 to 30 months old) who have a limited vocabulary for their age, but do not have any other developmental delays. Some late talkers may talk by three to five years of age.
Hyperlexia 3. These children show the same preoccupation with letters and numbers very early as infants and later begin to read. They too show many of the characteristic signs, behaviors and symptoms of ASD as seen in hyperlexia 2.
Bilingual children with developmental language disorder (DLD) have a hard time learning both of their languages. As with monolinguals, children with DLD have most trouble with grammar. Also, vocabulary learning, understanding directions and concepts, and storytelling are hard.
Bilinguals outperform monolinguals in their reading and writing abilities, and they are more successful in learning additional languages. They are also credited with enhanced mental flexibility.