There are a lot of myths surrounding raising a bilingual child.
We’re imagining our toddler completely fluent in both languages, because we taught them without really trying (since it’s our native language anyway). Of course, they have a higher IQ because they’re bilingual, right? Right ?
Not quite as ideal, friends!
But on the other end of the spectrum, no bilingualism doesn’t confuse or delay children in their language skills.
Today, let’s debunk some myths and wrong ideas we sometimes have about bilingualism.
1. Raising a bilingual child will confuse them
One thing that us bilingual parents often worry about is that our bilingual kids will mix both languages when they speak. When actually mixing language is a normal part of bilingual development. What’s often misunderstood as confusion is actually called code mixing. That’s when kids mix words from both languages. A totally normal part of bilingual development!
You’re probably code mixing too. Most bilingual speakers do.
Mixing languages just shows that your child is resourceful and uses the language they remember at the time.
2. Raising a bilingual kid will make them smarter
If by smarter you mean a higher IQ, there’s no research showing that bilingual kids are smarter. That said, bilingual kids seem to be better at switching between different activities. They may also find it easier to understand other people’s perspectives. Plus, it will most likely be easier for them to learn additional languages in the future.
3. Raising a bilingual child is easy when you’re a native
I am speaking here from experience. Raising a bilingual kid is not necessarily easy when you are native to the language. And this is especially the case if you live in an area where your language is the minority language.
The key whether you’re native or non-native in the language is to be really intentional and not just assume that it’s gonna be easy or that there is a magic solution. The more exposure to the language your child will get, the more they’ll learn
In our family, my husband and I communicate in English. Teaching my girl French is hard because she hears me talking in English to her dad so she knows I speak English. There’s really no incentive for her to speak French.
I really have to make an effort to speak French to her. If I’m not intentional I go back to speaking English with her without even thinking about it.
So I make sure that I expose her to French as much as I can; through talking, reading, listening to music.
4. A bilingual kid will be fluent in both languages
Not necessarily! There are different types of bilingualism. Some bilingual speakers understand and speak both languages fluently. Some understand both languages but only speak one fluently. It depends on how they learn the languages. Some people learn both languages at the same time and receive an equal amount of exposure to both (simultaneous bilingualism). Others learn one language after the other (successive bilingualism).
If your kid understands you but always speaks in the other language (this is called receptive bilingualism), that does not mean that you failed or that they are not learning.
I think it’s important to realize that because we get discouraged when our kids don’t speak perfectly, with the perfect accents. But really it doesn’t matter! They are learning so keep doing what you’re doing and don’t get discouraged. In fact, receptive bilingualism is usually the first stage of successive or simultaneous bilingualism.
5. Teaching a second language to your kid is expensive
It can be expensive but it does not have to!
There are many free resources available online. You just have to look for it. And yes, it can be overwhelming because there are a lot of resources but, again, most are free!
Your local library can be another free resource. Where I live, my local public library has books in French. They don’t have many but they do have quite a few that I regularly borrow from my kid. And it doesn’t cost me a penny.
Some cities or counties give free books to kids and depending on the language spoken in the area, those books can be available in different languages (besides the majority language) .
Miami-Dade county, where we live, give free books from birth to five years old and they have them available in English and in Spanish. Granted we do not learn Spanish in our home, but for parents who teach Spanish to their kids, that’s a wonderful free resource.
Libraries may also offer storytimes programs in different languages.
My point is you have to look for opportunities and resources !
Another tip if you don’t have access to books in the language you’re teaching, is to read whatever books you have in that language. Let me explain. We have a lot of books in English that I read to my daughter in French. While reading, I point to the pictures so she can learn more vocabulary.
There’s also a lot of resources on YouTube. There are lots of kids music channels in French. Little baby bum and the likes all have French and Spanish versions (and other languages too).
Streaming services like Netflix also offer plenty of content in different languages. You can switch the language that your kids watch their favorite TV show to match the language that you’re teaching them. On Amazon Prime some shows are available in 16 languages!
6. You have to follow one specific method to teach a second language to your child
You may be familiar with the different methods to teach children a second language at home:
- The one person one language (OPOL): one parent sticks to one language.
- Minority language at home (ML@H): only the minority language is spoken at home.
- Time and place: you speak a specific language depending on the time of the day or where you’re at. For example, you speak one language during the week and another during the weekend.
- The mixed language policy aka mixed language strategy aka mixed system. When « one parent uses only the minority language and the other parent uses both the majority and the minority language with their children »; or when « one parent only speaks the majority language and the other parent speaks both the minority and the majority language ».
Some of these methods sound great and lovely until you try to implement them in real life and realize that they may not work for you. For example, you’re trying the OPOL, but you’re the only one speaking your language (the minority language) to your kid. So they don’t get nearly as much exposure to it.
Or you try the ML@H, but again you’re the only one speaking the language to your child. As a result, you get discouraged and just revert to speaking the majority language.
No method is perfect. They all have their pros and cons. Find one that works for you, mix and match, create your own. But most importantly, remember the overall principle behind success in learning a second language : the more exposure your child will get to the language, the more they will learn it.
And create incentive for them to speak it. Maybe it’s by connecting regularly to your side of the family that only speaks your language. Or by traveling in countries where it’s the local language. Or maybe it’s by exposing them to books, music or TV shows that’s in the language you’re teaching them. Be creative!
That’s all I have for today! What other misconceptions have you encountered about teaching kids a second language ? Send me an email to backtotheotherland@gmail.com or find me on Instagram @backtotheotherland to let me know!
