Teaching young children to speak another language is very popular these days, even among parents who may not be bilingual themselves. From daycare and school programs to TV shows and after-school activities, many families make exposing their little ones to other cultures and dialects a priority. However, some parents are reluctant to raise their kids bilingual, including those who speak another language themselves.
Language undeniably has a strong connection with culture. Speaking another dialect identifies you and your family as foreigners, even if the child was born and raised in the United States. Parents may feel talking to their children in their mother tongue would prevent them from assimilating into the society of the country they live in. They could even be negatively affected by it. This is particularly true in communities that are victims of racism and xenophobia.
The key to raising bilingual children is consistency and exposure to the minority language. However, it can be hard for the parents to speak it outside of the home when doing so could attract spiteful comments and be perceived as antisocial in a public setting.
Besides, the children themselves may be less than enthusiastic when it comes to learning their parents’ mother tongue. As they naturally want to fit in, they gravitate towards the majority language, especially when reaching school age. Parents often report their children will exclusively respond in English even when spoken to in the minority language. Rather than picking a new battle, some give up entirely. It often happens when the chances for the child to be exposed to the culture outside of their home – traveling to their home country, for example – are small.
Another concern many bilingual parents have is that speaking more than one language could confuse the child and lead to developmental delays.
Dr. Fred Genessee is a professor of Psychology at McGill University who specializes in bilingualism and bilingual first language acquisition in normal and impaired populations. According to him, nothing could be further from the truth. “The learning task for bilingual children is more complex, which sometimes may result in short delays or small differences in language use.”
Genessee continues, “In the long run, this short delay has an insignificant effect on bilingual children’s overall language competence. In fact, researchers suggest that this delay may be helpful for children who hear and must learn words from two languages with different sounds.”
In the end, he says:
“It’s a kind of flexibility that leaves them open to the greater diversity of words in two languages than what monolingual children hear in only one.”
Research has proven raising children bilingually can be advantageous for their future. Not only is it a career plus, but bilingual children also have cognitive advantages over their monolingual peers that will follow them for the rest of their life. “They’re better at problem-solving, demonstrate greater creativity, and express more tolerant attitudes toward others,” Genessee says.
Being bilingual can also offset the effects of Alzheimer’s disease. “Bilingual individuals who are 60 or 70 years of age demonstrate certain cognitive advantages according to research published by Ellen Bialystok at York University in Toronto, Canada.”
Raising bilingual children isn’t always easy or comfortable, but sharing their native tongue is one of the greatest gifts parents can give their children.
Raising Bilingual Kids Beneficial: Sources
Dr. Fred Genessee, professor of psychology at McGill University
Alzheimer’s Society: Bilingual Brains More Resilient to Dementia
