Bilingualism at a Young Age
Bilingualism, which is the ability to use two languages in daily life, has gained more importance in recent years. With globalization and increased cross-cultural interaction in modern society, being able to communicate effectively in more than one language is a valuable skill. In Singapore, bilingualism has often been regarded as the cornerstone of our language policy. Our Education Minister, Mr. Chan Chun Sing, has also highlighted that “bilingualism will be more important, pertinent and salient than ever before.”
As parents and educators, we want our younger generation to be equipped with such language abilities. But the questions are: how soon should we train our children to be bilingual and how should we go about doing it?
How early should bilingual training start?
To answer the first question, the earlier a child is exposed to both languages, the better it is. According to an article published in The Straits Times, children can pick up two languages between birth and age seven. A baby’s flexible brain is more receptive to sounds and is “primed” to learn language; the more a baby hears a certain language, the stronger the language connections in the brain become. Interestingly, infants in a bilingual environment are able to detect a switch in language as early as six months old. Research has also shown that there is an incremental decline in language learning abilities with age. Hence, it is always advisable to inculcate bilingualism as young as possible.
How to train a child to be bilingual?
As for the second question, the answer lies in interaction. Parents should endeavour to speak both languages to their children at home. Additionally, they can send their children to a play group or a pre-school with a bilingual environment. In a nutshell, a child’s language development depends on both quality and quantity: he needs to consistently hear the language being spoken properly.
You may ask, what about television shows or YouTube videos? Based on research, infants do not readily learn language from TV; in fact, TV- and video-watching have been linked to smaller vocabulary sizes in toddlers.
However, some parents may be worried about their children being “confused” and mixing different languages up. When bilingual children mix words from two languages in the same sentence, this is known as “code mixing” or “code switching”. This is not a sign of confusion, but rather a natural part of bilingual development and should not be a cause of worry.
A “one parent - one language” approach may be adopted in some households, where each parent speaks only in a particular language to their children. As mentioned above, “code mixing” does not lead to confusion in young children. As such, this approach is not necessary for the successful acquisition of both languages.
Benefits of Bilingualism
Now that we have addressed the key questions, let’s move on to the benefits of being bilingual.
Cognitively, bilingual children tend to:
Be better able to focus their attention on relevant information and ignore distractions. This is due to the fact that the languages in a bilingual child’s brain “compete” to be chosen during communication. The child has to select one language and suppress the other (a form of blocking out irrelevant information), which requires the brain to exercise focus and flexibility;
Be more adept at problem-solving, planning, and decision-making;
Have better memory compared to their monolingual peers. This is because they need to withhold more vocabulary and grammar rules in their brains;
Have increased creativity and critical thinking skills.
Apart from cognitive advantages, a bilingual child also has an edge over a monolingual child in the social sphere. Studies indicate that bilingual pre-schoolers appear to have a better understanding of others’ perspectives, thoughts, desires, and intentions. They also display an enhanced sensitivity to tone of voice. Furthermore, bilingual children are also able to forge friendships with people using their second language, thus widening their social circles.
In conclusion, parents should strive to develop their children to be bilinguals as young as possible, by cultivating an environment where both languages are embraced.