I and my spouse are of different nationalities. While we mostly speak English with our kids, she would sometimes talk to them in her native language in the hope that they would learn it. America caters to a lot of different cultures and I know that a lot of other couples out there are in the same situation. I also know that a lot of parents are worried on the effect this may have on their kids so here are the top myths in raising a bilingual child.
MYTH#1 - Growing up with more than one language confuses kids
"All infants can tell the difference between languages just days after birth especially when they're very different from each other such as Arabic and French" according to Barbara Zurer, author of Raising a Bilingual Child. While babies may not be able to tell the difference when languages are very similar to each other such as Korean and Japanese, they can do it once they reach around six months.
MYTH#2 - Raising a child to be bilingual leads to speech delays
Some children raised in a bilingual environment take a little longer to speak. While this is true, it is not a general rule and therefore doesn't apply to all cases. While some parents are told that making a child learn two languages at the same time leads to speech delay, this is due to misinformation made from results of poorly designed studies centuries ago.
Recent research shows differently. In fact, even if your child is already diagnosed with speech delays, raising him bilingual won't make his speech more delayed according to experts.
MYTH#3 - Bilingual children end up mixing the two languages
This is perhaps one of the most popular myths in raising bilingual children, and one that a lot of parents believe. Mixing two languages together is both inevitable and harmless, and doing it doesn't mean that your child can't tell the difference between the two. Sometimes, a person (this is true on both children and adults) mixes two languages because he doesn't know a word that he needs in the language that he's using or he just likes the word or the phrase in the other language better.
MYTH#1 - Growing up with more than one language confuses kids
"All infants can tell the difference between languages just days after birth especially when they're very different from each other such as Arabic and French" according to Barbara Zurer, author of Raising a Bilingual Child. While babies may not be able to tell the difference when languages are very similar to each other such as Korean and Japanese, they can do it once they reach around six months.
MYTH#2 - Raising a child to be bilingual leads to speech delays
Some children raised in a bilingual environment take a little longer to speak. While this is true, it is not a general rule and therefore doesn't apply to all cases. While some parents are told that making a child learn two languages at the same time leads to speech delay, this is due to misinformation made from results of poorly designed studies centuries ago.
Recent research shows differently. In fact, even if your child is already diagnosed with speech delays, raising him bilingual won't make his speech more delayed according to experts.
MYTH#3 - Bilingual children end up mixing the two languages
This is perhaps one of the most popular myths in raising bilingual children, and one that a lot of parents believe. Mixing two languages together is both inevitable and harmless, and doing it doesn't mean that your child can't tell the difference between the two. Sometimes, a person (this is true on both children and adults) mixes two languages because he doesn't know a word that he needs in the language that he's using or he just likes the word or the phrase in the other language better.
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