{"id":917,"date":"2011-12-19T20:55:56","date_gmt":"2011-12-19T20:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/?page_id=917"},"modified":"2025-12-19T23:00:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T23:00:36","slug":"cl-2-2-bilingualism-and-multilingualism","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/cl-2-2-bilingualism-and-multilingualism\/","title":{"rendered":"CL 2.2 Bilingualism and multilingualism"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"169\" height=\"300\" src=\"http:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/files\/2011\/12\/TFD1-169x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3198\" title=\"TFD1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/files\/2011\/12\/TFD1-169x300.jpg 169w, https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/files\/2011\/12\/TFD1-578x1024.jpg 578w, https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/files\/2011\/12\/TFD1.jpg 1156w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 169px) 100vw, 169px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The home language is the first language learned in childhood. Children who are learning English, or another dominant language as an additional language, benefit when their first language is valued. In order to be able to determine a child\u2019s capacity to learn, the child needs adequate opportunities to learn in a language that she or he can understand. Children who are learning two languages need to continue to learn vocabulary and conceptual skills in their home language because without this continued development in the home language, they will have greater difficulty developing skills in the second language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many children whose home language is not the dominant language are well-positioned to become bilingual. Research indicates children who learn a dominant language after their home language is established (around age three) are able to acquire full fluency in the dominant language during their preschool and early school years. The skill of bilingualism leads to long-term cognitive, social and economic advantages and also, especially in the case of endangered languages, contributes to cultural survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In many families in some parts of the world, parents come from different ethnic and language backgrounds. Six-month-old Viktor is growing up in Canada with a Japanese mother and a Canadian-born father. It is important to his parents that he learn Japanese although English will be dominant in his surroundings. His mother speaks only Japanese to her baby while his father speaks to him mostly in English. In the next video, watch as Viktor and his Mother play and read a book.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-watch-expand-thumbnail-ZdXVPo wp-block-lazyblock-watch-expand-thumbnail\"><div class=\"watch-expand expand-container context-container\">\n   <div class=\"watch tap-to-expand tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"video-thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/files\/2022\/05\/147039685.jpg\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">VIEW<\/span><span class=\"tap-description\">Home language (1:44)<\/span>      \n         \n      <\/div>\n   <\/div>\n   <div class=\"output-content collapse\" style=\"height: 0px;\">\n      <div class=\"vimeo-container\"><iframe frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/147039685?api=1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n   <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Viktor\u2019s brain is being shaped by the two languages he is hearing; he will have a strong base in both of these languages by the time he enters formal schooling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Learning a second or third language is easier in early childhood rather than later. It is particularly important to learn correct pronunciation as early as possible. For a long time, the idea of a critical period for language development was widely accepted. After all, it is obvious that very young children pick up languages more easily than older children and certainly more readily than adults. In the following clip, Dr. Janet Werker discusses research that indicates that the idea of a critical period for language development is complex and must be qualified.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript-cgG5a wp-block-lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript\"><div class=\"watch-expand expand-container context-container\">\n   <div class=\"watch tap-to-expand tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">VIEW<\/span>\n         <span class=\"tap-description\">Werker &#8211; critical period for language acquisition (2:04)<\/span>\n        \n      <\/div>\n   <\/div>\n   <div class=\"output-content collapse\" style=\"height: 0px;\">\n      <div class=\"vimeo-container\">\n         <iframe webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/90185620?api=1\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n      <\/div><br>\n      <p><a href=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/transcript\/transcript-werker-critical-period-for-language-acquisition\/\" target=\"_blank\">Werker &#8211; critical period for language acquisition &#8211; Text Transcript<\/a><\/p>\n   <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Werker describes a study about Korean children who were adopted in France and how this contradicts some previous thinking about critical periods for language acquisition:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript-1rorz3 wp-block-lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript\"><div class=\"watch-expand expand-container context-container\">\n   <div class=\"watch tap-to-expand tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">VIEW<\/span>\n         <span class=\"tap-description\">Werker &#8211; Korean study (2:36)<\/span>\n        \n      <\/div>\n   <\/div>\n   <div class=\"output-content collapse\" style=\"height: 0px;\">\n      <div class=\"vimeo-container\">\n         <iframe webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/90185737?api=1\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n      <\/div><br>\n      <p><a href=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/transcript\/transcript-werker-korean-study\/\" target=\"_blank\">Werker &#8211; Korean study &#8211; Text Transcript<\/a><\/p>\n   <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-reflect-ZANYTT wp-block-lazyblock-reflect\"><div class=\"reflect\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">How does the research on adopted Korean children challenge our assumptions about critical periods in language acquisition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What are the implications of these findings?<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the next videos, Werker responds to the question of whether bilingualism is advantageous for babies by explaining some research in this area.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript-1G8dwo wp-block-lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript\"><div class=\"watch-expand expand-container context-container\">\n   <div class=\"watch tap-to-expand tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">VIEW<\/span>\n         <span class=\"tap-description\">Werker &#8211; bilingualism advantage research (4:23)<\/span>\n        \n      <\/div>\n   <\/div>\n   <div class=\"output-content collapse\" style=\"height: 0px;\">\n      <div class=\"vimeo-container\">\n         <iframe webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/90202875?api=1\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n      <\/div><br>\n      <p><a href=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/transcript\/transcript-werker-bilingualism-advantage-research\/\" target=\"_blank\">Werker &#8211; bilingualism advantage research &#8211; Text Transcript<\/a><\/p>\n   <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript-1LDx6q wp-block-lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript\"><div class=\"watch-expand expand-container context-container\">\n   <div class=\"watch tap-to-expand tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">VIEW<\/span>\n         <span class=\"tap-description\">Werker &#8211; bilingualism advantage (1:58)<\/span>\n        \n      <\/div>\n   <\/div>\n   <div class=\"output-content collapse\" style=\"height: 0px;\">\n      <div class=\"vimeo-container\">\n         <iframe webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/90202872?api=1\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n      <\/div><br>\n      <p><a href=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/transcript\/transcript-werker-bilingualism-advantage\/\" target=\"_blank\">Werker &#8211; bilingualism advantage &#8211; Text Transcript<\/a><\/p>\n   <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-reflect-Z1OYlfp wp-block-lazyblock-reflect\"><div class=\"reflect\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Do you speak more than one language? If so, how do you think it has affected you? What did you think about Werker&#8217;s discussion of cognitive advantages and costs from your own experience?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Are you unilingual? How do you think this may make you think differently from someone who speaks two or more languages?<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In many countries and communities around the world, it is common for individuals to be multilingual. While this might be an intellectual and\/or economic advantage, it also could be a disadvantage for young children when they take part in preschool and primary school programs that are offered in a language other than their home language. Research suggests that it is the child&#8217;s home language that is the essential foundation for their overall language development and academic achievement. Educators who value and promote children&#8217;s home languages actually enhance children&#8217;s ability to acquire second and third languages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Watch the following video in which a preschool teacher in Mombasa, Kenya seamlessly integrates English and Kiswahili while reading a story.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-watch-expand-thumbnail-iYKVU wp-block-lazyblock-watch-expand-thumbnail\"><div class=\"watch-expand expand-container context-container\">\n   <div class=\"watch tap-to-expand tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"video-thumbnail\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/files\/2022\/05\/129123826.jpg\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">VIEW<\/span><span class=\"tap-description\">The Hungry Caterpillar (2:45)<\/span>      \n         \n      <\/div>\n   <\/div>\n   <div class=\"output-content collapse\" style=\"height: 0px;\">\n      <div class=\"vimeo-container\"><iframe frameborder=\"0\" webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/129123826?api=1\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n   <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"285\" height=\"210\" src=\"http:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/files\/2011\/12\/FrenchBook.jpg\" alt=\"Baby in cushions looking at a book they hold in their lap. \" class=\"wp-image-7765\" title=\"FrenchBook\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Children benefit from bilingual early childhood programs that focus on introducing and adding the dominant language rather than replacing children\u2019s home language. The following reading from the Hanen Centre includes facts, myths and benefits of bilingualism, the rates of bilingualism in Canada, the U.S. and worldwide, as well as an explanation of how children learn more than one language.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-read-Zw0H1B wp-block-lazyblock-read\"><div class=\"read context-container\">\n   <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hanen.org\/information-tips\/bilingualism-in-young-children-separating-fact-fr\" class=\"tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">READ<\/span><span class=\"tap-description\">Bilingualism in young children: Separating fact from fiction<\/span><\/span>      \n      <\/div>\n   <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Try the next activity to see if you can distinguish between the myths and facts about bilingualism in young children that were identified in the Hanen article.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-interact-ZABRSS wp-block-lazyblock-interact\"><div class=\"interact-link context-container\">\n  <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/hscsr.rrc.ca\/secd\/interactions\/quizCL2.2-FactOrFiction\/quizCL2.2-ver2.html\" class=\"tap-container interact\">\n    <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n    <div class=\"tap-content\">\n      <span class=\"tap-label\">INTERACT<\/span>\n      <span class=\"tap-description\">Myths or facts<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Canada, English and French are both official languages. There are programs and services that support children to maintain their home language and to learn French or English as an additional language. As you learned in the previous read, \u201ccode mixing\u201d is part of the natural process when children are becoming multilingual. In this next clip, observe Rowan using both French and English to communicate with peers and childcare staff.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript-ZtKXek wp-block-lazyblock-watch-expand-transcript\"><div class=\"watch-expand expand-container context-container\">\n   <div class=\"watch tap-to-expand tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">VIEW<\/span>\n         <span class=\"tap-description\">Apprendre une langue additionnelle (Learning an additional language) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/span>\n        \n      <\/div>\n   <\/div>\n   <div class=\"output-content collapse\" style=\"height: 0px;\">\n      <div class=\"vimeo-container\">\n         <iframe webkitallowfullscreen=\"\" mozallowfullscreen=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" src=\"\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/1041248832?api=1\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n      <\/div><br>\n      <p><a href=\"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/transcript\/transcript-apprendre-une-langue-additionnelle-en\/\" target=\"_blank\">Apprendre une langue additionnelle (Learning an additional language) &#8211; Text Transcript \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/a><\/p>\n   <\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-reflect-1EwW7g wp-block-lazyblock-reflect\"><div class=\"reflect\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What did you notice about Rowan\u2019s language comprehension? What about his language expression?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What strategies did childcare personnel use to support Rowan\u2019s bilingual language development?<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The next resource is from the Best Start Resource Centre and is geared to parents. It discusses the benefits of raising bilingual\/multilingual children and provides some suggestions. <\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-read-265C9e wp-block-lazyblock-read\"><div class=\"read context-container\">\n   <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/cdnsm5-hosted.civiclive.com\/UserFiles\/Servers\/Server_2375121\/File\/Stay\/social_services\/early_years_services\/when_children_speak_more_than_one_language_accessible_document.pdf\" class=\"tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">READ<\/span><span class=\"tap-description\">When children speak more than one language<\/span><\/span>      \n      <\/div>\n   <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-reflect-ZBiRf wp-block-lazyblock-reflect\"><div class=\"reflect\">\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you work with children and families who speak more than one language are there things you do to support bilingual\/multilingual learning?<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Abilio provides a synthesis of research on childhood bilingualism. Abilio is formerly known as the Centre of Excellence for Early Childhood Development (CEECD) and the Centre de Psycho-\u00c9ducation du Qu\u00e9bec (CPEQ).<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-read-Z1FPRrh wp-block-lazyblock-read\"><div class=\"read context-container\">\n   <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.child-encyclopedia.com\/pdf\/synthese\/second-language\" class=\"tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">READ<\/span><span class=\"tap-description\">Second language: Synthesis<\/span><\/span>      \n      <\/div>\n   <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-further-full-GWA01 wp-block-lazyblock-further-full\"><div class=\"further-full\">\n<div class=\"wtkm\" style=\"display: none;\"><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more detail on research, benefits, and issues related to bilingualism in childhood, see the&nbsp;<em>Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-explore-7cXFi wp-block-lazyblock-explore\"><div class=\"explore context-container\">\n   <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.child-encyclopedia.com\/en-ca\/child-second-language\/how-important-is-it.html\" class=\"tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">EXPLORE<\/span>\n         <span class=\"tap-description\">Second language<\/span>\n         \n      <\/div>\n   <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-read-Z1WNu9i wp-block-lazyblock-read\"><div class=\"read context-container\">\n   <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.child-encyclopedia.com\/technology-early-childhood-education\/according-experts\/educational-media-supports-preschool-aged\" class=\"tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">READ<\/span><span class=\"tap-description\">Educational media supports for preschool-aged English language learners<\/span><\/span>      \n      <\/div>\n   <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Linguistic Society of America has publications and resources for professionals and lay people interested in language acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"lazyblock-explore-Zv68EA wp-block-lazyblock-explore\"><div class=\"explore context-container\">\n   <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/www.linguisticsociety.org\/\" class=\"tap-container\">\n      <div class=\"tap-icon\"><\/div>\n      <div class=\"tap-content\">\n         <span class=\"tap-label\">EXPLORE<\/span>\n         <span class=\"tap-description\">Linguistic Society of America<\/span>\n         \n      <\/div>\n   <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The home language is the first language learned in childhood. Children who are learning English, or another dominant language as an additional language, benefit when their first language is valued. In order to be able to determine a child\u2019s capacity to learn, the child needs adequate opportunities to learn in a language that she or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":60,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-917","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=917"}],"version-history":[{"count":66,"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16191,"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/917\/revisions\/16191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/content.scienceofecd.com\/third-edition\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}