Bilingualism

1) What is meant by bilingual?

(Opinion: Being bilingual means that you are able to speak and understand two languages.)

According to:

➢ Bloomfield: Someone who speaks a language at the level of a native speaker.

➢ Haugen: Someone who uses complete expressions with meaning in other languages.
➢ Grosjean: Someone who uses 2 languages in his/her life regularly. He/she uses the language depending on
the context on which they are.
There are different types of bilingualism:

● Simultaneous: a child whose parents have different mother tongues, so he learns both at the same time.
● Successive:It occurs when a child learns a language at home (mother tongue), and then learns another at
school. (second language)
● Balanced bilingual: similar fluency in both languages.
● Dominant bilingual: a superior fluency in a language, then in another.
● Additive: the second language is considered a cultural enrichment.
● Subtractive: the second language has less importance than the first language in the place where the person
lives.
2) What are the personal, social, cultural and economic advantages of being bilingual?

(Opinion: Being bilingual allows you to understand and communicate with people from other countries and learn
from their cultures. It also gives you better job opportunities such as working in international companies, travelling
around the world or getting better salaries.)

the advantages of being a bilingual are:

● to establish more significant relationships with people from different countries and cultures, as well as with
their own relatives.
● to have deeper cultural experience which make people more tolerant.
● to have access to different sources of info in their original versions.
● to give you access to other / better work opportunities.
● to offer more cognitive benefits to a bilingual child.
3) What are the cognitive advantages of being bilingual?

(Opinion: Bilinguals have better rational and creative decisions. They also have lower risk of suffering from
neurological diseases such as Alzheimer, because they have increased memory capacity.)

Cognition refers to mental activities such as thinking, learning, remembering, and understanding. During the 60´s,
researcher showed that bilingual children can have advantages over monolingual kids as regard:

● Metalinguistic awareness: the ability to reflect on the use of language.

● Attention control: the capacity to choose what to pay attention and what to ignore.
● Divergent thinking: flexible way of thinking and capacity to provide creative and different answers to a
problematic situation.
 ● Communicative sensitivity: the capacity to perceive what is going on in a communicative act and pay
attention to the characteristics and needs of the person you are talking to (age, intelligence, and linguistic
skills, visual or hearing impairment.)

4. Are there any disadvantages of being bilingual?

(Opinion: we don’t consider that there are any disadvantages in being bilingual. Maybe there are some “difficulties”,
for example, when we don’t remember some words in one language but we do in the other one, or when we sound
“weird” in our mother tongue because we use some grammatical structures proper of the second language.)

The first one, the child will not be able to use both languages at the same level. For example, he may know how to
say “ear” in both languages because he uses “oreja” at home and “ear” at school. On the other hand, he may use the
word “sartén” at home but maybe he don’t know how to say it in English because he don’t use it at school.

5. Will my child be able to use both languages interchangeably in the future?

(Opinion: yes, but it will depend on the exposure the child will have with the languages. Also, it will depend on the
context and the time he or she will dedicate to practice.)

It depends on the context; on how, when and where each language is used. That’s to say, on the exposition to the
language and its purpose.
We must be aware that a bilingual person is not “two monolinguals in one”. This person has his/her own
characteristics and capabilities.

6. Is it easier to learn a third or subsequent language when you’re already bilingual?

(Opinion: we think it is easier for a bilingual to learn a third language because the brain already knows how to
acquire and manage more than one language. But it depends on the person’s capabilities.)

When you are already bilingual it gets easier to learn a third language, since a bilingual can relate new structures,
new vocabulary and new ways to express with two languages rather than with one language as it would be for a
monolingual. In addition, bilinguals are more experts at learning languages and they can make use of all those skills
and strategies that have acquired when they learned their second language, in the learning process of the third.
According to Humphrey Tonkin, an academic who speaks 8 Languages: "The art of learning languages is not on the
acquisition of a particular language but in the mastery of the language learning process”

7. What is the ideal age to start learning a second language? Commented [HTS51]: What about the ideas you anticipated?

It is often thought that there is a 'critical period' for learning a language after which the ability to do so diminishes or
disappears. Eric Lennenberg, linguist and German neurologist proposed the ‘’Critical Period Hypothesis’’ according to
which the ability to acquire human language decreases when they reach adolescence.
There is no conclusive evidence for a critical period for learning the first language. Although a late learning of the
mother tongue is not very common, it does occur frequently in the second language. A person can start learning a
second language at any age. The acquisition similar to that of a native competition at an older age (after 12 years) is
not typical but it is an exceptional phenomenon. The fact that a person may or may not obtain similar competence to
that of a native speaker in their second language if you start learning during or after adolescence does not mean that
there is no ideal age to learn another language.
There are factors that benefit an early acquisition. One would be the gradual decline in cognitive abilities as one gets
older, it costs less to learn a list of vocabulary or irregular verbs or recall words and details. Moreover, children often
learn languages in a more relaxed environment, through games and with a lower level of demand. This means that,
often, they do not care to talk even if they are not sure what they have to say. When you're already somewhat older,
a person is normally inhibited to express or ashamed when you don’t know exactly how to say something. Johnstone
said that it is easier for children to learn the correct pronunciation and intonation patterns.
Early learning helps to establish connections between languages, which in turn may encourage the development of
language awareness and literacy. In addition, children have the benefit of combining the more intuitive learning
when they are small to make it more analytically when they grow up, which can promote better assimilation of the
new language.
Every age has its own advantages, as long as a boy or girl has to learn new concepts in both languages, for an older
teenager or person is possible to use knowledge acquired in the first language. They also have more experience in
how to explain, describe, define or express their ideas or concepts and master more techniques and strategies.
When the acquisition occurs in favorable circumstances it is advisable for the many advantages it has. In addition, a
boy or a girl can not only benefit from the advantages of early learning, if not, when it grows, can also take
advantage with the largest to advance their learning.
Immersion from 3 years of age, as given in the British Council School or bilingual BC-MEC project may be ideal,
because at that age they already have the basis of the mother tongue but have not yet begun to work on reading and
writing that could make the process more difficult. In these programs children learn to read and write simultaneously
in both languages after acquiring an oral basis of both languages.

8. What is the process of language acquisition in a bilingual child? Commented [HTS52]: What about the ideas you anticipated?

Bilingual children can learn a second language simultaneously or successively. When a boy or a girl starts to acquire a
second language before the age of 3 years the process is called simultaneous bilingualism, and if he does after this
age the process is called successive bilingualism.
The rate at which a boy or a girl learns their second language, and the fluency he can achieve, depend on the
quantity and quality of language listening, the necessity and opportunities to use the language or the role and
attitude of the family and school.
It is thought that children who learn two languages simultaneously go through the same stages of language
development that those who acquire only their mother tongue.
While they are acquiring their language it is normal that children make different mistakes. Children who are
acquiring a second language can make the same kind of mistakes.

9. Does bilingualism cause delays in the acquisition of language? Commented [HTS53]: What about the ideas you anticipated?

Nowadays, there are no studies that show that bilingualism causes delays or language disorders. Bilingual children do
not use the same language as monolingual children and we should not expect that the acquisition process will follow
exactly the same way as when they learn only a language. Furthermore, as with monolingual children, the rate of
language acquisition is not the same for all bilingual.
Some studies of language acquisition use different parameters such as the extension of the phrases the boy or the
girl produces when certain structures appear in their language or the number of words which employs at a certain
age.
It is considered that a monolingual child takes time to speak when he uses less than 50 words at the age of 2. While
the rate of acquisition in each of the languages can be different, there is a possibility that at some point the two
languages will be mixed. In addition, it is possible that the learning of some structures can be delayed or forwarded.
Bilingual children can use the grammatical structures of the language that at some point have developed more in the
other language. Bilingualism is not related to delays or language disorders. Researchers concluded that bilingual
children need more time to discover the different patterns that exist in each of their languages. These differences
disappeared when the children were exposed to the language enough time to discover these patterns.
There is no evidence of qualitative differences between the development of the language in monolingual and
bilingual children.
Another research found that bilingual children take more time in acquiring the irregular forms of the language.
Bilingual children need more time than monolinguals to discover the rules in their two languages, but this difference
disappears after a short period of time. Children often generalize the rules when learning a language. The initial
delay of bilingual children in some structures is due to the contact with the two languages is lower.
While a monolingual child is 100% of the time in contact with their unique language, a bilingual child is exposed, at
least, only 50% to each of their languages. This initial phenomenon delay was also found in the vocabulary
development. The pace of language acquisition is related to the quality and quantity of the contact with the
language. This not only occurs in bilingual children but also in monolingual children.
The language directed to a boy or a girl growing up in a low social class is not the same as in the middle and upper
classes and, therefore, it produces a slower development of vocabulary.
However, it is essential that the breach decreases when the exposure to the language increases.

10) Is it advisable for a child with specific language disorder to learn a second language? Commented [HTS54]: What about the ideas you anticipated?
Neither it is advisable nor unadvisable for a child with a specific language disorder to learn a new language, since it
won’t worsen the disorder.

11) How important is the development of the mother tongue? Commented [HTS55]: What about the ideas you anticipated?
The well development of the mother tongue is really important because it will help develop a L2 acquisition. If L1 is
not perfectly acquired, L2 may interfere in the learning process of the mother tongue.

12) Is it normal that my child does not seem to want to talk in a language? Commented [HTS56]: What about the ideas you anticipated?
Yes, it is totally normal. A child that is learning a second language may be reluctant to speak for a few days or even
months because he is ashamed and does not know some words of the new language. Or maybe, he doesn’t want to
speak the new language at home. However, it doesn’t mean he is not learning.

13) Is it normal that my child mixes the two languages?

(Opinion: I strongly consider it as normal. I believe it has to do with a process of maturation inside the child’s brain
which allows him to change languages correctly when necessary. The amount of input he is exposed to is crucial and
it goes hand in hand with the opportunities to use both languages that he has.)

The book presents two theories about this topic, the first one states that children are not able to differentiate both
linguistic systems at an early age, yet at the age of three they begin to be aware of this and the discrimination (in
terms of languages) takes place. The second theory shows an innate ability present in children to comprehend that
they are moving between two languages. Nowadays, researchers support the second theory providing us with two
main reasons for this to occur. The first one is because other bilinguals also mix languages while communicating or
because they tolerate children when fusing languages. The second explanation expresses that there are some blanks
as regards their knowledge of languages. Children that learn a second language at an early age are likely to have one
predominant language, being the weaker language the one they tend to mix.

14) At what age I can check whether my child is bilingual?

(Opinion: If my child started to speak fluently in his/her mother tongue, and at the same time he/she is able to
recognize and use a few words from other language, I think I can consider him as a beginner of a bilingual person.
But I cannot think of a specific age, because the acquisition of a language depends on many factors that are beyond
the age of a child.)

The age at which parents might realize whether their kid is bilingual or not, depends on a number of factors, such as
the kind and intensity of the exposition to the second language, competence of the school, the continuity of the
learning process and possibility of the child of using that language.

15) Once my child is bilingual, what is the risk that one of the languages will disappear if is it not regularly used?

(Opinion: As with any language or discipline, practicing is necessary to keep it going. If it is not regularly used, maybe
the child will forget what he or she had already learnt.)

Answer: With a suitable quality and quantity of exposure, motivation and continuity of the process, a boy or girl can
become bilingual without major difficulties in a short time. However, the possibility of going back to monolingualism
also exists. Languages are developed according to the need to use them. If that need doesn’t exist, people may
forget the language.

16) How can I support my child at home before and after they start bilingual education?

(Opinion: Furthermore, before they start bilingual education, maybe it will be helpful to introduce them to another
language by speaking it at home (in specific moments or situations) during the day. Once they have started bilingual
education, checking homework and practicing together whenever it’s necessary will do.)

The acquisition of vocabulary is essential as children need to learn new words to improve their speech. Parents can
support their children whether they know the language or not.

Learning languages is a complex process that takes years and the child’s context plays an important role. Children
learn language through their interactions with other people and these experiences may vary between a child and
another. There are not suitable pieces of advice regarding how to do it, because there are many ways of give them
support. As every child and every familiar context is different, parents should decide in which language they want
and could help him/her. Some suggestions could be to speak with our children at home, tell them personal stories,
make questions, read books and stories, create an environment for reading and learning at home to show them we
do value language. Seeking external help like a nanny or an au pair student, TV programs and songs in CD/DVD, speak
about school and help them with homework.

Nice job!

I can see you employed all your skills in both languages.

I highlighted some words /phrases for you to edit. Some are grammar mistakes; some refer to the choice of word,
others to coherence or cohesion problems.

I see some opinions / already known ideas (for the pre -reading activity) were omitted. Can I get to know why?

I would like to point out that your proficiency to summarize and translate shows. Your independent work of
reading a 70 pages booklet and providing these abridge notes is high – quality. Well done!

Finally, I would like to read the corrected version and I would like to make sure all the students in the class get the
final file.

Congrats to you all, alilede-