澳门六合彩历史记录

Researcher Examines Bilingual Development in Children

Bilingual Development, Psychology, Children, Language Development

Erika Hoff, Ph.D., a psychology professor and director of the Language Development Laboratory in 澳门六合彩历史记录鈥檚 Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.


By gisele galoustian | 8/23/2018

Worldwide immigration patterns are increasing the number of children who grow up exposed to two languages, a circumstance that provides numerous benefits as well as some challenges. Because bilingual children鈥檚 input is divided between two languages 鈥 the majority language of the country where they reside and their family鈥檚 heritage language 鈥 on average, they receive less input in each language compared to children who receive all of their input in just one language. As a result, bilingual children develop each language at a slower pace because their learning is spread across two languages. 聽

A leading psychologist and language development expert at 澳门六合彩历史记录 says, 鈥淒on鈥檛 worry,鈥 and reassures parents, teachers and clinicians that it is perfectly normal for bilingually developing children to take longer because they are learning more.

In a review published in the journal , , Ph.D., a psychology professor and director of the in 澳门六合彩历史记录鈥檚 , examined research on the course of dual language growth among children in immigrant families. She focused on children exposed to two languages from birth and identified quantity of input, quality of input, and children鈥檚 use of language as factors that influence language growth.

Hoff鈥檚 review of the research shows strong evidence that the rate of language growth is influenced by the quantity of language input. Her findings challenge the belief, held in and out of scientific circles that children are linguistic sponges who quickly absorb the language or languages they hear and will become proficient speakers of two languages so long as they are exposed to both at an early age.

鈥淥ne clear implication of studies of bilingual children is that we should not expect them to be two monolinguals in one,鈥 said Hoff. 鈥淭he bilingual child, like the bilingual adult, will develop competencies in each language 鈥榯o the extent required by his or her needs and those of the environment.鈥欌澛犅

The findings indicate that the quality of language exposure is also important. Hoff argues that immigrant parents should use the language they are most comfortable speaking when they interact with their children. They should not be told to use English just because it is the language of the host country if their own English proficiency is limited.

鈥淭o support bilingual development fully, children鈥檚 exposure to each language should come from highly proficient speakers,鈥 Hoff said.

The research shows that children also need to use a language in order to acquire it. In bilingual environments, children can choose the language they speak, and when one language is more prestigious than the other, they choose the more prestigious language. Bilingual development is supported when both the host and heritage languages are valued by society and children have opportunities that encourage them to use both languages.

Prior research has shown that French-English bilingualism is achieved more successfully in Canada than is Spanish-English bilingualism in the United States, and that the equal prestige of the two languages in Canada plays a role. In Canada, children also may have greater access to highly proficient speakers of both languages because both languages are national languages. 聽

鈥淐hildren from immigrant families need strong skills in the majority language to succeed in school, and they need skills in the heritage language to communicate well with their parents and grandparents,鈥 said Hoff. 鈥淏ilingualism is an asset for interpersonal, occupational, and cognitive reasons. Children who hear two languages from birth can become bilingual, even if that outcome is not guaranteed.鈥 聽

Hoff鈥檚 findings suggest that bilingual children鈥檚 competencies, in addition to reflecting their communicative needs, also reflect the quantity and quality of their exposure to each language.

鈥淭hese findings repeat conclusions from studies of monolingual development that language acquisition depends on the quantity and quality of language experience and the opportunity to participate in conversation,鈥 said Hoff.

This research is supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD068421) awarded to Hoff.

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