BABEL'S CHILDREN
Learning Languages - how soon should we start?
“The recent immense increase of facility
for rapid travel makes even the idler wish
that he were less frequently tongue-tied
by the want of power to speak at ease
with Frenchman, Italian, or Spanish,
German or Dane when meeting him and
receiving friendly offices from him in his
country,” wrote Charles Dickens in 1864.
CHILDREN EXPOSED TO DIFFERENT LANGUAGES NOT ONLY BECOME
MORE AWARE OF DIFFERENT CULTURES AND OTHER PEOPLE, THEY
ALSO TEND TO BE BETTER AT MULTITASKING AND PROBLEM-SOLVING
Even now, the ability to speak more than one
language fluently remains a relatively new phenomenon
in the UK. However, a recent survey carried out by
the University of Edinburgh discovered that in Scotland
alone, with its population of 5 million, 106 different
languages are spoken. This may come as a surprise
to us but in many parts of the world it is common for
children to be exposed to two or more languages.
Some estimates even suggest that as much as 75%
of the world’s population can speak two languages.
For many, the gift of languages holds the key to
cultural diversity, economic opportunity and enriched
education. Yet, in the UK, bilingualism and
multilingualism are often surrounded by
misunderstandings, misinformation and myths.
Antonella Sorace, Professor of Developmental
Linguistics at the University of Edinburgh, who
carried out this most recent research and has
founded a new initiative to raise awareness,
Bilingualism Matters, is on the side of those who
believe it is a gift: “Recent research on bilingual
language and cognition has shown that bilingualism
is beneficial for children’s development and their
future in many different respects. Children exposed
to different languages not only become more aware
of different cultures and other people, they also tend
to be better at multitasking and focusing attention,
and they are more precocious readers.”
75% of the world’s population can
speak two languages
The most common reasons for children being bilingual
are because either the parents speak different
languages or the parents speak the same language
but live somewhere where most people speak
something else, but as Professor Sorace points out:
“Many parents and teachers still think that
bilingualism can cause confusion and intellectual
delay in children. In reality, there are no such
drawbacks and this research shows that bringing
children up bilingually could have further benefits
besides being able to speak two languages.”
So, what’s holding us back?
Those who want to raise multilingual children will
be met with many opinions on how to go about it.
Over the last 20
years extensive research has
been carried out and a number of the myths have
been dispelled.
What is clearly most important for parents is to
understand the facts and from there they can make
an informed decision.
Too much, too soon?
Deborah Ruuskanen, Professor of Linguistics at the
University of Vaasa in Finland explains: There appears
to be a ‘window’ of learning language that ‘opens’ at
about the age of ten months. Over the next two
years, infants acquire language at an astonishing
rate. By the age of three, they have acquired basic
syntax (sentence structure), basic grammar (the ‘rules’
of language), and a large vocabulary of basic words
necessary to their physical and emotional survival.”
Many parents and teachers still think
that bilingualism can cause confusion
and intellectual delay in children
Psychologists from the University of Bristol have
found that this window may open even earlier as
babies listen to words even when they cannot speak.
They have discovered that the developing brain
undergoes a period of ‘programming’ in infancy
which sets up its ability to recognise key sounds in
whatever will become its native language. In this
way, the brain filters out sounds not used in the
native language. Dr Nina Kazanina, leading the
research says: “When a baby is born it has the
capacity to distinguish every type of speech sound.
Even if the parents are English, that baby has the
capacity to distinguish Greek and Chinese vowel
sounds. By six months, an infant can only recognise
vowels from its native language, and within another
two or three months the same happens to consonant
sounds. So within 9 to 10 months, a baby’s universal
language ability is reduced to its native language.”
When a baby is born it has the capacity
to distinguish every type of speech
sound. Even if the parents are English,
that baby has the capacity to distinguish
Greek and Chinese vowel sounds
The debate as to when the language ‘window’
closes, if it ever does, continues but there does seem to be an optimal age when the child’s mind is
still open, has space to absorb and is creating neural
pathways to store language when the brain cells are
not yet cluttered with other learning.
Two languages just confuse the child?
Confusing children at such an early age is also cause
for concern amongst parents contemplating how to
approach a multilingual household.
From her own experiences, Dr Antonella Sorace has
found that children don’t get confused when they
hear two languages spoken around them: “Children
are incredibly sensitive to the different ways people
speak. Even when they only hear one language, they
learn very quickly about differences between the way
men and women talk, the difference between polite
and impolite ways of talking, and so on. For children,
the bilingual situation is just a matter of another
difference between people!”
Further research has also shown that most bilingual
children can separate their languages easily. They
will often mix the languages together to fill in gaps
in vocabulary. This is known as code-switching.
Interestingly, bilingual children will speak to those
who only speak one language only in that
relevant language.
The Multilingual Children’s Association gives advice
on the number of languages that can be learnt:
“Generally, the number of languages within the
household is the number of languages baby gets
on his plate, maybe one extra . . . Beyond four
simultaneous languages, the success rate starts to
fall significantly. Researchers claim that a child needs
to be exposed to a language 30% of their waking
time to actually speak it.”
Too much like hard work?
It cannot be denied that for a child to be truly
multilingual there is going to be a commitment on
both the parents’ and child’s side. It requires
patience during frustrating times. Professor Sorace
says: “The main thing to keep in mind is that parents
don’t really ‘teach’ children to speak, any more
than they teach them to walk or smile. The most
important things in language development are
exposure and need. If children are exposed to a
language in a variety of circumstances with many
different people from the time they are born, and if
they feel they need the language to interact with the
world around them, they will learn it. If they are
exposed to two languages from the moment they
are born, and if they need both languages to
communicate, they will learn both.”
The main thing to keep in mind is that
parents don’t really ‘teach’ children to
speak, any more than they teach them
to walk or smile
She also advocates the importance of keeping it
natural: “If children feel that they are forced to do
something weird or embarrassing, they will probably
resist it. Explicit rules – say, speaking one language
on some days and the other on others – can be
very hard to enforce and can help create a
negative attitude.”
There are lots of resources that parents can now use
to help. Having relevant materials – books, nursery
rhymes and songs, films, and toys is fun and useful.
Too late?
Children can learn another language at any age,
as can we. It is just easier during the early period.
Ideally, children do best if they start learning before
the age of 12, not only because of the physical
capability of their brains but also because they do
not suffer so much with teenage embarrassment.
The key for older children is motivation to learn.
They will need to understand why they are learning
the language and the advantages that go with it.
Relevance and inspiration will come from fun
activities and varied interaction with people of
different ages and in different environments.
Advantages?
Professor Colin Baker of the University of Bangor,
an expert in bilingual education says that bilingual
children have an advantage in terms of intelligence:
“They actually have a higher IQ. It seems having two
languages in the brain stimulates it, adds extra
associations into the brain and deepens thinking.”
Other commonly recognised advantages include:
- Better problem-solving and lateral thinking ability
- Greater creativity
- Better reading and writing skills
- Wide vocabulary and understanding of language
structure and grammar
- Ability to express more tolerant attitudes
towards others
- Ability to speak to people from different cultures
and understand different social codes
- Easier to learn other languages later in life as the
sounds, rhythm, and structure will already be
bedded in
- Confidence and ease in different environments,
assisting in natural adaptability and increased
self-esteem
- Increased career prospects as global commerce
continues to grow
They actually have a higher IQ.
It seems having two languages in
the brain stimulates it, adds extra
associations into the brain and
deepens thinking
However, to benefit from these advantages, children
must use the languages regularly. If the language is
not spoken, it will easily be lost.