7 Myths and Facts About Bilingual Children Learning Language

Sources

American Academy of Pediatrics and American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2017 May

Summary

A growing percentage of the U.S. population is made up of bilingual children, and while research on bilingualism continues to emerge, many myths about its effect on language development continue to persist. Examples of common myths about bilingual language development often center around the idea of hearing two languages causing confusion and possible delays in development. This has been shown to be false. Bilingual children may present with differences in their language compared to monolingual children, such as mixing of grammar rules and words across their languages, however, these are examples of language influence and learning, rather than a true language disorder. In general, bilingual children follow the same developmental milestones as monolingual language learners and delays in speech and language development should not be considered due to bilingualism alone.

Key Takeaway

Despite common myths, bilingualism should almost never be used as an explanation for speech or language disorder.

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