Childhood bilingualism by: Luz Canto

Janet Parra

Karen Schneeberger.

Language acquisition is very similar to the process children use in getting first and second languages. It requires meaningful interaction in the target language natural communication. (Brown and Hanlon, 1970; Brown, Cazden, and Bellugi, 1973)

• First Language Acquisition: Studies infants’ acquisition of their native language.

Native Language: A first language (also native language, mother tongue, arterial language, or L1) is the language(s) a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity.

Second Language acquisition, or L2 acquisition, generally refers to the acquisition of a Second Language by someone who has already acquired a First Language.

Bilingual Language acquisition Refers to the simultaneous acquisition of two languages

beginning in infancy, or before the age of three years.

Bilingualism is an intriguing topic.

People wonder how it´s possible for a child to acquire two or more languages at the same time:Doesn´t the child confuse the two languages?

Are bilingual children brighter?

Does acquiring two languages negatively affect the child´s cognitive development in some way?

Children’s abilities

The ability of children to form complex rules and construct grammars of the languages used around them in a short time is phenomenal.

Beginning from birth, babies everywhere follow a similar pattern to acquire their first language according to their individual biological timetable- from crying, cooing, babbling to one-word utterances, two-word phrases, full sentences, and eventually, to complex grammar.

How about stages of children´s Second Language acquisition?

Individuals learning a Second Language use the same innate processes that are used to acquire their first Language from the first days of exposure to the new Language in spite of their age. They reach similar development stages to those in first Language acquisition, making some of the same type of errors in grammatical markers that young children make, picking up chunks of Language without knowing precisely what each word means (Collier, 1998).

Processes and Phenomena of Second Language Acquisition

Roseberry-McKibbin(2002)Interference: e.g. “this house is more bigger”; “Take a seat”.

Interlanguage: e.g. “ What Pat doing now? (neither L1 nor L2)

Silent Period: e.g. when learner listens but rarely speaks in the new language.

Codeswitching: Changing languages over phrases or sentences e.g.: “Me gustaría manejar- I´ll take the car”

Processes and Phenomena of Second Language Acquisition

Language Loss: e.g.: when a child´s first language diminishes.

Bilingual Code Mixing: Use of patterns from two languages in the same utterance. e.g.: I´m going with her to la esquina.

Children´s Second Language Acquisition Stages and related linguistic Patterns (Stephen

Krashen and Tracy Terrell, 1983)STAGE 1. PRE-PRODUCTION (Silent Period):• Minimal comprehension; No verbal production. Up to 500

words in their receptive Vocabulary.• They need Repetition.STAGE 2. EARLY PRODUCTION:• Limited comprehension one/two- word response.

Vocabulary of 1000 words.STAGE 3. SPEECH EMERGENCE:• Increased Comprehension; Simple sentences; Some errors

in speech. Vocabulary of 3,000 words.

Children´s Second Language Acquisition Stages

STAGE 4. INTERMEDIATE FLUENCY: Very good comprehension; More complex sentences and

concepts; Complex errors in speech. Able to synthesize and make inferences. Vocabulary of 6,000 active words.

STAGE 5 ADVANCED FLUENCY: Near- native in their ability; From 4-10 years to achieve

cognitive academic language proficiency.

Stages of Second Language Acquisition

Stage Characteristics Approximate Time Frame Teacher Prompts

Preproduction  The student Has minimal comprehension Does not verbalize Nods “Yes” and “No” Draws and points

0–6 months  Show me... Circle the... Where is...? Who has...?

Early Production  The student Has limited comprehension Produces one- or two-word responses Participates using key words and familiar phrases Uses present-tense verbs

6 months–1 year  Yes/no questions Either/or questions One- or two-word answers Lists Labels

Stages of Second Language Acquisition

Stage Characteristics Approximate Time Frame Teacher Prompts

Speech Emergence 

The student Has good comprehension Can produce simple sentences Makes grammar and pronunciation errors Frequently misunderstands jokes

1–3 years  Why...? How...? Explain... Phrase or short-sentence answers

 

Intermediate Fluency 

The student Has excellent comprehension Makes few grammatical errors

3–5 years  What would happen if...? Why do you think...?

Advanced Fluency  The student has a near-native level of speech. 

5–7 years  Decide if... Retell...

Source: Adapted from Krashen and Terrell (1983). 

RESEARCH AND STUDIES

Early Research:

-Two languages were learned independently and the knowledge of learning one did not transfer into the other.

-As more was learned in one language, less could be learned in the other. This gave the idea of having an amount of language acquisition.

Recent Research

- Two languages influence each other.

- Example : *Concept of adding *Recognition of spoken language which is

represented in writing.

Meaning of words:

When children are fluent in two languages, they know more than one word for the same concept, this can add cognitive flexibility in the children which allows them to build a more complex understanding of the word at a younger age.

According to:

Ellen Bialystok and Kenji Hakuta the benefits for being bilingual go much further than simply knowing two languages. Because the structures and ideas of the two languages are so different it forces the child to think in more complicated ways than if they learning only one language

• Other benefits of language acquisition is a greater sensitivity to language in general and greater awareness of meaning and structure in language.

• Children receive more linguistic input, requiring a greater amount of language analysis.

Cummins suggested that if L1 has not reached a certain competence, the child may develop “semi-linguistic” or “limited bilingualism”, a situation of lower competence in the various languages acquired, in comparison to monolingual children.

Dr. Janet Werner of the University of British Columbus carried out a phonological study because she considers that every aspect of language including sound system is essential for getting the full message from the speaker.

In her study Dr. Werker proposed the following question : Can early bilingual achive native competence in phonetic

perception in both languages or is there language dominance even in infance?

- To address this question she used a prior research conducted by Dr. tracey Burns. In this research a bilingual mother was exposed to 2 languages prenatally over five year period.

. - After that period, she concluded that both languages are

equally dominant at birht in the infants. Newborn of bilingual mother keep both familiar language active

Childhood bilingualism

Families’ definitionHaving a language planRaising bilingual children

Types of childhood bilingualism

Simultaneous learning of two languages.

Sequential or successive bilingualism.

The parents' ability

parents' use of language with the child

other family members’ language (s)

the language the child uses in the community

Strategies:

One parent, one language.

Both parents speak one language in the home and a second language is used at

school.

Simultaneous learning of two languages.

Strategies:One language is used in the home and at school and the second language is used in the community.

Both parents speak both languages to the child but separate the languages according to speaking situations or alternate days.

Simultaneous learning of two languages.

ConsistencyLanguages balanceRich language experiencesQuality of the language interaction

Parents’ planning

Individual differences

Stability and mobility.

Relationships within the family affect bilingual language development.

Attitudes toward each language

Advantages

Cognitive CreativityProblem solving, analytical skills, logical reasoning, cognitive flexibility

Advantages

Child's self identity Self-esteemSchooling optionsSocio-Cultural :visual-social abilities, interpersonal skills, Social sensitivity

Conclusion:

Research into bilingualism is crucial today. Although it plays out differently in other parts of the world, research on bilingualism does serve to elucidate an understanding of the human mind and an understanding of social possibilities of other cultures, and how these can be used to educate children to prepare them to be citizens of the world.

Thank you

BibliographyDr. Fred H. Genesee. Early childhood bilingualism: Perils and

possibilitiesVol. 2, Special Issue, Article 2, April 2009Journal of Applied Research on Learning 1

Rose Li and Associates, Inc.January 2005. Childhood BilingualismCurrent Status and Future Directions 2004Workshop Summary. Marsha Rosenberg. “Raising Bilingual Children”.Reprinted from: The

Ambassador, The American School in Japan Alumni & Community Magazine. Spring 1996

The Internet TESL Journal, Vol. II, No. 6, June 1996ARTICLE TAKEN FROM: The Internet TESL Journal http://iteslj.org/

Link: http://iteslj.org/Articles/Rosenberg-Bilingual.html