#8. 2+ languages; the multilingual gift

July 10, 2017 Liz Donnelly

language series #7 title the bilingual gift

New Zealand has more ethnicities than the world has countries. We hail from a variety of different backgrounds and this enriches the diversity of our community enormously. Haere mai! We speak quite a few languages too. In 2013, when the last census was taken, the six most common languages were English (hello), te reo Māori (kia ora), Samoan (talofa), Hindi (namaste), French (bonjour), and Yue (including Cantonese, nǐ hǎo). There were around 740,000 people in 2013 fluent in more than one language, following a steady trend upwards from previous years, so it will be interesting to see what the 2018 census reveals.*

This post in our language series looks at learning two languages at once – bilingual language acquisition. How do families gift more than one language to their children? How does a child actually learn two languages? What are the benefits of speaking more than one language? Read on...

Why learn more than one language?

True bilingualism is where a child speaks each language as if it were their ‘mother tongue’. They are completely fluent in both languages and able to switch between them easily. A child becomes truly bilingual at around seven years old if both languages have been used frequently and consistently from the start. This takes focussed effort on behalf of the adults in the whanau – but it is such a gift. Generally most people actually speak one language slightly better than the other. (An expert wouldn’t call them ‘bilingual’ but they still get a big round of applause and a cake from the rest of us).

When a child learns two languages, they learn two cultures. They are members of two communities and understand the way each group thinks, feels and ‘sits’ within the world. Language is such a valuable entry point to a culture because if offers this different perspective. Experts call this ‘language socialisation’ and it is a powerful tool towards understanding other people’s points-of-view. Bilingual kids are agents of change. Their brains work differently, giving them greater empathy, better social skills, better listening skills and they even learn faster.

Although at first some language for bilingual kids develops faster and some slower (including speech) and yes they can seem a bit confused with their words as toddlers, overall the child is not at a developmental or educational disadvantage by learning more than one language at the same time. If you or another family member are fluent in more than one language, pass that second language on to your child if you are able to. If there is no one around you with a second language, expose your child to other languages as much as you can because they will still reap some of the benefits.

How do children learn two languages at once?

How do our little whizz-kids actually learn two languages then? They buckle down and learn double the amount of words in a similar amount of time, that's how. The child actually creates two language systems in the brain. They establish two lists of words right from the start, two sets of phrasing rules and language patterns, and two sets of speech sounds. This is no mean feat, but they do it. They learn both languages at a similar rate the child learning only one does.

They start with the sounds that are similar in both languages and fly into it from here.

Learning two languages is such a complex task. So children make it a little bit easier on themselves by learning a word, phrase or concept in the language where it is more simple first. Think of this as a kind of zig zag pattern in the brain, where the child dips in and out of each language, searching for the simplest patterns. This is why you’ll notice the child doesn’t learn both languages at exactly the same rate.

In the early days they make a lot of mistakes, mixing up sounds and words from both languages, and the learning as a whole is initially a slow process, because its double what other children are learning. You will hear this mixing from the start with the baby babbling – baby will use both sets of sounds, and later, toddlers will insert both languages in their sentences if it’s the easiest way for them to make themselves understood (making it simple for themselves again!)

Once they plough through this stage though, they are off and away, only occasionally borrowing a word from the other language to pop into their sentences.

After a few years, they will have worked out the rules and patterns of both languages and will be structuring them correctly. They probably still make mistakes in their actual words (just like kids learning one language do – check out our language overview here) but they’ve got the fundamentals of each language organised in their brain. They might show a preference for one of the languages now. Try not to let them lose the other one, keep the hard work going until they’re seven because they can forget!

How to teach more than one language

‘Simultaneous acquisition’ is when a child hears and learns both languages before they are three years old. So speak that second language to the child from birth if you can because it is helpful for the child to associate a language with a person (or group of people). One strategy is to choose one person in the family to speak one language and another for the other. It takes effort from the parent or grandparent to only speak in their chosen language, especially if it’s one no one else is speaking it around them - and they need support and lots of cups of tea. But they can rest assured this consistency really helps the child learn (and they will have a very grateful adult on their hands in about twenty years).

It is important that bilingual language learning takes place in a supportive atmosphere within a family that views bilingualism positively, and where there are plenty of opportunities for the child to speak both languages.

Here’s a discussion from parents at a seminar on what they do in their homes and an incredible four year old speaking seven languages here (yes, seven!)

It is a true gift to speak more than one language. Although it’s easier overall to learn when we’re little, any one of us can start learning another language at any stage of our lives. It even delays the onset of Alzeimer's later on. Go for it!

Kia ora to the focussed parents and caregivers crafting a bilingual legacy for their children every day.

Mā te wā (until next time),

Liz xx

Next up:

#2. Newborn communication

#3. 6-12 months and language

The Art of Listening

Dr Newbury's research

Information for the Eardrops blog language series was guided and overseen by Dr Jayne Newbury, Researcher in Child Language (University of Canterbury), with the comprehensive information in Language Development: An Introduction by Robert E. Owens, Jr. (2015). This post was written by Liz Donnelly, creator of Eardrops, audio stories that help develop listening skills and improve everyday language in young children.

* New Zealand language stats from here

#6. Lovely toddler language; 12–24 months

June 26, 2017 Liz Donnelly

Proper 'Language' begins!

Happy first birthday little one! Along with walking, language is the major achievement of the second year. It is now that all that hard work by babies and caregivers starts to pay off. These are exciting times mamamdadada!

Although babies have been communicating for months using gaze, gestures and sounds, at around twelve months they will use a word that sounds like the ‘real’ word, (perhaps in amongst a long stream of scrumptious baby babbling), and their caregivers will know it definitely means something. Experts term these first deliberate words the beginning of ‘language’ (ta dah! Cue applause). Generally the first words are ones used around the child thousands of times before (maybe the name of the family cat?)

This is broad developmental information, so don’t worry if your child is or isn’t doing what’s outlined in this post - every personality is different and each one of us creates our own individual journey to language. And literally add months to these timelines if your child is learning two languages at once – overall language happens more slowly but the benefits of two languages far outweigh a few more months processing time right now! (More on bilingual language learning here).

Expert Robert E. Owens Jr says for a word to actually be officially called ‘language’ that word:

needs to sound like the ‘real thing’,
needs to be used more than once (used consistently), and
needs to be used in the presence of what it means.

Common first English words are: mama, dada, nana, hi, bye, ta, uh-oh, baby (bubba), no, ball, doggie, cat, duck, car*

Language is hard work

Each time a toddler says a word they are using three different areas of their brain – one to hear, one to understand and one to form the sound of the word with their mouth. Constant experience of language helps these young brains keep forming connections, so it is important that caregivers keep talking to and with the toddler as much as possible.They use one word phrases but their intended meaning is actually the complete sentence – “wassat” translated into adult speak is “Please can you tell me what that is?”

Learning to speak clearly is a major challenge throughout the next few years, because children need to learn how to physically match the sound they make with the words they hear, and this takes lots of practice. There is much experimenting with sounds - toddlers play with pitch within their words more, lilting up at the end, speaking loudly, or softly. Toddlers will use a kiddie version of a word until they can master the correct adult pronunciation (for example ‘doddie’ instead of ‘doggie’).

Toddlers still need their primary caregivers’ consistent attention. Whenever they say a new word they are watching to see what the response is, so they can work out if the word was spoken in the right way, and if it was understood in the way they meant. Just checking in mama, always listening - and now understanding so much too. Caregivers might notice that a toddler looks at their adult first, then makes a gesture (they are still relying heavily on gestures), then says the word, then looks back to make sure they were understood. They now know they need the adult’s attention before they speak. Bravo!

By fifteen months toddlers are usually able to name a few of their favourite toys, pets, family members, and foods. At this age they use their words mainly to talk about or ask for things in the immediate environment, in comparison with later when it becomes more about controlling the environment (hello ‘terrible twos’!)

A phrase like “more juice” shows the toddler knows what that drink is called and understands that someone can have more of it.

The first ‘sensitive period’ for language

The learning that takes place at around 16-18 months is really important, and it links to quickly learning lots more words after 18 months. This is because this little window of time is a ‘sensitive period’ for language learning. There is a difference at this age between what a child knows (their 'receptive language') and what they can say out loud (their 'expressive language').

Keep reading piles of picture books together, listen to audio stories whenever you can, and have focussed conversations with your child many times a day when they are 16-18 months to take advantage of this little ‘language-boost’ window.

By 18 months toddlers understand about fifty words and they’re hoovering as many words into their brain as they can each day. They don’t need new words repeated as many times as before – sometimes they only need to hear a word three or four times and they’ve nailed it. They will forget lots too, don’t worry about this if it happens. All part of the process.

The consonants children learn at 19 months old directly relate to the expressive language they’ll be speaking at 3 years old. (I didn’t make that up, it came from Watt, Wetherby and Shumway, 2006*). Its not rocket science really, as is all on a continuum, but still, fascinating!

100 words

It takes a while for toddlers to get to understand their first 100 words, but after that they’re off and away with their language. This is related to them understanding the patterns of the language more fully, and having better control over their speech muscles, along with overall general brain development. So this milestone is not about the child’s age, rather getting them to 100 words is a key step. A big part of the caregiver’s job between 18 and 24 months it is about building the child’s vocabulary, working towards that 100 words.

By their second birthday they might understand 300 words (depending on when they got to that 100 word milestone – and no, adults this is NOT a race). Their comprehension is now deepening, they will start to use two concepts in the same sentence – astonishing really, how brilliant they are - and this is all knowledge that will be essential later when they learn to read and write.

More on this deepening comprehension next in our exploration of language in children two to three years old. Also take a look at how to build listening skills in toddlers and take a listen to the eardrops stories - they're great for this age group.

As a caregiver, you can do so much to help your child with their language, and its helpful to have a basic understanding of how our language develops in the early years. If you are worried about your child’s language development please take them to see your local health provider.

Mā te wā (until next time), Liz xx

Next up:

The Art of Listening

#4 The importance of primary caregivers

#7 2-3 year olds and language

Dr Newbury's research

*Watt, Wetherby and Shumway's study is here.

*This list of words came from here.

#5. The importance of gestures

June 19, 2017 Liz Donnelly

What are gestures and why are they important?

Gestures are movements of the head, hands, arms and body that send a message – actions like pointing, waving and nodding. From those beautiful early smiles in the first few months to the nine month old pointing at the toy they want Mama to fetch, gestures are the first exciting outward signs that babies are on the path to language.

Gestures are an important way babies and young children deliberately communicate with caregivers to make themselves understood. Early gestures can be used to make a request (‘give me that’), to show something (‘look at that’) or to ask a question (‘what is that?’). Later the gestures expand to represent things (like flapping arms to indicate a ‘bird flying’). Gestures are key indicators that reveal to speech language experts where a baby is at in their language development, because gestures and language stem from the same area of the brain - whereas motor movements (which are also important for language development) originate from a different area.

Gestures used at 14 months are an accurate predictor of vocabulary at 42 months!

It all begins with imitation. At around 6 months old, babies start to imitate their caregiver’s movements (and words too, but this post in our language series is focussing on movements). They’re practicing reaching, arm sweeps, and head turns that they will use very deliberately later on to get their message across.

Once they master the movements, over the next few months babies will gesture to communicate, performing actions like opening and shutting their hand when they want to pick something up, hiding their face, playing ‘peek-a-boo’, wiggling, kicking, raising their arms to be picked up, and holding a toy out for their caregiver to look at. (At first they won’t want to let the toy go, but later they will give it to their caregivers and take it back off you – hours of fun!) They also start doing cute clever things like bringing a cup up towards their mouth or holding a phone to their ear. In a way, they are actually naming things through these gestures. Babies may even create their own gestures that mean specific things to them, for example pointing to their mouth to eat.

As babies reach around 8-9 months of age, they move from using gestures silently to starting to make deliberate sounds with gestures, then much later on, at around 18 months, they will use a recognisable word with the gesture. The words replace the gestures eventually, but not completely - we all gesture throughout our lives to add emphasis and meaning to what we’re saying.

Communicating with Intent

When babies do start to deliberately use gestures (at around 8 months old) they reveal that they know they might be able to make something happen. Expert Robert E. Owens Jr calls this the ‘emergence of intentional communication’. They’re starting to use forward thinking skills (looking beyond the ‘now’ to make something happen in the future) which is really quite sophisticated in ones so young!

It is clear when a baby starts to gesture with an intention to get their message across, because they do a combination of three things:

They make eye contact with the caregiver.
They make a sound to signal they want something.
They will try persistently to communicate, repeating or changing their gestures to make themselves understood.

Take the example of a baby looking at a caregiver, then touching them then waving or pointing at a toy they want. This is an amazing feat – baby is showing that they understand communication is a two-way street by using a communication technique (called ‘joint reference’) that shows they know that two (or more) people can focus on the same thing at the same time. This is a vital step towards language because as discussed in '6-12 months. Language starting to land' it’s within the framework of focussing on something together that caregivers teach all those specific words and phrases to their babies. And it all starts with the ‘gazing’ gesture!

Pointing

Pointing is the most common gesture produced at ten months of age.* Babies might use the whole hand to point or stretch one finger out – generally they do the most efficient gesture to achieve the result they want. Clever! Of interest here too is that if the caregiver doesn’t respond positively to the point (by reacting or showing that they understand) babies won’t bother to point as much next time. Makes sense really, they’re learning so much during these months that if what they try doesn’t work they will quickly move on to trying something else. Some theorists are also convinced that pointing is a child’s attempt to influence their caregiver in a social way.

Here’s a great video from Before their first words outlining the development of the pointing gesture.

Reaching

Reaching is also a very significant gesture. A baby will make eye contact, reach towards something and may make a noise that tells their caregiver that they want that thing. So this gesture isn’t a ‘reach’ at all, rather a request! Officially to an expert, ‘requesting’ is when a baby leans forward and reaches his or her arms out towards the thing they want or when they make a ‘give to me’ gesture (often accompanied by the noise they make when they want something).

Later on, tantrums also include a variety of communicative gestures!

Between 18-21 months there is huge burst of language development as the child learns lots of new words (more on this later in our language series). Caregivers can set children up for huge learning during these months by encouraging each new gesture as babies master them. Celebrate each point, each reach, each little opening and shutting fist, because they are vital in baby's development of language!

This is broad general development information, so don’t stress if your baby is doing or not doing these things - every personality is different and each baby creates their own individual journey to language. Do however, seek professional help if you have any concerns.

This post is part of the eardrops blog language series. Check out our toddler language overview next, or find out about newborn communication here and language development in 6-12 month olds here.

Waving hello, Liz xx

Next up:

#3. 6-12 months and language

#6. Toddler language 12-24 months

#7 2-3 year olds and language

Dr Newbury's research