How children
learn more than one language
Bilingual acquisition can take place in one of two ways:
1.
Simultaneous Acquisition occurs when a
child is raised bilingually from birth, or when the second language is
introduced before the age of three (10). Children learning two languages
simultaneously go through the same developmental stages as children learning
one language. While bilingual children may start talking slightly later than
monolingual children, they still begin talking within the normal range (11).
From the very beginning of language learning, simultaneous bilinguals seem to
acquire two separate languages (10). Early on, they are able to differentiate
their two languages and have been shown to switch languages according to their
conversation partner (e.g. speak French to a French-speaking parent, then
switch to English with an English-speaking parent) (12, 13).
2.
Sequential Acquisition occurs when a
second language is introduced after the first language is well-established
(generally after the age of three). Children may experience sequential
acquisition if they immigrate to a country where a different language is
spoken. Sequential learning may also occur if the child exclusively speaks his
heritage language at home until he begins school, where instruction is offered
in a different language.
A child who acquires a second language in this manner
generally experiences the following (10):
- initially, he may use his home
language for a brief period.
- he may go through a “Silent”
or “Nonverbal” Period when he is first exposed to a second language.
This can last from a few weeks to several months, and is most likely a
time when the child builds his understanding of the language (14). Younger
children usually remain in this phase longer than older children.
Children may rely on using gestures in this period, and use few words in
the second language.
- he will begin to use short or
imitative sentences. The child may use one-word labels or memorized
phrases such as “I dunno” or “What’s this?”. These sentences are not
constructed from the child’s own vocabulary or knowledge of the
language. Rather, they are phrases he has heard and memorized.
- eventually, he will begin to
produce his own sentences. These sentences are not entirely
memorized, and incorporate some of the child’s own newly-learned
vocabulary. The child may use a “formula” at first when constructing
sentences and insert his own word into a common phrase such as “I want…”
or “I do….”. Eventually the child becomes more and more fluent, but
continues to make grammatical mistakes or produce sentences that sound
abbreviated because he is missing some grammatical rules (e.g. “I no
want eat apple” instead of “I don’t want to eat an apple”). Some of the
mistakes a child makes at this stage are due to the influence of his
first language. But many of the mistakes are the same types of mistakes
that monolingual children make when they learn that language.
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http://www.hanen.org/Helpful-Info/Articles/Bilingualism-in-Young-Children--Separating-Fact-fr.aspx
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