Being bilingual means, you are part of two different cultures however, in terms of language, one is not two separate monolingual people. What is acquired in one language may not have been acquired in another as it was already labeled. Here is what research has shown for bilinguals:
Dual language learners (DLLs) are not delayed in lexical and morphosyntactic development
DLLs are not the same as monolingual children in EVERY aspect. DLLs might be dominant in one language vs. other.
Differences in rates are due to environmental factors
DLLs may have more academic language in one than the other and vice versa for social language
A bilingual child may be considered a sequential bilingual or a simultaneous bilingual each depending on exposure time to each language
Without rich & sufficient exposure, children will not maintain and continue to develop all of their languages
Developmental stages and patterns are the same for monolinguals and bilinguals
Same “errors” occur in route to mastering adult language system in both monolingual and bilingual
It is typical for child to be dominant in one language vs. the other
Code mixing is NORMAL. Cross-linguistic influences are part of normal development of bilinguals
There are many cognitive advantages to being bilingual:
Metalinguistic awareness tasks (important for reading/writing)
Sounds of the language (phonemic awareness)
Words/ grammar
Language use
Executive control functions
Activation, selection, inhibition and organization of information during problem solving or planning
Dual language exposure is not a risk factor for language delays or disorders in children. If a child is bilingual and happens to have an impairment that is just mire coincidence. In order to diagnose a bilingual child with an impairment they must demonstrate an impairment in BOTH languages. Parents are recommended to use all native and home languages if they chose to.
Children with language impairments are recommended to receive bilingual therapy because children in one-language therapies will most likely lose the ability to engage in natural bilingual behaviors and are also susceptible to receiving less rich & complex linguistic input at home from parents if they have made a switch to a less proficient language.
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