When I studied abroad in Ghana, I met many people who spoke three or more languages: Asante Twi (a major commerce language), English, the language of their ethnic group, and the languages of neighboring ethnic groups. A friend of mine from Germany says that to graduate from German high schools, you are required to speak three languages (German and two others). Bilingualism is seen as a great strength that provides many opportunities.
In my practice, I have encountered a lot of confusion surrounding bilingualism. Families and healthcare providers have many good and important questions about using more than one language with their loved ones and patients. Do bilingual individuals lack certain language skills in one or both of their languages? Does bilingualism cause or contribute to language disorders? Can hearing two different languages confuse a child or patient?
Let me lay to rest some of the most common myths surrounding bilingualism that I have encountered in my practice:
Mythbuster 1: 50/50 "perfect" bilinguals do not exist.
Most bilingual speakers have different strengths and weaknesses in each language. Vocabulary is an easy example: a child growing up in a bilingual household might be exposed to words about food and clothing items mostly in their home language, and words about shapes and mathematical concepts mostly in English. Thus, they are likely to present with different vocabulary in each language. The same is true of other language skills.
Mythbuster 2: A bilingual individual is not two monolingual speakers in one brain.
The skills they have in one language can influence and affect their skills in the other language. Bilingual language development looks different than monolingual development in either language. (For providers: This is why it is important, when possible, to use standardized tests that have a normed sample consisting entirely of bilingual individuals with the same two languages as the patient. For more information on troubleshooting evaluations of bilingual patients, see this link).
Mythbuster 3: Being bilingual does NOT cause NOR contribute to language disorders.
A language disorder is a difference in the WAY a person learns or processes language, regardless of the language input received.
Mythbuster 4: Speech Therapists DO support dialects, even non-mainstream ones.
Language learning is an application of statistical learning (recognizing patterns in our environment), and a Speech Therapist's job is to support that learning process. If a patient has only been exposed to a dialect of English that uses constructions like "the car needs washed" or "He be working", then it is correct for them to use those grammatical forms. This is especially important when thinking about bilingual patients; if a patient has been exposed only to a "dialect" (rather than an "academic" version) of the language(s) they know, a Speech Therapist's job is to support the dialect the patient has been exposed to, so the patient's use of language is consistent with their environment.
Mythbuster 5: Knowing the home language does not hinder English skills.
Bilingual children in bilingual classrooms do just as well in English as their bilingual peers in English-only instruction. (Check out this Valentino and Reardon study!) Think of it this way: if a patient understands their home language, they will be able to learn from the conversations around them at home. If they do not understand the Home Language, they are missing out on opportunities to listen and learn when grandparents, parents, and older siblings are conversing in the home language. Knowing the home language can improve overall communication, which will have a positive impact on English skills. This is true both for individuals with and without language disorders.
Mythbuster 6: It doesn't matter who speaks which language to the child.
It's fine if one or both parents speak more than one language to the child. Studies have shown that the one-parent one-language approach is not necessary to teach a child to be bilingual. The important thing is for each parent to be comfortable and fluent in the language(s) they speak to the child. (See this De Houwer study for more information.)
Mythbuster 7: Code-mixing and code-switching are not signs of language confusion.
In fact, bilingual communities often code-mix and code-switch during conversations. Code-switching is changing languages between sentences (such as "I am going to the store. Quieres algo?). Code-mixing is changing languages within a sentence (such as "ponte los shoes y subete al car").
Knowing this information can help equip families and providers with more information when making decisions about bilingualism!
