Speak to me in English, Spanish, or both?

Abstract

There was a longstanding assumption that bilingualism does not result in delayed language development, but more recent work has shown that bilingually developing children's language skills can be less advanced than those of their monolingual peers. But how much delay is okay and what is the trajectory of development? In this volume of The Journal, Hoff and Ribot report the results of their study of 112 children who lived in Spanish-speaking homes, exposed from birth to both Spanish and English, compared with 39 English monolingual children whose expressive vocabularies were assessed prospectively at the ages of 30, 36, 42, 48, 54, and 60 months. Children from bilingual homes were found to lag 6 months to 1 year behind monolingual children in English vocabulary growth through age 5. The size of that delay related to the relative amount of English use in the home, and the relationship was quadratic, with 75% exposure disproportionately better than 50%, and 50% disproportionately better than 25%. That is, higher increments in English use conferred the greatest benefit. What should practicing pediatricians take home from this study? First, delays of up to 6 months in English acquisition might not be a cause for concern if the parents report that the children also have some skills in Spanish or perhaps another language. Secondly, parents who struggle to speak English might be better advised not to overreach to speak English to their children, but instead encouraged to interact with their children in the parents' stronger, more comfortable language, while allowing the child to experience English in other supportive environments. As always, fundamentals apply. Further investigation here is warranted. Pediatricians should be cautious not to over ascribe language delays to bilingualism. A low threshold for hearing testing and speech referral can be prudent. Parents should continue to be counseled to talk with and read often to their children. Article page 241 ▶ Language Growth in English Monolingual and Spanish-English Bilingual Children from 2.5 to 5 YearsThe Journal of PediatricsVol. 190PreviewTo describe the trajectories of English and Spanish language growth in typically developing children from bilingual homes and compare those with the trajectories of English growth in children from monolingual homes, to assess effects of dual language exposure on language growth in typically developing children. Full-Text PDF