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Language Choices

QUESTION:

Grace,
I am an American and my first language is English. I speak French, though, and want my son to grow up speaking and comprehending it. When I’m alone with him, I speak French, but when my husband is present, we both speak English to each other and to our son.

My son is 6 months old, so there isn’t a lot of speech development to analyze at this point. I notice he’s pretty quiet -- he doesn’t do a lot of babbling. My husband doesn’t speak French, which is why I switch to English whenever he is around. My son’s exposure to French is pretty much just through me (talking/singing/reading books) and listening to French music CDs.

To add to the mix ... In August, when I go back to work, we’re going to hire a Cantonese-speaking babysitter to come over 16 hours/week. My husband speaks some Cantonese but doesn’t use it with our son. His parents, whom we see once a month, are Chinese immigrants who don’t speak much English, and we want him to be able to talk to his grandparents. Plus, we live in San Francisco, where a large portion of the Chinese community speaks Cantonese rather than Mandarin.

Given this situation, I have been wondering if I should continue with French, given that I’m the sole exposure. Will I hopelessly confuse my son?

-Laine

ANSWER:
First of all, congratulations! Both for your baby son and for your decision to raise your child as a dual language learner! I will try to address your questions but I will also suggest some readings for you and your husband at the end of this message. Since he is an infant, he is a simultaneous bilingual learner. Also, he has access to a second language via the community, grandparents, caregiver, and his father (Cantonese). He has access to another language via his mother. Research supports infant’s innate preparedness for dual language learning, and maintains that there are numerous cognitive advantages to developing bilingual skills from the onset.

The theory that simultaneous dual language learners have slower developing language skills has been refuted. For major developmental stages, the rate and pattern of language development is no different when compared to the child developing one language. However, my literature review has uncovered studies focusing on bilingualism, not trilingualism and beyond. In general, I would recommend choosing the second language to which your son would have the most exposure.

How does one make a decision as to which second language to use (the goal being proficient bilingualism)? The research maintains that consistent, enriched, sustained exposure from the onset is best. The ideal is equal exposure to the chosen languages.

Simultaneous dual language learners are likely to acquire full proficiency in an environment that values the second language (French or Cantonese), as well as the first (e.g. English). This situation is called additive bilingualism. In your case, you are the sole French-speaker and you will be returning to work in a few months, his exposure to French would be quite limited. On the other hand, he would have a good bit of exposure to Cantonese (nanny, grandparents, father, community). Of course, it may be that you may find some activity within the community that would provide him with exposure to French as well (e.g. parent/child play groups, and later bilingual preschools, etc). The point is, the research suggests that additional exposure is needed when the community speaks that majority language (English) and the “one parent, one language” approach is used with one parent speaking the minority language (language not widely used in community). Remember, whatever language you choose, be consistent (e.g. only Cantonese with dad and grandparents, only English with mom, AND frequent exposure to cultural activities in the second language).

There is another issue to consider, and that is that we socialize our children via language. No matter the language, it is important to speak to our children in a language in which we feel comfortable speaking and in which we are fluent. This is vital not only because in this way we provide the best “model” for the child, but also because we convey values, beliefs, and intimacy via language.

I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if you need more information.

Here are some suggested readings:

• One child, Two Languages: Patton O. Tabors
• Dual Language Development and Disorders:
  Fred Genesee, Johanne Paradis, Martha B. Crago (geared for speech-language pathologist but also good for parents in my opinion)

Sincerely,
Grace M. Libardo Alvarez, M.S, CCC-SLP
Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist
grace@biculturalfamily.org

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