Silvia Morel

Ella Frances Voltz

UWRT
April 29, 2016
Multilingualism, Be as Me
The purpose of this essay is to explore the pros and cons of raising
Bilingual and Multilingual children and learning what are the benefits and the
drawbacks of exposing children during their formative years (1-7) to more
than one language. For that will we answer several questions: what is
language? How is language acquired? What is the best time to learn
languages? What are the pros and cons of being multilingual? It is my hope
that by the end of this paper some of the misconception and fears
surrounding this theme may be cleared as well as encouraging others to
start embracing multilingualism too.
What is language? Language is the means by which we express our
thoughts and emotions, establish relationships, make sense of the world
around us and maintain our culture. The Cambridge Dictionary defines
language as a system of communication by speaking, writing, or making
signs in a way that can be understood, or any of the different systems of
communication used in particular regions. Language is culturally defined
and it changes and grows as a culture does.

Now lets talk about how we learn language. Psychologists have

dubbed the period of language acquisition the pre-linguistic phase. During
this period babies brains are working full time to observe, asses their
surroundings and process the great influx of information theyre exposed to.
Children up to three weeks old have been known to react to spoken
language. During this phase that last approximately from zero to thirteen
months, children will explore mimicking sounds and speech as well as tones
and pitches. Baby talk eventually turns into words, and constant
encouragement and support from parents and care takers will give children
increasing motivation to communicate in ways they can be understood.
The keys to learning a language no matter if it is only one or multiple
are constant exposure, practice and repetition. During children firsts years
everyone around them make constant effort to build their language by
speaking it and getting them to mimic and learn how to communicate. This is
the most effective way to learn a language. Children from zero to seven
years old are in what is dubbed the critical period. During this time their
brains have extreme neuroplasticity and are able to absorb and adapt and
incredible speed and in amazing ways that we simply cannot fully
understand. Babies can learn up to three to four languages simultaneously
and their little brains can detect the differences and make connections
individual to each one. In this video Patricia Khul further explains the process
and what is going on in a babys brain during the critical period:
http://www.ted.com/speakers/patricia_kuhl

We will now explore some of the most common cons and oppositions
that rise when people hear multilingualism. There is little to no scientific
evidence that proves that multilingual children have delays in speech area
yet some parents testify that their multilingual kids have a time gap of two to
three months. These children also tend to mix languages while in the early
stages of their vocabulary formation. Their little brains that are quickly
learning borrow words from whatever language they can recall it from until
they learn the right term. Another con that rises is the increased demand of
parental guidance and involvement. As we already stated practice and
exposure are the main keys for success and this responsibility falls mainly to
the parents. Consistency and support are extremely necessary and this
process is a long term commitment. A very common misconception is the
fear of confusing a child if exposed to more than one language. But here is
the fact: the brain wasnt wired to know just one language. It is fully capable
of learning simultaneously up to three without much confusion.
Most of this cons though can easily be dispelled by positive aspects of
multilingualism. Yes it is true that the kids might speak a little later than
others, but this is a small sacrifice to make for the ability to know more than
one language. Even more, research shows that being multilingual has no
negative impact on a childs learning growth. In fact, this children are proved
to be better at reading comprehension and writing than their monolingual
peers by the time they reach 3rd and 4th grade. These children also have

better social skills and flexibility and adaptability capacities when compared
to their monolingual peers.
The impacts are not only short termed but will carry on to the rest of a
childs life. Our society is becoming increasingly multicultural and being
bilingual or multilingual in the market guarantees better paying jobs and
higher positions. Not only that but speaking to your child in your native
tongue will increase the emotional bond and closeness between you.
Multilingual children grow to be more sensitive and cultural oriented, they
are also more tolerant and open minded. This are valuable skills that will help
them all through life through invaluable experiences and opportunities that
the world of language has provided them.
During my research I conducted several interviews to some of my
friends who are bilingual and some parents who are raising bilingual children.
Hispanic people say all the time that they regret losing their own heritage
language when growing up because they had an internalized fear that
speaking their mother language to their children would cause them delays in
learning English and adapting in America. I think this misconception is very
heart breaking not only because of skill set and opportunities that are lost
but the connection to whichever culture they come from which I think is very
important for identity. Lots of my Hispanic friends told me that they really
regret that their parents never spoke Spanish to them in their homes and
that know that theyre older they can understand some but not speak it. This

regret is very common but as we know, children dont know this. Its up to
the parents to make this decision when they are young.
The parents I interviewed brought to me a very important point I
hadnt considered: learning a new language requires motivation. Their main
struggle in teaching their little kids Spanish was that they could not make
them understand the value and get them interested enough to want to learn
and practice. Thats when they started to get them together with other
Spanish speaking kids and they realized the importance of the connection to
others through language. In their home, they designated Spanish only
speaking days and when they children dont know how to say something help
is provided. This is the kind of language instruction that really works.
This motivation is something that schools language programs lack. This
video is about a boy who realized what he lacked to properly learn another
language and did something about it. http://blog.ted.com/a-ted-ed-clubpresentation-advocates-for-immersive-language-instruction/ The way
language is taught does not promote a desire or enough resources to truly
learn. Language is not taken seriously, and if it wont be then why make our
kids waste their time? Kids take a second language class for all middle school
and high school and come out barely able to say hello in another language.
Its time to make decisions and change the way we teach, the way we view
the importance of language and start providing real opportunities and
knowledge to our children.

Lets embrace multilingualism. Lets encourage people from all cultures

and language to preserve their heritage, to pass on the knowledge and
opportunities to their children without fear, lets encourage American school
systems to equip and prepare our children for the future where well be a
country of multiple languages, lets spread the wonder and joy that being
able to communicate in different languages bring. Lets be multilingual.

Works Cited Page

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(2005): 599619. Web. 20 Apr. 2016
Kuhl, Patricia. "Patricia Kuhl." TED: Ideas worth Spreading. N.p., Feb.
2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

Khatavkar, Yash. "Spanish Class Isnt Enough: A TED-Ed Club

Presentation Advocates for Immersive Language Instruction." TED Blog
Spanish Class Isnt Enough A TEDEd Club Presentation Advocates for
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