Studies have shown that children raised as bilingual or in a multilingual environment have been shown to develop an earlier understanding of theory of mind and are able to differentiate between different spoken languages from a much earlier age than monolingual children, as well as possessing a slightly greater aptitude for memorisation, a skill that carries on to later life. As such, we can infer that those multilingual children are better equipped to deal with general social interactions from an earlier age than their monolingual peers are and are also therefore likely to be more confident in themselves and more in tune with the wants and needs of others, an advantage for any child.Īs we compare multilingual and monolingual children, it is important to address the supposed cognitive advantages that the former group possesses over the latter. In terms of wider social interaction, bilingual children have an ability to make friends from a larger and more diverse social background, and some studies have shown that preschool-age children who are raised as bilingual have an easier time in understanding the desires and perspectives of others, as well as possessing an increased sensitivity to certain features of communication in their peers (tone of voice etc.). Firstly, the child maintains a strong connection to the culture of the language they have been raised in, particularly if one or both parents are fluent or native speakers – in addition to this, communication with extended family overseas is far easier for any bilingual or multilingual child, increasing both a sense of familial belonging and a pride in their own background. To begin with, there are arguably many social benefits to raising a child as bilingual or multilingual. Given these not insignificant figures, it raises the question: do children raised as bilingual or multilingual have advantages (or indeed, disadvantages) over their monolingual peers, and should we bring our children up knowing more than one language?Īdvantages of raising a child as bilingual or multilingual For this reason, most parents do not consider the possibility of raising their child as bilingual or multilingual, because from their point of view, what would be the point? Despite this growing mindset, government statistics show that as of January 2021, 1.6 million (19.2%) of UK school pupils are recorded as having another language alongside English, with 19.3% of pupils recorded as having another first language, with English as their second (ESL). In the United Kingdom, we live in an (increasingly) monolingual society, a reality reinforced by the fact that English is often considered as the most ‘international’ tongue, meaning most native English speakers do not feel the need to study other languages. (Written by Callum Madle, Shannon Walker and Phoebe Harrison)
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