Is it best for a child with two home languages to do both or speak in one?

Answer 1

It is better to do both, from what I've read. Children are better than adults at picking up new sounds and learning languages. If the child can learn two as he grows up, he can end up speaking both really well, not just one.

Answer 2

Do both definitely. I have been able to speak 2 languages from a very small age and my 3-year-old little sister can also speak 2 fluent languages. It's just a matter of how quickly the child is introduced to them.

Answer 3

Well i think they should teach him/her both languages because is the best thing you could ever do. I speak 2 languages. I speak spanish and english and they are both helpful. It is not hard to learn. I also read and write both of them. It could help the child in the future like it has help me too. I help students that don't speak english and I'm their translator. Well that's all I have to say. Good luck with it.

*MS.G*

Answer 4

I agree with the other. You should definitely have a child speak both. This enhances their lerning capability. Knowing more than one language allows you to think in different ways. The will likely have a much easier time expressing themself in unique ways. I also agree that it is a smart idea to have one parent speak a certain language while the other parent speaks in the second language.

Answer 5

Both. The child will quickly understand that there are different languages. My granddaughter is 29 months. She speaks Turkish with her parents. Her father speaks German to her and so do I. When her mother goes to German class, she goes to a crèche where they also speak German. She is now quite capable of translating. If I don't immediately understand what she says in Turkish, she translates into German.
Far better than my niece from England who, on a visit to Switzerland went to school with my daughter for a day. When they came back for lunch I asked her what she thought of the school. Her reply was, 'They speak funny.'
If you have the opportunity, bi- or even tri-lingualism is the best gift you can give a child. I fully intend speaking English to my grandchild a little later. With full approval from my step-son and his wife.
I'm also investigating the possibility of teaching her to read her mother tongue before she goes to German school. I did this with my own English speaking daughters.

Answer 6

Suppose the father speaks English and the mother speaks Spanish. The father should speak English to the child and the mother should speak Spanish. When the child grows up, it will be bilingual, which is a huge advantage from an employment point of view.

Answer 7

I am a bilingual teacher, and certainly ther is a great advantage for a child to be bilingual. See the reasons why:

People who are bilingual have an advantage over the rest of us, and not just in terms of communication skills. The bilingual brain develops more densely, giving it an advantage in various abilities and skills, according to new research.

Researchers Andrea Mechelli of London's Wellcome Department of Imaging Neuroscience and colleagues, including experts from the Fondazione Santa Lucia in Rome, looked at brain densities of bilingual people.

First, they recruited 25 people who speak one language, 25 who learned a second European language before age 5, and 33 who became bilingual between ages 10 and 15.

All the participants spoke English as their primary language. Those who had learned a second language later in life had practiced it regularly for at least five years.

Bilingual Brains Do Better
The brain has two types of tissue visible to the naked eye, termed gray and white matter. Gray matter makes up the bulk of nerve cells within the brain. Studies have shown an association with gray matter density (or volume and intellect), especially in areas of language, memory, and attention.

Brain imaging showed that bilingual speakers had denser gray matter compared with monolingual participants.

The difference was especially significant in the brain's left side -- an area known to control language and communication skills. The right hemisphere of bilingual speakers also showed a similar trend.

The researchers say that although language is thought to be mediated by functional changes in the brain, they show that being bilingual structurally changes the brain. Their study shows the effect was strongest in people who had learned a second language before age 5.

In a second test, the researchers studied 22 native Italian speakers who had learned English as a second language between ages 2 and 34.

Those who had learned English at a young age had greater proficiency in reading, writing, talking, and understanding English speech.

As in the first test, increases in gray matter density in the brain's left region were linked to age at which a person became bilingual. The earliest second language learners had the densest gray matter in that part of the brain.

Of course, while it might seem easier to pick up a second language as a child, it's still possible to do so as an adult.
Also bilingual people have the ability to learn a third, or more languages faster than other people.

"Findings suggest that the structure of the human brain is altered by the experience of acquiring a second language" .

One more thing, the younger he/she learns the language is better. Kids brains are like sponges, they absorb a lot of information and they are at their best to learn any languague you talk to them. Don't underestimate your childs abilities.
Don't worry if he/she start using (mixing) both when speaking. This is totally normal, will get better when his/her languague development matures.
I am bilingual since the age of four. My parents didn't speak any English. Me and my siblings learnt English at school, and we did great. If you have the opportunity to talk your child in 2 languages just do it!
Bilingual people have more opportunities to find better paid jobs.

Answer 8

Definately do both, they always know whch is which, the brain is a clever thing, the child will automaticaly seperate them. A child learns much more words in a short space of time than an adult can lerning a new language, so let them learn young.

Answer 9

Both. I grew up speaking Spanish and English. It's much easier to learn a third language like Italian or French when you are older. :)

Answer 10

Both. Make the separation between the two as clear as possible (for example, one parent, one language or minority language at home, majority language outside)