Young children learning more than one language have a more diverse vocabulary than their monolingual counterparts at the same age, a new study has found.
Children from a bilingual background were found to have a larger combined vocabulary than that of a child of the same age with the ability to only speak one language. The Australian study focused on vocabulary development of two-year-olds, looking at children speaking more than 30 different languages.
Dr Ruth Nicholls, the key researcher of the Early Language in Victoria Study says the findings show that parents should not be worried that their child might be developmentally disadvantaged once they hit early learning or primary school if they speak their mother tongue at home.
“Two is a really important point in a child’s language development, because by two, that’s when parent’s start to have concerns about a child’s language and how many words they’re saying,” Dr Nicholls tells Neos Kosmos.
“What we’ve found is that these children follow a very similar pattern with their monolingual peers.
“Provided that you look at both languages, there’s certainly no disadvantage, in fact these children have more words. If you only look at English, you’re not going to get the full picture.”
Looking at just English speaking proficiency, bilingual children have a smaller range of words they can use compared to their monolingual peers, but their combined vocabulary levels in the two languages surpasses them.
The benefits of a wider vocabulary in different languages are widespread, Dr Nicholls says.
“It’s going to set them up really well in terms of their communication during their pre-school years and when they get to school,” she says.
Which is why Dr Nicholls suggests early learning professionals should be aware of the benefits of bilingualism and encourage parents to keep speaking in their mother tongue around the house.
“Other research shows that it can be detrimental to a child if the family is told to stop speaking their home language,” Dr Nicholls says.
“Because it can have social implications, they can be left out of conversations, left out of cultural family events.”
Almost 20 per cent of Australians speak a language other than English at home and it is estimated that two-thirds of the world’s children grow up in bilingual environments.
Bilingual children have been found to have better cognitive and problem solving skills than their monolingual peers, and people who actively speak more than one language are able to stave off dementia for longer as they exercise their brain more.