Tiny Blossoms: Speech Therapy & Lactation Consultant Services

26/04/2024

🗣Bilingualism and language development🗣

We raise our kids bilingually by being an Afrikaans family and putting them in an English school.

I asked a speech therapist about bilingualism!

🗣A few definitions🗣

🔴Monolingual – a person who speaks one language
🔴Bilingual – someone who speaks two languages
🔴Multilingual – someone who speaks more than two languages

🗣Some exciting facts about bilingualism🗣

Worldwide, it is estimated that...
🟠there are more second-language speakers of English than native speakers (Genesee, 2009).
🟠there are as many bilingual children as monolingual children (Paradis, J et al., 2011).

🗣What are the benefits of being bilingual?🗣

Being raised bilingual can be the parents' choice due to the benefits of bilingualism.

🟡 Bilingual children have increased cognitive flexibility and can focus on relevant information, ignoring distractions. This is related to the person’s language proficiency – they will benefit more from their bilingualism (cognitively) if they are more proficient in their languages.
🟡Bilingual children are known to be more creative and can solve more complex problems

🗣How do children learn more than one language?🗣

🟢Simultaneous acquisition🟢

This occurs when a child is raised as bilingual from birth or when the second language is introduced before the age of three. Children who are learning two languages go through the same developmental stages as those children who are only learning one. Bilingual children may begin speaking slightly later than monolingual children but will still start speaking within the normal range. Simultaneous bilinguals seem to acquire two separate languages from the beginning, differentiating them and switching them according to who they talk to.

🟢Sequential acquisition🟢

This type of learning occurs when the second language is introduced after the first language is well-established or after the child is three years old. Children may experience this type of learning if they move to a new country where a different language is spoken. Sequential learning may also be seen when a child speaks their home language until they begin school, where instructions are offered in a different language.

The following may be seen in a child who acquires their second language in the above way (Paradis et al., 2011):

➖Initially, the child may use their home language
➖They may go through a “silent period” when first exposed to a second language. This can last for a few weeks, up until several months, and can continue until the child builds enough understanding of the new second language. Children may rely on gestures during this time or only use a few words in the second language. Younger children tend to remain in this phase longer than older children.
➖The child may use short or imitative sentences. They may use memorised one-word labels or phrases. These sentences are not built from their vocabulary or knowledge but instead heard and memorised to use.
➖Eventually, the child will begin to produce their own sentences. These sentences may not be completely memorised and include some of the child’s newly learned vocabulary. The child may use a “formula” at first when constructing sentences and then insert their own words into a common phrase (e.g., “I want…..” or “I do……”). With time, the child will become more fluent and may continue to make grammatical errors or produce shortened sentences due to missing some grammatical rules (e.g., “I no want eat apple” instead of “I don’t want to eat an apple”). Many of the mistakes the children make at this stage are due to the influence of their first language and are the same types of errors that monolingual children make when learning that language.

🗣Some myths about bilingualism🗣

🎙Bilingualism causes a language delay🎙

❌FALSE – While a child’s vocabulary in each individual language may be smaller than average, his overall vocabulary across both languages will be the same as a monolingual child. Bilingual children may say their first words slightly later than monolingual children but still within the average age range (8-15 months). When bilingual children start to produce short sentences, they develop grammar along the same patterns and timelines as children learning one language. BILINGUALISM itself does not cause language delays. Should a bilingual child begin showing significant delays in language milestones, they could have a language disorder and should then be seen by a speech therapist.

🎙When children mix their languages, they are confused and have difficulties becoming bilingual🎙

❌FALSE – Using both languages within the same sentence or conversation is known as “code-mixing.” Parents may worry that this mixing is a sign of a language delay or confusion; however, it is a natural part of bilingualism. Adults proficient in two languages often mix their languages while conversing with other bilinguals. The same should be expected of children who code-mix when speaking with other bilingual children. A child will code-mix when they know the word for something in one language but not the other. Sometimes, it can also be used to express something or to highlight what someone else said in another language. Therefore – code-mixing is natural and should be expected in all bilingual individuals.

🎙A person is not bilingual unless they are equally proficient in both languages🎙

❌FALSE – It is rare to find someone equally proficient in both languages, as most bilinguals have a dominant language of greater proficiency. The predominant language is usually influenced by the majority language of the community or area where the individual lives. The dominant language may change depending on age, education, circumstance, employment, etc.

🎙An individual must learn a second language as a young child to become bilingual.🎙

❌FALSE – there is a theory of the “critical period” that suggests there is a window during early childhood where a second language is more easily learned. This has led many people to believe it is better to learn a second language as a young child, as younger children achieve better pronunciation than older children or adults who are learning a second language. Children who learn from a younger age also seem to acquire better long-term grammatical skills than older children. There is a question against the “critical period,” however, as older children have proven to have more advantages in learning “academic” English with specialised vocabulary, grammar, conversational ability to cope in school, etc. It is said it can be easier for children to learn their second language with improved cognitive and literacy skills compared to younger children. Therefore, while younger children seem to become more “native-like” in the long term, older children may pick up vocabulary, grammar, and academic language more quickly in the initial stages of language learning.

🎙Parents should adopt “one parent-one language” when exposing their child to two languages🎙

❌FALSE – Although many parents adopt this approach when teaching their child to be bilingual, no evidence suggests this is the best or only way to raise a bilingual child or that it reduces code-mixing. Parents should not worry if they both speak their home language or if they mix languages while speaking to their child, as it has been known that parents mix their languages regardless of whether they use this approach or not. Many methods can lead to bilingualism, and parents should speak to their children in a way that is most natural and comfortable for them.

🗣How do I support my bilingual child?🗣

✅Speak to your child in a language that is comfortable or fluent for you. Don’t try to speak a language that you are not comfortable with. You should do this even if your child uses a different language at school. A good language model gives your child the skills to learn a language.
✅Do not worry if your child mixes their two languages. This is a normal part of becoming bilingual. Instead, provide your child many opportunities to hear, speak, play and interact in your home language.
✅If you think your child has a language delay, consult a speech therapist for advice regarding how to help your child learn more than one language.
✅Books – you can read to your child in both languages. These books should be at your local library, bookstores, and the internet.
✅Singing – singing and music are great ways to introduce a second language to your child and can be lots of fun!
✅Language programs – children can learn other languages at school camps or bilingual programs. These give children the opportunity to use two languages with their peers.

Thank you so much to Kirsten Talbot from Kirsten Talbot Speech Therapy for assisting me with this post. She is a qualified Speech and Language Therapist. You can contact her at kirsttalbot@gmail.com for more information or an appointment.

Pic by Towfiqu Barbuiya on Unsplash.

27/03/2024

Four meta-analyses conclude that it’s more effective to teach phonemic awareness with letters, not as an oral-only exercise.

07/03/2024

This week we are thinking about sharing stories as it is World Book Day tomorrow!

Credit: Tiny Happy People

28/02/2024

Read that one more time. ❤️

As Meaghan Cox Gurdon says in her book, “listening to stories while looking at pictures stimulates children’s deep brain networks, fostering their optimal cognitive development. Further, the companionable experience of shared reading cultivates empathy, dramatically accelerates young children’s language acquisition, and vaults them ahead of their peers when they get to school. The rewards of early reading are astonishingly meaningful: toddlers who have lots of stories read to them turn into children who are more likely to enjoy strong relationships, sharper focus, and greater emotional resilience and self-mastery."

09/02/2024

"This study aimed to describe phonological patterns (PP) in Afrikaans-speaking children aged 24–72 months. The study adds a valuable contribution by focusing on and capturing accurate and reliable information regarding the development of PP in specific age and gender groups in Afrikaans first-lang...

05/02/2024

31/01/2024

🤎🤎

17/01/2024

He’s the kid who never listens the first time.

Or the second.

Or even the tenth.

You can pick him up out of the line up in the school hallways.

He’s the one who doesn’t walk in an orderly fashion. He runs or spins or stops in his tracks if something catches his eye.

He has a hard time keeping his hands to himself.

His handwriting and spelling don’t betray his intelligence...you might be fooled into thinking it’s all a struggle if you’re not paying attention.

He’s the one making all the noises with his mouth, only stopping when his siblings finally yell at him.

His heart sometimes breaks a little because he’s not always sure why what he’s doing is so wrong.

His ideas come out in a jumble and you have to slow way down and look in his eyes to listen.

His ideas are just too big and too fast for his head it seems and so they come out in any old order.

But he needs you to hear him.

His energy cannot be contained by walls and he seems to take up so much more space than his size.

He tries every ounce of your patience if you’re trying to get somewhere.

You might send him to put on his boots and he’ll come back with a new LEGO creation.

Time has no meaning when a new plan strikes.

He can understand stories on a level well beyond his years and will floor you with his insights.

He is smart as a whip yet school isn’t always his jam. He’d rather talk about why Sally is giving away 24 of her apples instead of solving the story problems in math.

He loves fiercely and deeply and without reservation.

He will tuck a blanket around you if you look cold and will always share a bite of his cookie.

He can read your emotions on your face and will always know who is lonely on the playground.

He runs to open your car door and will insist on carrying your bag in the house for you.

He loves to climb into your lap and wants to hold your hand as he falls asleep.

His greatest joy is making you laugh from deep in your belly.

His body is eight but his soul is much older.

He is so many things...sometimes the world wants to label him with letters and words and numbers...and sometimes these help us understand him better.

But the letters and words and scores are not what he is. They cannot capture his essence.

There is no data taken anywhere on big hearts, but if there were this kid would be the shining star.

Like all our kids he is just himself. The sum of gifts and struggles all bound together with love.

And my hope for him, and all kids really, is that we can see these clearly. We can look beyond the definitions and categories to what’s shining in their eyes and hiding behind their smiles.

And we can love them just the way they are.

Amy❤️

01/01/2024

This week we are thinking about early communication!

Credit: Early & Bright SLP

28/11/2023

Are you struggling with the difference between Phonological and Phonemic Awareness? Check out this infographic about phonological awareness and how it relates to phonemic awareness: https://improvingliteracy.org/brief/phonological-awareness-what-it-and-how-does-it-relate-phonemic-awareness

28/11/2023

⭐️ Top Tip Tuesday ⭐️
✅ Check out these simple activities for supporting little ones’ language development from BBC Tiny Happy People 💜

27/11/2023

25/11/2023

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24/11/2023

Young children whose parents read them five books a day enter kindergarten having heard about 1.4 million more words than kids who were never read to, a new study found. This “million word gap” could be one key in explaining differences in vocabulary and reading development, said Jessica Logan, ...

24/11/2023

PARENTS WHO TALK MORE TO THEIR CHILDREN INCREASE LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT

Talking to your child throughout the day can increase their vocabulary and speech and language development.

16/11/2023

09/11/2023

This week we are thinking about speech sounds!
There are many processes a child needs to work through when they are struggling with a sound, from building their awareness of it, to saying it in isolation, through to being able to use the sound correctly in a conversation. This diagram depicts the 'steps to super speech' – remember it can take some time to move up the steps!

09/11/2023

This week we are thinking about speech sounds!
Have you ever thought about how your lips, teeth, tongue, and palate are used to make all the consonant sounds in English? This picture helps us to see where each sound is made. Talking is hard work!