SPEECH AND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Comparison of bilingualism by preschool children and adolescents

MUP Anglophone Studies

Vyučující: doc. PhDr. Pípalová Renata, CSc.
Student: Bc. Elizaveta Fesenko
 Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………...3

Advantages of bilingualism of preschool children and adolescents………………………….4

Disadvantages of bilingualism of preschool children and adolescents………………………5

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………….6

Bibliography…….……………………………………………………………………………….7

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Introduction

This work includes a comparison of two articles that were under my investigation:

1. Bilingualism and peculiarities of mastering foreign languages by preschool children by L.V.

Efremenko and A.I. Samedova;

2. Bilingualism in the education of adolescents by Alejandra Andrade.

Bilingualism concept

“Bilingualism is a possession and alternate use by the same person or group of two different
languages or different dialects of the same language. Early and late bilingualism is distinguished
by the age at which a second language is acquired”.

In the first article, Bilingualism and the peculiarities of mastering foreign languages in
preschool children by L.V. Efremenko, A.I. Samedova, psychologists and linguists believe that
in early childhood, a child easily learns one or two languages using the same mechanism in the
brain. A human linguistic ability is neutral as to what language and how many languages the
child learns. The human linguistic ability is designed to become bilingual. This article says that
preschool children learn several languages quite easily without any obstacles and even granting a
lot of benefits.

In the second article, Bilingualism in the education of adolescents by Alejandra Andrade,

bilingualism of adolescents is being described. Unlike preschool children, adolescents are
already formed individuals with a certain understanding and already developed abilities.

When a child goes to school and knows 6-10 thousand words in his native language, he or she
is just in the beginning of the reading and writing process and they will have to master this art for
a long time. At this period of time the child understands 70–80% of the speech addressed to him.
Adolescents are not yet fully able to express their thoughts in writing in a second language, since
this language has not accompanied him since childhood.

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Advantages of bilingualism of preschool children

In the article on bilingualism of preschool children, the following advantages of learning

languages from childhood are observed.

The researchers note that theoretical, abstract thinking of bilinguals develops earlier, faster and
better than by monolinguals. Enough has been written and said about the advantages of
bilingualism. Knowledge of a foreign language opens up wide opportunities for a person:
meeting interesting people, visiting new countries, and constantly expanding the horizons. But in
order to achieve a high level of language knowledge according to psychologists and
psycholinguists, the best way is to start learning it at an early age. The majority of parents do not
want to acquaint the child with another language, fearing that he will not learn his native
language well or will begin to mix languages, which will give an additional load on the still
unstable and not formed nervous system of the child, leading to breakdowns and undesirable
consequences. However, the results of experimental studies of scientists, conducted over the past
two decades, indicate the opposite. “Bilingual children not only keep up with their peers but
more often they are ahead of them in many indicators of neuropsychic development. The child
trying to talk, catches on the words fast and the language seems to "enter" it without visible
effort. It was found and reasonably proved that memory is better developed by bilinguals. Such a
child usually thinks more logically than his monolingual peer, and turns out to be smarter.
Bilingual children almost always focus on linguistic phenomena, mathematics and the
humanities are easy for them. And recently sensational news from English scientists has been
announced that people who speak two or more languages since childhood, in an old age they are
distinguished by a more balanced character and a clear mind, they are less selfish and filled with
optimism".

Advantages of bilingualism of adolescents

While bilingualism has some disadvantages, it also has its advantages. For example, the impact
it can have on the cognitive thinking of an adolescent. A study by Olusola O. Adesop, Tracy
Lavigne and Terry Thompson mentions that "bilingualism affects cognitive thinking." These
experts analyzed about 63 different articles on the impact of bilingualism on students. They
found out that bilingual speakers exhibit greater metalinguistic awareness than their monolingual
counterparts, for example, “the experience of acquiring and maintaining two different languages
- with different forms and structures - allows bilingual speakers to develop an explicit and
articulated understanding of how language works. Bilingual speakers use two different words for
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most concepts. According to Adesop's research, "Bilingual people also show evidence of
improved problem-solving skills, especially in tasks requiring executive control. Since bilingual
people can choose between two languages, they can develop greater flexibility in thinking that
can be applied to problem solving." This means that adolescents who know a second language
can develop good planning and abstract thinking skills.

Disadvantages of bilingualism of preschool children

It is believed that bilingualism develops if a person can adequately express any thought in at
least one language, but we understand that a baby cannot formulate thoughts. If speech is not
fully formed in any language, then the very structure of thought is destroyed and attempts at self-
expression fail. This leads not only to psychological stress, but also to deep losses in the quality
of communication, and ultimately the person's personality suffers. This phenomenon, called
semi-lingualism, is detrimental to society as a whole, since a certain part of its members cannot
regulate their emotions by giving them a verbal form. And when a person is not able to say what
he wants, he is not able to compete on equal terms with others and is forced to resort to other
forms of self-realization, sometimes even to violence.

Disadvantages of bilingualism of adolescents

The first barrier arises in bilingualism, when an adolescent speaks one language at home and
another at school, as shown in the article "The Contribution of Bilingualism to Language
Teaching." This becomes a problem because while the classroom environment is trying to help
the student to master the target language, the student is often required to speak only his native
language at home.

Another problem arises when those who play an important role in teaching adolescents hold
fixed or biased views of bilingualism. This becomes a problem because it prevents the adolescent
from forming their own opinion about the subject, which can also change their attempt to form
their own identity. The same article also mentions that “contrary to the idea that two languages
confuse people, there is evidence that well-developed bilingualism increases“ cognitive
flexibility.

One more issue arising from the use of multiple languages by adolescents is what linguistics
often refers to as "code switching" or "language switching". Code switching is defined as
“switching from the language system of one language or dialect to the system of another. In
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other words, switching from one language or dialect to another. A study by Julia Hofweber,
Theodorod Marinis and Janine Treffers-Daller looks at the impact of code switching on
executive functions such as learning, writing, reading.

Conclusion

This work has presented the comparison of two articles on bilingualism at different stages of
human development, namely, in childhood and adolescence. In both cases, bilingualism has both
pros and cons. Parents of bilingual children should be well aware of the consequences of
bilingualism; to make the decision that will benefit the most. Bilingualism broadens our
communication skills and develops cultural understanding. A bilingual person has more than one
point of view and is aware of more than one world because such a person can think and express
himself in multiple languages, which can help in critical thinking and problem solving. In
general, the impact of bilingualism on a person depends on how focused and advanced he is in
the second language, and, above all, on the motivation that a person receives from his
environment. The more advanced a person becomes at the level of bilingualism, the less negative
impact it has on a person, because over time and with practice he will learn to master its use.

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 Bibliography

1. Efremenko L. V., and Samedova A. I.. Bilingualism and peculiarities of foreign language
acquisition of preschool children. Pedagogy and Psychology of Education, No. 1, 2017, pp. 40-
44.
2. Alejandra Andrade. Bilingualism in the education of adolescents. California State University
Stanislaus
3. Harenkova A.V. Analysis of the features of speech development of bilingual children. Problems
of Modern Education, No. 2, 2013, pp. 160-167.
4. Aslam Sipra, Muhammad. Contribution of Bilingualism in Language Teaching. English
Language Teaching. Vol. 6, No 1; 2013. Canadian Center of Science and Education