Multilingual resources - Western NSW LHD speech pathology

Many children around the world communicate in m​ore than one language. Children who are multilingual learn to communicate at the same rate as children who only speak one language.

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Overview

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Many children around the world communicate in m​ore than one language.

Children who are bilingual (use two languages) or multilingual (use two or more languages) learn to communicate at the same rate as children who only speak one language.

Should you speak to your child in more than one language

Whether you speak more than one language to your child is up to you. Language forms an important part of culture and identity. There are benefits to learning more than one language, including:

  • ​forming relationships with other people who speak your home language, such as family members and people in your community
  • education and learning benefits such as attention, memory, and problem solving skills
  • career opportunities in later life.

How to help a child learn more than one language

Children often learn additional languages more easily than adults. A second language can be learned at the same time (simultaneously) or after your preferred language (sequentially). You can help a child to learn more than one language by:

  • talking to your child often in the language you are most comfortable with
  • giving your child lots of chances to hear and talk in both languages through play, stories and books, and in your daily routines
  • having a plan of who talks to your child in each language. This will depend on what works best for your family. A “one person, one language” model is where one caregiver speaks only one language to your child, while the other speaks another language. A “heritage language” model is where you speak your heritage language at home. Your child will hear and learn the second language (e.g. English) at school and in the community.

Effect on speech and language development

Learning more than one language does not cause children to have communication difficulties.

Some children have difficulty with their speech and language skills regardless of how many languages they speak. These difficulties will appear in both (or all) of the languages they use.

Contact a speech pathologist if you have concerns about your child’s communication development.

​​Information in other languages

Here is some information in different languages about visiting a speech pathologist and helping children learn about books and print.

Visiting a sp​eech pathologist – what to expect

Learning about books and print

​More information

The following websites offer useful information about children learning more than one language:

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