Bilingual Children

A new study conducted by developmental psychologists revealed that parents should take an active role in increasing the mental ability of their bilingual children. In the US, around 20 percent of children speak a foreign language at home.

There are major differences on how young children of bilinguals learn a new language compared to those who only know one language. The education of bilinguals starts at a young age, and they begin to learn to speak and write by observing the people around them.

An example is the case of two-year-old Daiana Mogle, whose mother is from Argentina and her father is from the US. Daiana's mom speaks Spanish while her dad talks to her in English. Thanks to Daiana's daily interaction with her parents, she’s now starting to learn both languages.
Developmental Psychologist from Georgetown University, bilingual children are learning by matching different words that describe the same object. They also learn by figuring out that the objects work the same way. An oven in the Spanish language works the same way when described in English.

Barr and her fellow researchers studied the memory flexibility and language skills of kids who are exposed to two or more languages. They did an experiment where they showed a child how to build a simple rattle, and then they showed the same child another type of rattle that has a different color and shape.

Barr explained that the experiment is designed to test the memory of bilingual kids, that’s why showing them the same thing with varying designs is a key part of the test. The results of the study revealed that at the start of six months, bilingual babies tend to develop a more flexible memory. Parents are advised by experts to provide them with a more interactive language