LEARNING DIFFERENT LANGUAGES – HOW HAVE THINGS CHANGED?

You might be surprised to know that speaking more than one language is not uncommon at all – in fact, about half of the world population speaks at least two languages, but this is a bit of an educated guess. (Byers-Heinlein et al. 2019; Grosjean, 2024).

Kids grow up in multi-language households all over the world, including in the U.S. (Dietrich & Hernandez 2022; Kohnert & Medina, 2009).

In the (not so distant) past, learning more than one language in early childhood had a… well, not-so-great reputation. Why? Early researchers thought that kids who were using 2 languages weren’t performing well on standardized tests of intelligence compared to kids who just used one language (Bialystok et al. 2022b; Hakuta, 1986*).

These kids seemed to struggle to speak, use language, and were “behind” cognitively (Paradis, 2022*). CUE THE AIR QUOTES!

But in 1962, a study reported just the opposite results, showing kids who were bilingual doing BETTER than single language kids (Peal & Lambert, 1962*). 

Hello plot twist! This new finding changed the game regarding the way we think about childhood multilingualism (Bialystok et al. 2022a). 

Since then, many studies show that multilingualism might have some really cool perks for kids, including sharper attention, memory skills, and more flexible problem solving abilities (Bialystok, 2006).

One study even found that bilingual babies as young as 6 months did better than their monolingual peers on a memory task (Brito & Barr 2014). But don’t get too excited just yet. It’s hard to say for sure what might account for differences between bilingual and monolingual kids, and bilinguals don’t always have a leg up across experiments…

For instance, one area that is still being explored is vocabulary. Keep in mind that there are many different kinds of vocab we can measure, such as the vocab a kid understands versus what they say out loud (Byers-Heinlein et al. 2024). 

Well, some research shows that bilingual kids might have “less” vocab in a single language than their monolingual friends BUT when looking at both of the languages they’re learning at the same time, the difference seems to “even out” a bit (Armstrong et al. 2025; Byers-Heinlein et al. 2024; Hoff et al. 2012). And a very recent study suggests that even when comparing one language for bilinguals and monolinguals, the differences in vocab fade with time (Armstrong et al. 2025). There’s still a ton we need to learn about this before jumping to conclusions.

Whether small differences in vocab exist or not, kids learning two languages tend to hit big language milestones (like saying their first words) at the same age as kids learning just one (Muszyńska et al. 2025). There’s also NO evidence that being bilingual directly causes communication or language-based disorders (ASHA, n.d; Kohnert & Medina, 2009).

So if you’re currently raising a bilingual kid… you can breathe a nice sigh of relief. Phew!

HUH?? LANGUAGE CONFUSION? NOT A CHANCE

Time for some myth busting. Despite everything we know, many people still believe that learning two languages at the same time can somehow be harmful for overall language outcomes, though the data show that this myth may be fading in popularity (Wagner et al. 2023).

The science around this stuff is pretty clear – so-called “language confusion” is NOT a thing (Guiberson, 2013).

But let’s be clear. What’s plain wrong here is the idea that learning another language delays language development or “permanently confuses” a kid.

This doesn’t mean that bilingual kids never “mix up” languages or confuse a word for another from time to time. If you’re a parent with a bilingual kiddo at home, you probably have plenty of funny stories of your little one doing just that. This isn’t a sign that something is wrong!

In fact, kids are pretty great at distinguishing between languages (Byers-Heinlein et al. 2022). What might sometimes look like confusion – like switching between languages from sentence to sentence – is likely just a kid getting the most out of both languages (Byers-Heinlein et al. 2022).

How? Compared to adults, young kids are absolute sponges when it comes to language (Hartshone et al. 2018*; Kuhl et al. 2005). Trust us, there’s plenty of room in those adorable brains.

Kids can learn tons of different words for the same thing without getting confused if they are in different languages (Byers-Heinlein & Lew-Williams, 2013; Bialystok et al. 2022).

We don’t need scientific data to tell us that babies who are in single-language households learn different words for the same thing too, like learning that their “doggie” is also called “Captain Paws.”

Depending on a ton of different factors, a little bit of language mixing might sometimes make learning words a bit harder or easier for kids (Armstrong et al. 2025; Byers-Heinlein et al. 2022; Byers-Heinlein, Kircher, & Lew-Williams 2025*). Learning language is hard work, and it’s not just about WHAT words you’re learning but HOW you’re learning them that influences this process (Byers-Heinlein, Kircher, & Lew-Williams 2025*).

Remember, the bottom line is that, with time and strong language support from their parents, both monolingual and bilingual kids reach their language milestones at the same time (Armstrong et al. 2025; Byers-Heinlein et al. 2024; Muszyńska et al. 2025).

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Well, there you have it. Don’t let longstanding language myths fool you.

If you’re speaking English, Spanish, Mandarin, Elvish, or Dothraki, your kid won’t be delayed, or confused. They’re not just ready for this – their brains are literally wired for it. And if you’re regularly mixing up languages at home with your little one, you might even be giving their brain an extra boost in surprising ways.

Until next time! ¡Hasta la próxima! Jusqu’à la prochaine fois!

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