Week 6: Moz (Banana?)

When working at WCC and CEID this week, there were many instances in which a few of the kids had said words or phrases in different languages. In particular, for M.K. and M.P. at WCC, Farsi and Russian is spoken at home, respectively, and for both T and S at CEID, German is spoken at home. Specifically, I had heard M.K., T, and S say something in a non-English language. I had even learned a few new words, like moz in Farsi, which may or may not mean banana. It has made me realize that these children are learning two or three languages at the same time: English, their native language, and for the CEID children, ASL. And I wondered whether learning that many languages simultaneously could be detrimental to the kids’ language acquisition and learning. Some research states that it only becomes confusing to a child when four or more languages are taught; it is often dependent on how much exposure the child has to the language. Additionally, although some mixing of the languages may occur, it is both harmless and temporary. As the child increases his/her vocabulary in each language, this phenomenon automatically disappears, just as a monolingual child will automatically fix mistakes after correct usage is learned. A study, published by the journal Psychological Science, demonstrates the benefits of exposure to multiple languages as a child. “Children in multilingual environments have extensive social practice in monitoring who speaks what to whom, and observing the social patterns and allegiances that are formed based on language usage,” explained Katherine Kinzler, associate professor of psychology and an expert on language and social development. “These early socio-linguistic experiences could hone children’s skills at taking other people’s perspectives and provide them tools for effective communication.” Even more so for children with cochlear implants, exposure to more than one language, especially at a young age, will help train their minds to comprehend and communicate better.