Q&A1: Is it possible for children to learn bilingualism? What is a true bilingual?
Thinking: Why learn bilingualism? What is a true bilingual?
The benefits of learning bilingualism are obvious, especially being able to communicate with more people using language and writing (we are currently talking about Chinese and English). However, becoming bilingual also comes with a price. After all, everyone only has 24 hours in a day, and children especially need time to play.
When a child divides his language learning time between two languages, can both languages reach native level proficiency? Is this possible?
Explore this question:
Learning bilingualism has obvious advantages. In addition to being able to communicate with more people, you can also obtain more sources of knowledge, increase your own inclusiveness, and even become more competitive in the future workplace. However, we also caution bilinguals against developing a sense of superiority, as those who choose to be monolingual may have more time to develop other skills and enhance their advantages in other areas.
Bilingual children need to spend a lot of time learning and practicing spoken and written language in two languages. Do they have the ability to reach native level in both languages? We think this is possible. On the one hand, it depends on whether the learning of these two languages uses methods similar to mother tongue learning to achieve the goal. On the other hand, we expect that both mother tongues can reach the standards of "we recognize".
What is native language proficiency?
Generally speaking, mother tongue proficiency is assessed in four aspects: listening, speaking, reading and writing. If you can only listen and listen, you are not considered bilingual. Take a standardized test to know your level, or do a simple self-assessment to get a rough answer. For example, under the full score standard of 5 points/100 points, the "loose" standard for native speakers in these four aspects should be at least 3.5 points/70 points in each item, so as to be considered qualified.
而要被認可為雙語者，兩種語言的總分數必須符合這一最低標準。例如，3.5+3.5、3.5+4、4+4、5+5等組合才符合我們對雙語者的要求。
Balancing time between two languages:
Because children need to divide their language learning time between two languages, we should avoid unfairly comparing bilingual children with monolingual children. However, we must also ensure that bilingual children do not become "semi-linguals" who are "substandard" in both languages. This will cause the children to lose their advantage and become a disadvantage in not being up to standard in any language. This is not worth the gain. . It would be better for the child to achieve a 4+2 combination in which one language is up to standard than two languages are "not up to standard".
Note:
Listening, speaking, reading, typing and writing are now encouraged. In other words, Chinese typing can be used instead of writing to achieve the purpose of "written expression and communication". This point of view varies from person to person and will not be debated here. Of course I support children learning to write, but I do not deny that practicing writing requires a lot of time, and I personally accept the changes brought about by modern technology.