Understanding Simultanous vs. Successive Bilingualism

There are two paths/types of bilingualism.

Simultaneous bilingualism occurs when a child is learning and developing two different languages at the same time because he or she is exposed to both languages and has frequent opportunities to practice both languages. Children who are acquiring two languages simultaneously go through three phases of language development. In the early phase, children begin to show an understanding in both languages and can respond to what others say and make requests and commands. They might know more words in one language than another. In the middle phase, the sound system of both languages is well established and their pronunciation begins to approximate that of adults. They may being to increase their length of utterance and engage in conversation with others. In the later phase, bilingual children use more complex sentences and usually have mastered the sounds of their languages. They may begin to use slang with peers.

Successive bilingualism occurs when a child learns a second language after their first language has been established. They often go through four stages of language development: home language use, observational and listening period, telegraphic and formulaic speech and fluid language use. At first the child might communicate using their home language. When they realize that others may not understand their home language, they may go through an observational and listening period. Some of the children I have worked with are usually nonverbal at during this period as they are absorbing their language environment. They may be scared to use a new language because they are not confident in their skills. At this time, I try to acknowledge any and all attempts at communicating and try to respond to their nonverbal cues. In the next stage, the child may use telegraphic speech, or the use of few words without the use of functional words or grammatical markers to communicate. They are trying to use what few words they know in the second language to make attempts at communication. When children begin mastering a second language, they begin to demonstrate fluid language use, generally using English more proficiently in social situations. They may still need time to master “academic” English, which includes language skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

I myself was a successive bilingual and learned English after I had learned Cantonese. Up until I was about 6 years old, I spoke fluent Cantonese. I attended preschool and kindergarten in Hong Kong and then moved to the United States and began the first grade. I was enrolled in ESL classes and my parents only spoke English in the home because they were concerned about me learning English. We watched English television and read English books. Even though I was fluent in Cantonese, I was not presented with many opportunities to continue my use in that language. Over time, I lost my ability to converse in Cantonese as I started to prefer the use of English.

I still remember parts of my childhood in the different stages of successive bilingualism. I don’t think that I went through a period of home language use and when I asked my parents about this, they said that I was just very shy and quiet in the first few years of school. This reflects the common “silent” or “non-verbal” period that most successive bilingual children go through. The text calls this an observational and listening period as most children are trying to absorb the language environment that they are in. In my case, I was obsessed with watching American TV shows like Full House. My parents believe that this is how I came to learn English so quickly. I remember watching TV and not understanding what was going on, but I could still relate to the characters because they were kids like me. Eventually, I became fluent in English and my parents wanted me to take Chinese school classes! You can imagine how confusing this was for me, as they had only been speaking English in the home. At about age 9, I started attending a Mandarin language school and it was so hard for me to learn basically a new language. Mandarin is a different dialect than Cantonese and I really had trouble learning the language. I know that research on language development says that after the age of 7, it is very hard for a child to learn another language. Research also says that while infants can babble and hear sounds in all languages, they begin to lose this ability as they become exposed to one specific language.

In retrospect, it is very sad that I was not able to retain my language skills in Cantonese. Because of my experience, I try to encourage parents, who are trying to decide whether they should speak English or their home language to their child in the home, to preserve the home language. Children will learn English in school, but if they don’t have opportunities to practice their home language, they will eventually lose the ability to converse in it. It is very detrimental to family relationships because children will lose touch with family members who are non-English speaking. I have a hard time talking to my grandmother because I only know a few words in Cantonese and can only answer “yes” or “no” in our conversations. Children need to know that their culture and language are important parts of their identity and parents should try to maintain the home language in the home.