Quizz-Englisch

The conditions under which a child becomes multilingual are very different for each individual. When a child grows up in a multilingual family, it is surrounded by those multiple languages from an early age, playfully acquiring them in everyday situations, and they are a natural part of the child's life from birth. By contrast, for a child who comes to Germany from another country with a monolingual family, dealing with several languages will at first be something completely new. Furthermore, a completely different kind of multilingualism arises when a German-speaking child in Germany learns a second language at school.

There are many other factors that can influence the course of multilingual development, such as which language(s) is/are spoken in the child's circle of friends, or also the way in which the respective languages are viewed in our society.

Whenever multilingualism comes up, we should always take a close look at what is meant by it in the specific case. In that respect, professional teachers are well advised not to be guided by ideas about "multilingualism in general", but to examine the individual circumstances of each child.

True!

Have you ever wondered how it is that children learn to effortlessly speak a language in their initial years of life, even though it is very time-consuming and complicated to understand the grammar of a language and to learn vocabulary? Older children and adults have to painstakingly practise all of that in language lessons. Young children, on the other hand, are not yet in a position to think about abstract grammar rules, and yet they acquire them: they have the innate ability to acquire language(s) intuitively, playfully, almost all by themselves and, consequently, without effort. Contrary to what adults might assume, becoming multilingual is therefore not too demanding for young children. On the contrary, they benefit from the ease of language acquisition in childhood and can acquire several languages at the same time without difficulty.

However, it can be difficult if the multilingual conditions under which a child grows up are unfavourable, e.g., if his or her languages face rejection in the environment or in the nursery/at school.

Not true!

The pace at which children acquire language(s) varies greatly from child to child. Some children are already very talkative at the age of two and have quite a large vocabulary, while others are just beginning to speak at that time. Some children primarily just listen for a long time, and then directly begin formulating long sentences. Others begin expressing themselves very early in one- and two-word sentences. Many children start with the acquisition of terms such as "ball", "car", "play", while some focus first on more complex concepts, e.g., "further", "again", or even "I" — and, of course, they need more time for that.

Children follow their own individual pace and their very personal preferences in terms of language acquisition — and that is completely independent of whether or not they grow up with one language or multiple languages!

True!

In their first few years of life, multilingual children will not yet have an equivalent in the other language for every word, because the time it takes for them to acquire language will be spread over more than one language. Children will have a multilingual vocabulary and will often mix their languages unconsciously: they will use the word that comes to their mind first, i.e., the one that is more strongly associated with an object for them, or simply the word they find more appealing. With increasing language experience and growing language competence, children will learn to separate their languages from each other when they need to — for example, when talking to a monolingual person.

However, mixing languages is also a characteristic of how people experience multilingualism beyond childhood.

True!

Imagine that you are a carpenter, which means you are also multilingual, because you not only know everyday German but also a carpenter's professional German terminology. However, you cannot use these technical terms in conversation with your friend — he would not understand those terms. If you want to tell him about a job, you have to paraphrase those terms for him. That is possible, of course, but it is somewhat tedious and also unsatisfactory for you, because you cannot precisely get across what you mean.

Multilingual people face a similar situation when in conversation with monolingual people, because they can only use part of their linguistic repertoire. By contrast, when they are with other multilingual people who speak the same languages as they do, they can draw on their full range without any restrictions, and straightforwardly use the words that are most appropriate — or simply the ones that are most appealing to them personally! In other words, in situations like that, mixing languages is something quite natural. Such situations show that the languages of a multilingual person are in relation with each other, influence and complement each other, and together result in his or her personal language competence.

Incidentally, we all mix our languages in everyday life, often without realising it. As German speakers, we may sit at the "computer" in the morning, "chat" for a while, and buy ourselves a "doner kebab" during lunch break – and we do not need to search for the literal German translations of those terms.

Not true!

Children need extensive and varied contact with the German language to acquire good German skills. That does not mean, however, that their first languages should be left out of the nursery or at school — quite the opposite! The language (or languages) that a child acquires in its initial years of life is inseparably linked to its entire early childhood development: during that time, the child enters into its first relationships, begins to communicate needs and thoughts, names things and actions, and develops its personality. For a child growing up speaking German, it is a matter of course for these processes to be constantly pursued in the nursery and at school — in his or her own language. The situation is different for multilingual (or non-German-speaking) children: their language skills are now reduced to the German language, or completely replaced by it. As a result, they often experience their entry into the nursery as a significant break in their language acquisition, and thus in their entire development so far.

In that sense, the education system plays a central role in multilingual development. Are multilingual children being dealt with sensitively in that situation? Are their languages being reflected in the institution? Are they being supported and encouraged there? Only in that way can multilingual children develop well — not at the expense of, but in combination with their initial languages.

True!

Language serves to shape the parent-child relationship, express emotions, and accompany the child on its way into the world. Parents can best do that in the language they themselves know confidently, in which they feel most comfortable, and in which they are able to speak spontaneously. Authentic and intimate communication is the best basis for the child's overall development, and thus is much more valuable than — well-intentioned — early instruction in German. And what mother and father would want to speak with their child in a language that leads to them coming up against their linguistic limits, which is not the language that is close to their hearts?

Both are true!

For a long time, parents have been advised to focus on one language as consistently as possible. And, indeed, if a Greek mother consistently speaks Greek with her child in Germany, that language will take on great significance for the child — after all, there is no other language it can speak with its mother!

However, most parents find that it is sometimes difficult to be consistent in everyday family life. This idea of being consistent also contradicts the dynamics of lived multilingualism: the languages relate to each other "within" the person, and the person's linguistic competence consists of several languages, not just one. Taking that into consideration, if the Greek mother now begins to frequently speak German, the child will soon ask itself: why should I speak Greek with my mother at all?

This makes it clear that parents need to find their own personal path between consistency and practising multilingualism, and need to ask themselves: what do I want for my child's linguistic development, and what do we as parents feel conformable with?

It is important for parents not to put themselves and their children under pressure, and instead to retain the joy of using and conveying languages. Additionally, multilingual development and education is an ongoing process: decisions that have been made will change over time — that is also part of practising multilingualism.

True: children acquire languages best when they can use them

True: relaxed parents who approach multilingualism with a positive attitude in the child's environment will support the child in his or her multilingual development.

Not true: on the contrary, the earlier children come into contact with any language, the more they will benefit from the ease of early childhood language learning processes.

True: because children adopt the language(s) of their caregivers. Being a good language role model also means taking pleasure in speaking, taking time for conversations, thinking about language(s) together — and, in general, giving language(s) an important place in everyday life. Multilingual people can take a lively approach to multilingualism with their child, as well as conveying a positive attitude.

True: children are not initially interested in language as such, but instead wonder what they can do with it: communicate with people who are important to them, listen to fun stories, satisfy their wishes and needs, make friends, etc.

Not true: because that approach does not correspond to the child's processes of acquiring language. Their interest in language as a system is limited, and the younger they are, the less able they are to concentrate on those aspects of an utterance that are, for example, grammatical as opposed to those that relate to its content.

True: many different factors have an influence on how a person's multilingual development progresses, on what meaning the individual languages have for them, and on how well they speak them. All this can change several times in the course of a person's life — multilingual development is a dynamic process that never ends.