Many bilingual families want their children to speak more than one language.

Your home language is an important part of your culture, family relationships, and identity. But parents often ask questions like:

“Will speaking two languages confuse my child?”

“What if my child has a speech delay?”

“What if my child’s therapist does not speak our home language?”

“Will speaking two languages confuse my child?”

Parents sometimes worry that speaking their home language will confuse their child, especially if the child has a speech delay. However, using your home language can actually support language learning.

One reason is something researchers call “bootstrapping.”

Bootstrapping means that skills learned in one language help support learning in another language. When a child learns how communication works in one language (e.g., vocabulary, sentence structure, grammatical rules, or storytelling) they can use those skills as a foundation for learning another language.

For example:

• If a child learns the concept of “more” or any other vocabulary word in one language,
  they understand the idea even when they hear it in another language.
• If they learn how to take turns in conversation, that skill transfers across languages.

Because of this, children with speech or language impairments who are primarily exposed to another language at home often benefit from a bilingual approach to therapy, where both languages are supported.

Remember, your home language is an important part of your child’s identity, family relationships, and communication. Supporting it does not harm language development. It can strengthen it!

For more information and helpful tips, follow along in our 4 part blog series on Bilingual Language Development, written by a bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist!