8.8: Bilingual Children and Codeswitching

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Dual Language Learners

Dual language learners (DLLs) are children under the age of five who have at least one parent or guardian who speaks a language other than English at home and are mastering their native language proficiency while learning English simultaneously. The population of dual language learners (DLLs) is growing rapidly. 62 percent of DLLs are Hispanic, 16 percent are White, 15 percent are Asian, and 16 percent are Black. Spanish is by far the most prevalent language spoken in DLLs households and is spoken by 60 percent of parents of DLLs (Park, Zong, and Batalova, 2018). DLLs are significantly more likely to live in poverty with 31 percent of DLLs living in families with incomes below the poverty line. In comparison, 22 percent of non DLLs live in families below the poverty line. DLL parents are likely to have lower academic attainment with 26 percent holding less than a high school diploma. Overall, 77 percent of DLLs are likely to have a better two parent family structure which can lead to having more access to resources for child care and supervision. While DLLs usually have a family structure of two parents, 24 percent of DLLs live in linguistically isolated households and have limited English proficiency. In this case, all members of the family speak English less than well, which leads to having limited resources to educational, medical and other critical services (Park, Zong, and Batalova, 2018).

Dual language learners learn and develop differently than monolingual children. Cognitively, bilingual children may process things differently which has an influence on how they problem solve and learn language and literacy skills. It is not surprising that the linguistic development of bilingual children is different from that of their monolingual peers, but increasing evidence shows that nonverbal cognitive development is also affected by bilingualism. Linguistic tasks are often performed more poorly by bilingual children than monolinguals, especially assessments of vocabulary (Barac & Bialystok, 2012). Some studies suggest that bilingual advantage was due to socioeconomic differences between bilingual and monolingual child. There is no doubt that socioeconomic status (SES) is a powerful influence on executive control, but it does not undermine the body of literature for which bilingual advantages have been recorded (Barac & Bialystok, 2012).

3 boys sitting at a table fiddling with loose materials. — Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Three children tinker with small objects. (CC BY-SA 2.0; Bakken Museum via Minneapolis2040)

Code Switching

Children who are bilingual or dual language learners who are able to converse entirely in one or the other of the two languages they speak often switch back and forth between the two languages. An example would be “I put the forks en las mesas”, meaning, “I put the forks on the tables” (Woolford (1983). This is an example of code switching.

In speech development of multilingual children, not only two or more linguistic forms are acquired, but also the socialization to the rules and expectations that accompany the usage of those languages (Klapicova, 2017). Children are developing through language, and social rules. Socialization can be viewed as the learning of given social rules through which social structures are reproduced, and as the acquisition of the motivation to practice these structures in role performance (Klapicova, 2017). Code switching for bilingual and multilingual learners is the result of developing language and maneuvering through social rules. The child is seen as beginning life as a social being within already defined social network; through the growth of communication and language, the child, in interaction with others constructs a social world and it is through these verbal and communicative processes as conversational exchanges that social action itself is constituted (Klapicova, 2017). Code switching is used by its speakers to communicate,for social purposes, and even as a form of cultural capital as discussed in the theories section (Spears, 2015).

Below is an example of codeswitching.

Paul, Delaney, Paul's mother and Paul's father going to visit Paul and Stephanie's grandparents and pick up Stephanie, who spent the afternoon there. Paul's father is trying to park the car in front of the grandparents' house.

Paul's father (to Paul): "Mozeme tuto zaparkovat? Zmestime sa tu?" (Can we park here? Shall we fit in here?)

Paul (to his father): Ano, zmestime sa." (Yes, we'll fit in here.)

Paul (to Delaney): Grandma!

Delaney: That's where Stevka is?"

Paul: No, grandma.

While commenting on the parking space with his father, Paul made sure Delaney did not feel left out from the conversation and even though he did not translate what the matter he and his father were discussing was, he found a different topic to talk about with Delaney: who the house they stopped at belonged to. As Delaney assumed that's where Stephanie had spent the day, she asked Paul whether that was the case. However, in that moment, Paul found it relevant to emphasize that was where the grandmother was, not his sister (Klapicova, 2017).

The idea of code switching has developed in to a broad concept that impacts many minorities socially and psychologically. Code-switching involves adjusting one’s style of speech, appearance, behavior, and expression in ways that will make others feel more comfortable in exchange for fair treatment, quality service, and employment opportunities. For an example: When a Black person is with their friends, they may speak more comfortably using informal language and body language, but when in the presence of a White officer, they may code switch in to a more formal English language as a survival instinct. Studies points to code switching being used frequently in the workplace which is a sign of a lack of equity and inclusion. While more in-depth studies are needed to expand the theory of cultural code switching, studies point to many minorities being impacted by this growing idea.

References

Barac, R., & Bialystok, E. (2012). Bilingual Effects on Cognitive and Linguistic Development: Role of Language, Cultural Background, and Education. Child Development, 83(2), 413–422.

Klapicova, E. H. (2017). Social Aspects of Code-switching In Bilingual Children. SKASE Journal of Theoretical Linguistics 14(2)

Park, M., Zong, J., and Batalova, J. (2018). Growing Superdiversity Among Young U.S. Dual Language Learners and It’s Implications. Migration Policy Institute

Woolford, E. (1983). Bilingual Code-Switching and Syntactic Theory. Linguistic Inquiry, 14(3), 520–536.

Attributions

Schull, C. P., La Croix, L., Miller, S. E., Austin, K. S., & Kidd, J. K. (n.d.). Early Childhood Literacy: Engaging and Empowering Emergent Readers and Writers, Birth – Age 5. The Virtual Library of Virginia.