Questions & Answers about Bilingual Program

What are the advantages of my child becoming bilingual ? How important is it that the child's two languages are practiced and supported outside the home ? Should my child learn to read in one language first ? How early do bilingual children recognize that they have two languages ? Will my child become equally fluent in two languages ? Is it better to develop two languages together or one language later than the other ? Will learning a second language interfere with development in the first language ? What effect will bilingualism have on my child's intelligence ? Will my child learn two languages only half as well as a monolingual child ? When should a child begin to read in a second language ? Are there positive effects of learning through the medium of two languages ? What should I look out for in choosing a school for my bilingual child ? Do some children find it easier than others to become bilingual ? Is it easier to become bilingual as a young child ? Should my child use two languages with the same person ? My children get little practice in speaking one of their languages outside the family. What should I do ? What are the most important factors in raising a bilingual child ? Will my child's thinking be affected by being bilingual ? My second language is not perfect. Should I speak it to my child ? Should Science and Mathematics be taught in an international language such as English ? Is the mother more important than the father in the child's language development ? What happens if parents don't agree that their children should become bilingual ? My child mixes the two languages. What should I do ? My child refuses to use one of his / her languages. What should I do ? How should I help my child to read and write in both languages ? My child seems slow in learning to read. Is this due to bilingualism ? Will my child find it hard to write in two different languages ? My child has problems with spelling. Is this due to bilingualism ? Should my child keep the two languages separate in different situations and with different people (e.g. visitors) ? What happens if grandparents and the extended family disapprove of bilingualism ? I'm a one-parent family. How can I raise my child bilingually ? If we raise our child to be bilingual, will it affect our marriage ? My teenage child is speaking the majority language more and more. What can I do ? Neither of us speaks a second language. How can we help our child become bilingual ? My child stutters. Is this caused by bilingualism. My neighbors think we should integrate more which means using a different language from the home. Should we keep separate or integrate ? What should our language strategy be with an adopted child ? My child has a specific diagnosed problem (e.g. learning difficulty, language disorder, emotional problem). Should we change to speaking one language to the child rather than two languages ? The balance of my child's two languages seems to be shifting. How can I ensure one language doesn't disappear? How do I know my child's language development in each language is normal and acceptable ? Will bilingualism have any adverse effect on my child's personality ? Will bilingualism have any adverse effect on my child's friendships and social development ? My child seems to have an emotional / behavioral problem. Is this caused by bilingualism ? Will my bilingual children have a problem of identity with two different cultures ? Are there any benefits if my child has less well-developed second language ? When will my bilingual child be able to interpret and translate from one language to another ? Can music and drama help my child's bilingual development ? What are the disadvantages of my child becoming bilingual ? Does bilingualism have an effect on the functioning of the bain ? Will learning to read in a second language interfere with reading in the first language ? If the two languages have different scripts, will learning to read and write be a problem ? I'm a recent in-migrant to a country. Should I stop speaking my native language and switch to the first language of that country ? People make fun of our speaking a minority language. How should I react ? People around me are prejudiced and racist. Should we as a family switch to speaking only the majority language? How important are employment prospects to preserve my child's languages into adulthood ? My child seems to be underachieving at school. Is this because of bilingualism ? What kind of education should I give my child if we regularly move to different countries ? Is there a critical age when children shouldn't be moved to a school with a different language pattern in the curriculum ? A local professional (e.g.a doctor, psychologist, speech therapist, teacher) advised me against bilingualism. Is this correct ? Which approach to teaching reading works best ? The 'look and say', 'phonics', 'whole language' or what approach ?