November 21, 2025
When a child is showing language delays I frequently get asked these two questions:
“Should I speak my native language to my child or just speak English?”
“Does speaking two languages cause language delays?”
I work with families who come from all over the world, so many are bilingual. My bilingual families often ask me if speaking two languages is confusing to their child. The answer is: No! Speaking two languages does not cause language problems; I encourage families to speak their native language. A parent’s native language is rich in vocabulary and grammar, which is the best model for a child’s language learning.
There are times when it can be difficult to distinguish between a language difference vs. an actual language disorder. Thankfully there is research to help guide our decisions as clinicians and provide the most support and accurate diagnosis. It is important to point out that difficulties in comprehension and communication must be present in both languages for a bilingual child.
For example, a colleague shared a story where the school said a Spanish speaking child had a language disorder. However, they were referring to the child’s lack of progress in English. The parent then provided an extensive email with a language sample of their child’s Spanish language. Since there were no delays in the child’s home language, the result was that he had no actual language disorder.
Here are helpful ways to consider when addressing bilingualism:
Language learning:
When looking at the difference between a language difference versus a language disorder in bilingual students, it is important to look at proficiency in each language and to consider a child’s capability for learning a language (Jacobson & Yu, 2018). How does both the school and the family feel about a child’s capacity for learning new skills?
Parent interview:
In addition, when evaluating a student who comes from a bilingual background, the parent interview is considered a key component in the determination of a language difference versus a language disorder (leadersproject.org). How does the family feel about their child’s understanding and speaking in both languages? Does the child have siblings or cousins they can compare skill levels?
Experience and exposure:
A child’s experience and exposure to English and Spanish throughout his day should be at least 40% for each language. Exposure to both languages when greater than 40% indicates an adequate amount of time for a child to acquire English language like a monolingual English speaker in both understanding and speaking. (Hoff et al. 2012). Is the child getting enough experience and exposure to both languages?
If you have any questions regarding today’s post, please feel free to contact me! I’ll be more than happy to help.