The types of bilingualism, explained

All roads lead to Rome, but it doesn’t mean all roads are similar. This is also true for bilingualism, as there are multiple paths a bilingual person can have taken. In this blog I will tell you the two main roads to follow. There is some overlap and extra paths, which I will also discuss.

The view on bilingualism that I will portray here, is based on timing. It’s pretty straightforward and doesn’t leave much to debate, apart from when exactly one part stops and the other starts. So let’s discuss the different types of bilingualism!

1. Simultaneous: In this version the child learns all languages simultaneously, so at the same time, from birth. All those languages will be called native languages or mother tongues. There is no first or second language, although often people have a preferred or “dominant” language. This can happen when children hear more of one language than the other. Switches in this dominance can also happen over time, for example when children go to school and suddenly hear a lot more of the other language. Still, both languages are considered their mother-tongue.

2. Sequential (or also successive): As the simultaneous bilingual learns all his languages at the same time, the sequential bilingual learns his languages in sequence, so one after the other. This is often seen when children learn one language at home and are introduced to the second language in school, or in other circumstances such as moving to another country. In this situation, the children are often perceived to have only one native language. Sequential bilinguals can be further divided between early sequential and late sequential.

2a. Early sequential: This form is meant for young children that do not learn their languages simultaneously, but are exposed to their second language at a very young age. Because they already have a certain base in the first language, these children often skip the pre-linguistic* stage (before the first words, eg babbling) in the second language. The earlier the second language is introduced, the easier it is for the child to learn the language. Most of the benefits that simultaneous bilingualism entails, also apply to early sequential learners and some people consider both languages to be native languages.
2b. Late sequential: This form is meant for older children and adults who are introduced to a second (or third or fourth etc..) language later in life. The first language has already been fully developed and the “critical age” of language development has been passed. Only the first language is considered to be the native language, all others are considered second languages.

So what happens to a child that isn’t exposed to multiple language since exactly day one, but a few months later? I assume almost everyone will say the child is still learning his languages simultaneously. But what about a year or even several years later? When is this cut-off line between simultaneous and (early) sequential? Here’s where things get tough. While researchers do agree on the definitions, there is no real consensus on when one stops and the other starts. I will try to explain the different views on this per possible cut-off point.
1 year: A lot of researchers state the one-year mark as a cutoff between simultaneous and sequential. This is because by this age, the child will have started saying his first words and has finished the pre-linguistic* stage of the development.

3 years: At roughly three years, children have achieved a significant level of proficiency in their language(s) as the next (early-linguistic*) stage of the development has been completed. They can e.g. form basic sentences.
4 years: Around this age, children (in the Netherlands at least) start their first year of primary school. For this reason, a cut-off line at this age seams very logical as many sequential bilinguals are introduced to their second language at school.

6 years: At roughly six years, the language development of a child has been completed. Although every person continues to learn more words and expressions etc, the grammatical and linguistic stages of language development have been concluded.

The graph below shows the three main theories on how to divide the different forms.

Hopefully this still makes some sense and didn’t confuse you too much. The division we use the most in the Netherlands, is the middle one. Here, simultaneous is from birth up to 3 years, the early sequential from 3 to 6 years and the late sequential from 6 years on. Even though the cut-off lines and divisions are not set in stone, most researchers do agree on one thing. This is that the earlier children are exposed to the second language, the better and easier it will be for them.

Thank you for reading this blog and see you next time!

*The pre-linguistic and early-linguistic stages are two of the stages in language development. In a later post I will talk about all these stages.

Originally published at https://intentionallybilingual.weebly.com.