
A bilingual person uses two or more languages in their everyday conversations.
Many children learn their first language at home and begin learning English when they start nursery.
Some families speak two or more languages at home.
BBC Tiny Happy People have developed information and short videos about Bilingualism:
Bilingualism — Your questions answered
Resources to support children learning more than one language including Bilingual Quick Tips in 19 languages and Time Together booklet please click:
Multilingualism in the early years and Time Together Booklet
Download our leaflet:
There is no evidence to show that children will be slow to talk if they are learning more than one language. In fact, a lot of research shows that having more than one language is an advantage.
If your child doesn’t speak English at home, when they start at nursery they may have a ‘quiet’ few months where they are listening and learning English before starting to speak it.
It is normal for bilingual children to mix languages when they talk. People often use the word that they think of first. This could be your home language or English.
There is no difference in the long term if a child learns one language, then another or if the child learns two at the same time. The important thing is they have enough exposure to all languages they are learning.