Questão 331963

Most children have the capacity and facility to learnmore than one language. Researchers say that thereare advantages to being bilingual. These advantagesmight include; 

• Being able to learn new words easily 

• Playing rhyming games with words like "cat"and "hat" 

• Breaking down words by sounds, such as C-ATfor cat 

• Being able to use information in new ways 

• Putting words into categories 

• Coming up with solutions to problems 

• Good listening skills 

• Connecting with others 

According to the National Center for EducationalStatistics, more than one in 5 school-aged children(21%) speak a language other than English at home.That number of bilingual speakers is projected toincrease in the coming years. 

Children who are learning to speak two languages followpatterns of learning. The sounds of the first languagecan influence how children learn and use a secondlanguage. It is easier to learn sounds and words whenthe languages you are learning are similar. Over time,the more difficult sounds and words will be learned. 

Fact: Communication disorders affect more than 42million Americans. Of these, 28 million have ahearing loss and 14 million have a speech orlanguage disorder. 

If a child _______ a speech or language problem, it________up in both languages. However, theseproblems are not caused by learning two languages. Ifyou know a child who is learning a second language andyou have concerns about speech and languagedevelopment, ASHA recommends contacting a bilingualspeech-language pathologist (SLP). If you are unable tofind a bilingual speech-language pathologist, look for aSLP who has knows the rules and structure of bothlanguages and who has access to an interpreter. Formore information or for a referral to a SLP, contactASHA at 800-638-TALK (8255) (Spanish-speakingoperators available) 

Acessado em 25/02/2015http://www.asha.org/public/speech/development/The-Advantages-of-Being-Bilingual/