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Expert Q&A
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| By Mindy Hudon Speech and Language Pathologist | ||
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We have spoken three languages to our 20-month-old daughter. I speak Russian to her, my husband speaks to her in Urdu (official language of Pakistan) only, with each other (my husband and I) we communicate in English. Our daughter seems to perfectly understand all three languages, but reluctant to speak, besides few words, which she says in Russian. Maybe it's too early to be concerned and I do understand that she needs a bit more time, than children from one-language home, but I would like to receive your advise about how to decrease her confusion and to help her to start speaking on time.
I commend you on providing your child with a unique opportunity. I think that you are approaching this task thoroughly and have a good plan in place. I think that you are right that your child needs time to process all this information. Often children go through a "silent" phase while learning multi-languages. Imagine all the language learning her little brain is absorbing. See the American Speech-Language-Hearing Associations information on learning two languages here.
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