Code-switching, what to do, when should I worry?

This is one of the questions I get asked frequently:

When should I worry when my children do code-switching?

Code-switching

First of all, the term code-switching is widely used as an umbrella term for using different languages in the same sentence, alternating them to some extent. It is not to be confused with borrowing, where a language is integrated into the other.

Code-switching can involve a word, a phrase or a sentence and there is always a base language or matrix language. 

“Code switching is not a haphazard behavior due to some form of semilingualism but it is a well-goverend process used as a communicative stratagem to convey linguistic and social information”.  (Grosjean 2013)

The reasons for code-switching are many: using the right word or expression, filling a linguistic need, marking group identity, excluding or including someone, raising our status etc. – Please find a more detailed explanation of code-switching and code-mixing here.

Code-mixing

Code-mixing, on the other hand, is a stage of bilingual language acquisition. Bilingual children naturally mix their languages, i.e. they can use both languages in a single sentence.

It is not a sign that the child is not learning the languages properly, on the contrary, it is a sign that the child is acquiring those languages in a quite systematic way!

With mixing the languages, the child proves to naturally find interchangeable elements of the sentence.

I like to compare this code-mixing to playing with lego. When our children are exposed to multiple languages, it is like each person gives them with lego pieces of different shapes: you can imagine that each shape has a different function, like one for verbs, one for nouns, for adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, articles etc. Each language then represents a different language. Our children then end up with a box full of lego in different colors.

If the child wants or needs to to build a house – i.e. to form a sentence – they can choose to build a very colorful house, or build a house with one color only.

The house in one color stands for a monolingual sentence or conversation and the colorful house indicates a sentence or conversation where the child uses multiple languages. 

Many parents fear that by mixing the languages our children will never really learn to speak one of the languages correctly, but this usually is not true.

At what point should we worry when our child mixes the languages?

There are a few situations when we should observe our child’s code-mixing a bit closer.

• When our child is learning the language in a formal setting for several months already, and receives formal instruction in it, i.e. support by educators and trained teachers, but keeps on code-mixing on a syntactical and morphological level in a way that the produced sentences sound “off” and can not be explained or justified by the syntax or morphological structure of the other language.

• If our child using the syntax structure of language B while speaking in language Aconsistently, even when not tired, and when given the time to articulate at his/her own pace.

I know by experience that this kind of code-mixing can be frustrating, and it could be only a phase, so, try to find out possible reasons for the code-mixing. 

Our children can produce this kind of sentences when they are tired, or when they just switched from talking in the other language (B) and are now transitioning to talk in language A.

Whenever the communication becomes frustrating and almost impossible because its meaning is inintelligible for the participants, it is better to ask a professional to look into it. Preferably one who has knowledge of all the languages involved.

My first advice is always to find answers to the following questions:

• What makes the child struggle to form a grammatically correct sentence?
• Is it the situation, the topic, the person that interacts with my child?
• How is the person communicating with my child using the language, or languages?
• Is my child given enough time to think about what to say or respond?
• Does my child even understand what the other person is saying?

It obviously also depends on the child’s age and stage of multilingual language acquisition, the situation (formal, non formal, at school, with people the child knows, with peers etc.), the topic (if it is a familiar topic or not), and if the child is tired or stressed for any reason etc.

First step:
Slow down the pace of the conversation.

Second step:
Give the child time to (re)formulate the sentence in a way that you or other participants of the conversation can understand it.

Third step:
Ask open questions to clarify the meaning.

Fourth step:
If the child doesn’t have the required fluency in the target language yet, bridge between the languages the child knows. There are several techniques that have proven to be effective.

Try to avoid any kind of pressure and make the child feel comfortable in expressig him/herself in any possible way. If necessary, with drawings or gestures. This has proven to be motivating for children who are emergent users of the new language – i.e. who are learning the new language as additional language.

If you have any question about this topic or if you would like to discuss a personal issue, please don’t hesitate to book a consultation with me.

I invite you to also watch my videos about Code-mixing and Code-switching, Mixing languages with your toddler and The Paradox of raising multilinguals: