My child “mixes” the two languages in the same sentence: should I worry?

This is a question which many parents whose children learn French and English at the same time ask themselves.

Mixing languages (or “code switching”)  is a normal stage of bilingual development that will decrease with age, as the child begins to differentiate between the two sets of language-specific rules and enriches his/her vocabulary.

Keep in mind two important concepts: the vocabulary understood (receptive), and the vocabulary produced (expressive). Children understand more words that they can produce.

At the age of two, a child understands at least 200 words. He must learn that “jus” and “juice” mean the same thing in different languages. The code switching “Juice, maman, juice” will result in “Du jus, maman, du jus” when the French equivalent of “juice” is acquired. Parents can help their child to eliminate this kind of code switching by enriching their vocabulary.

In adolescence and adulthood, code switching represents between 2 and 4% of language production. Code switching can be a sign of…

• a rebellion against an authority (teacher who told a student: "Speak French!" and the student who answers "It's not nine o'clock yet, monsieur!");
• a cultural affirmation (“Bonjour! My name is...”);
• an announcement that we are bilingual (“Bonjour! My name is...”);
• using a term in the other language to not interrupt the flow of the conversation (“Je ne suis pas prête and at the rate I’m going je vais être en retard”).

Find out more information about this question and many others, as well as advice and strategies to support your child’s bilingual language development on our 1 enfant, 2 langues website (available in French and in English).