Celebrating Multilingualism in Our Early Years Community

At our school, we are incredibly proud of our rich multicultural and multilingual community. We know that raising multilingual children is both a wonderful gift and, at times, a journey filled with questions and challenges. That is why it was such a pleasure to welcome Ms. Dia, a bilingual Speech and Language Therapist from FamBear with over five years of experience supporting bilingual children in both clinic and school settings.

During the parent workshop, Ms. Dia shared her expertise, practical strategies, and reassuring insights into multilingual language development. The session truly felt like a celebration of multilingualism, and a wonderful reminder that, as parents and as a school community, we are on the right path in supporting our children’s language journeys.

Key Takeaways from the Workshop

Ms. Dia began by explaining that bilingual and multilingual individuals are simply people who actively use more than one language in their daily lives. Some children learn two languages simultaneously from birth, while others develop languages sequentially, adding a new language after their first language has already been established, for example with starting here at Annabel’s.

One particularly reassuring message for families was that bilingual children follow the same overall speech and language development patterns as monolingual children. What matters most is that at least one of the child’s languages is developing in an age-appropriate way. She also reminded us that language development is about much more than vocabulary alone. It includes:

• Content - the words and meanings children understand and use

• Form - the sounds, grammar, and sentence structures they develop

• Use - how children communicate socially and interact with others

Another important point discussed was that language switching does not mean a child is confused. Mixing languages is a completely natural part of multilingual development and often reflects a child drawing on all of their linguistic resources to communicate effectively.

When looking at developmental milestones, Ms. Dia explained that multilingual children’s vocabulary should be considered across all the languages they use. As a general guide:

• By around 18 months, children may use approximately 50–100 words in total across their languages

• By 24 months, this often increases to around 200–300 words

• By 3 years old, many children are beginning to speak in 3–4 word sentences and are starting to adjust their language choice depending on who they are speaking to

The workshop also explored the stages children often move through when learning a new language, particularly when starting nursery or entering a new language environment. Many children first experience a silent period, where they listen and observe before speaking. This is often followed by the use of memorised words or phrases, before gradually progressing to generating their own original sentences. Ms. Dia reassured parents that developing peer-level competency in a new language is a long-term process and can typically take between 2–3 years.

Finally, we discussed practical ways families can support language development at home. Meaningful interaction and consistent exposure to language are key. Children thrive when they are surrounded by rich, natural language models and are given plenty of opportunities to communicate in everyday situations. Practice is far more important than perfection, and making mistakes is a normal and valuable part of the learning process.

For bilingual families, one especially comforting reminder was that parents should choose the language or languages they feel most comfortable using. Natural communication matters most, and switching between languages is absolutely okay when interactions remain authentic and meaningful.

Perhaps the most encouraging reminder of all was this: it is never too late to learn a new language.

We are so grateful to Ms. Dia for sharing her knowledge and helping us continue to nurture confident, capable multilingual learners within our community.