Bilingualism in childhood: advantages and possible risks

the article discusses the problem of developing bilingualism in childhood in a modern multicultural society, models of learning two languages at an early age, advantages, possible difficulties, and risks associated with the development of early bilingualism. Today, some researchers tend to assess the impact of bilingualism on the intellectual and cultural development of a person as a positive phenomenon, provided that the teaching of two languages is properly organized, at the same time, many scientists, practicing teachers and methodologists are quite wary and negative about the formation of early bilingualism, which indicates that this problem is quite complex and requires additional and comprehensive research. The review of works showed that the formation of children's bilingualism can be associated with some difficulties and problems, such as: inhibition of language and general intellectual development, speech disorders, cognitive impairment and confusion of languages. A competent organization of verbal communication with a child, a systematic and purposeful approach to learning, taking into account the psychological and age characteristics of the child, the creation of a foreign language environment (language immersion) contribute to the development and formation of a pure and balanced bilingualism of the child, which positively affects the child’s general intellectual development.

bilingualism, bilingual, monolingual, thinking, cognitive development, natural bilingualism, artificial bilingualism, pure bilingualism, balanced bilingualism, coordinative type of bilingualism, multicultural competence