Parents’ Perceptions of Children’s Bi-/Multilingualism

Abstract

Nowadays, many children all over the world are raised with more than one native language. The aim of the present study was to investigate how parents/caregivers evaluate the language competences of children growing up with two or more languages from birth or from very early in life. The results indicate that the language skills of young bi-/multilinguals are generally perceived to be comparable to those of their monolingual peers, though they are typically asymmetrical. Cross-linguistic influence is a common phenomenon which does not raise parents’ concern. The outcomes also point to certain factors which may shape children’s language competences.