Bilingualism is the ability to speak two different languages. It can be learned early, by children living in those regions where most of their elders speak two languages (e.g., Urdu and English spoken at homes). This bilingualism may also develop through learning languages in two different social settings or they can also acquire a second language in school. There were many myths like, use of more than one language with child can lead to delay in his speech or may confuse the child.
A recent research by Dr. Leher Singh and her colleagues at National University of Singapore, showed that infants raised in homes where two languages are spoken, are better learners than those raised up in homes where only one language is used. This study was conducted on 114 infants (aged 6 months); both monolingual and bilingual. Their findings suggested that there are fundamental cognitive advantages associated with early exposure to two languages. Babies who hear two languages early in their life acquire enhanced ability for handling new information, increased fluency in bilingual speech, better memorization and better recognition of new objects.
