Two children solving a puzzle with surreal language and brain imagery.

Unlock Your Child's Potential: How Bilingualism Shapes Communication

Beau Callahan in Mind & Education June 2025 • 5 min read.

"Discover the fascinating ways bilingualism influences children's communication skills and cognitive development. Understand the role of private speech and self-regulation in multilingual minds."

The ability to communicate effectively is a cornerstone of human interaction, and for children growing up in a multilingual world, this skill takes on an added layer of complexity. Researchers have long been intrigued by how bilingualism shapes the way children express themselves, particularly focusing on the concept of 'private speech' – those self-directed verbalizations that serve as a tool for reflection and self-regulation.

Private speech, as conceptualized by Vygotsky, is more than just talking to oneself; it's a critical mechanism for problem-solving, planning, and self-guidance. This inner dialogue helps children navigate tasks, understand their environment, and develop cognitive control. But how does this process differ in bilingual children compared to their monolingual peers? Does the presence of multiple languages enhance or complicate this internal communication?

Recent studies have begun to unravel the intricate connections between bilingualism, private speech, and communicative competence. By examining how bilingual children use private speech during referential tasks – where they must describe objects or scenes to another person – researchers are gaining valuable insights into the cognitive processes at play. These findings not only shed light on the unique challenges and advantages faced by bilingual children but also offer practical implications for educators and parents seeking to support their communicative development.

Decoding Private Speech: A Window into Bilingual Minds

Two children solving a puzzle with surreal language and brain imagery.

A groundbreaking study investigated the nuances of private speech in both bilingual and monolingual children as they engaged in a referential task. The study included 48 children, evenly split between monolingual and bilingual backgrounds, and followed them longitudinally from ages four to six. The bilingual children were further divided into two groups: those tested in their native language (moderate bilinguals) and those tested in their second language (total bilinguals). This design allowed researchers to pinpoint the specific impact of language context on private speech patterns.

The research team meticulously analyzed the children's communication, focusing on instances of 'minimum relational messages' – a specific type of fragmented speech that indicates private thought processes. These messages, which include denotation of the object and its proximity but omit the support relation, served as markers of self-regulatory behavior. By tracking the frequency and quality of these messages, the study revealed striking differences in how bilingual and monolingual children utilize private speech to navigate communicative challenges.

Key findings from the study include:

At age six, moderate bilinguals (tested in their native language) exhibited the highest levels of private speech.
Total bilinguals (tested in their second language) showed the lowest frequency of private speech.
Moderate bilinguals and monolinguals demonstrated better overall message quality compared to total bilinguals.
Increased difficulty of the task prompted more private speech across all groups.

These results paint a compelling picture of the interplay between language proficiency, cognitive load, and self-regulation. When bilingual children are able to perform the task in their dominant language, they appear to leverage private speech more effectively to organize their thoughts and produce clear, coherent messages. However, when faced with the added pressure of communicating in a second language, the cognitive demands may overwhelm their capacity for self-reflection, leading to a decrease in private speech and a decline in message quality.

Implications for Parents and Educators

This research underscores the importance of creating supportive learning environments that cater to the unique needs of bilingual children. By recognizing the crucial role of private speech in cognitive development, parents and educators can implement strategies to foster self-regulation and enhance communication skills. Encouraging children to verbalize their thoughts, providing opportunities for problem-solving in their native language, and scaffolding tasks to reduce cognitive overload are just a few ways to empower bilingual children to thrive academically and socially. Further exploration in this area promises to unlock even more effective methods for nurturing the potential of multilingual minds.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.4067/s0718-48832014000100004, Alternate LINK

Title: Habla Privada En Los Mensajes De Niñas Y Niños Bilingües Y Monolingües

Subject: Linguistics and Language

Journal: RLA. Revista de lingüística teórica y aplicada

Publisher: Universidad de Concepcion

Authors: Conchi San Martín Martínez, Humbert Boada Calbet, Maria Forns Santacana

Published: 2014-06-01

Everything You Need To Know

What exactly is 'private speech' in the context of child development, and how does the study mentioned explore its significance in bilingual children?

Private speech, according to Vygotsky's theory, is self-directed verbalizations that children use as a tool for problem-solving, planning, and self-guidance. It's an internal dialogue that helps them navigate tasks, understand their environment, and develop cognitive control. The study mentioned examines how the frequency and quality of private speech differ between monolingual and bilingual children, especially during referential tasks, to understand the cognitive processes at play. It also explores how language context impacts these patterns.

In the context of bilingual children, what's the difference between 'moderate bilinguals' and 'total bilinguals' in the research, and why is this distinction important?

The study divided bilingual children into two groups: "moderate bilinguals," who were tested in their native language, and "total bilinguals," who were tested in their second language. This distinction was crucial to pinpoint the specific impact of language context on private speech patterns and communicative competence. By comparing these two groups with monolingual children, researchers aimed to understand how varying levels of language proficiency and cognitive load affect the use of private speech as a self-regulatory tool.

What were the key findings of the study regarding the levels and quality of private speech among monolingual children, moderate bilinguals, and total bilinguals?

The study's findings indicate that at age six, "moderate bilinguals" (tested in their native language) exhibited the highest levels of private speech, while "total bilinguals" (tested in their second language) showed the lowest frequency. Furthermore, moderate bilinguals and monolinguals demonstrated better overall message quality compared to total bilinguals. Increased task difficulty prompted more private speech across all groups, highlighting its role in navigating cognitive challenges.

What are 'minimum relational messages,' and how are they used to understand children's private speech and self-regulatory behavior?

The concept of 'minimum relational messages' is a specific type of fragmented speech that indicates private thought processes. These messages, which include denotation of the object and its proximity but omit the support relation, served as markers of self-regulatory behavior in the study. By tracking the frequency and quality of these messages, researchers could assess how effectively children use private speech to organize their thoughts and navigate communicative challenges during the referential task.

What are the practical implications of the research findings for parents and educators aiming to support the communication skills and cognitive development of bilingual children?

The research highlights the importance of creating supportive learning environments that cater to the needs of bilingual children. Parents and educators can foster self-regulation and enhance communication skills by encouraging children to verbalize their thoughts, providing opportunities for problem-solving in their native language, and scaffolding tasks to reduce cognitive overload. Recognizing the role of private speech in cognitive development allows for more effective methods of nurturing the potential of multilingual minds, especially when balancing the demands of multiple languages and varying cognitive loads.