Challenges of a bilingual brain. Is it easy to be bilingual?

At the World of Love, we asked bilingual children whether they see any disadvantages of speaking more than one language.

[rosydao]

Especially when the concept in other language doesn't make sense in English. It's not even just the code switching 😂 it's a whole mindset to explain. I speak English and Chinese... These two mentalities of languages are so different.

[z.a.]

One time, I wanted to say "ship" in Russian (my native language), and in Russian it is "лодка" (lodka), and it came out like "shipka" 🙃

[BahKnee]

I'm not bilingual, but I got confused in French class one time. "Une morceau de gateau." For some reason, I kept thinking of the Spanish word "gato" and I was really confused why someone was eating a piece of cat.

[linn]

i speak four languages and i swear to god i’m a different person in each one of them. spanish me is all dorky, french me is sophisticated, english me is the academic me and my mother tongue me is depressed.

[priusa]

My daughter is trilingual: Portuguese, Arabic and English. We love it and so does she:)

[carlottacoccia]

Trilingual here in Italian Spanish and English and I get it. Sometimes in the middle of a Frase I mix words 😂

[spiderliliez]

The most frustrating thing actually is, there are words in my language that doesn't have an English equivalent. Hahahhaa.. so I'm forced to say it sometimes and then explain what it means in English. But yeah, I know what the kids are saying. Being bilingual/trilingual is actually great for me. Just sometimes your brain gets these hiccups you say words for a different language other than English, ahhahaha.

[simsimme]

When there are certain idioms in one language that sound ridiculous in another 🤦

[katrinastewart]

I grew up bilingual in English and Dutch and could (still can) switch languages without thinking. In my teens I started to use my mother’s language, Norwegian, as well, in addition to learning French and German at school. I got quite fluent in Norwegian and German but I couldn’t ‘just switch’ between those two! While working as a tour guide in Norway around the age of twenty I did tours in Dutch, English and German and spoke to my colleagues in Norwegian. However, if I was in the middle of a German tour I could not reply to questions from Norwegian colleagues and before a German tour I had to ‘switch’ my brain to German. This was new to me as I had always been able to switch between English, Dutch and Norwegian without thinking.

[nini]

Bilingual as well haha, I know the feeling

[D_ins]

The way almost everyone in europe is bilingual lmao

[bellfitsu]

aw this was a great video! i love the second boys enthusiasm with wanting to teach his friends his language

[arielhluv]

I speak English, but I am somewhat good In Japanese and I am learning Korean. I wouldn't say I'm bilingual yet cause there is still a lot for me to learn but I know how to introduce my self and ask for things and stuff like that and I know how to do a basic conversation but that's about it.

[whatthehellisthisname]

I wish I knew more than 2 languages fluently. My native language is German, second language obviously English. I‘m enough interested in Spanish to have studied some of the basics, but I‘m struggling to get beyond there anymore. I gave up on Japanese when I got too overwhelmed from memorising the kanjis, so I guess romance and germanic languages are - if I were to study more - easier for me, since knowing German I have an easier understanding of the feel and structure of germanic languages and English borrows a lot terms from romance languages, so I kinda get a feel for that as well. If only adults could still learn and experience like children.

[marblesyeah]

I'm teaching kindergarten at an international school and 6 out of my 7 students know two languages (or more.) It has been so fun to see them learn English and yet play together even if they don't speak the same language.

[angonxd]

In Luxembourg we learn 4 languages at school and I speak 5 fluently. What happens then is that I start speaking in 5 languages with my brother at the same time. I try not to do it now because it has become a bad habit.

[yantiherni]

i can speak british, american, canadian and australian

[newbestofthis]

It is hard to be bilingual but you get used to it to the point these difficulties is part of your day and we never notice it and never ruin the day

[sunflowergarden]

This is so trueee. I speak Spanish and I have been studying English for 16 years. My parents always laugh when I use both languages to express myself. Finally someone understands the struggle

[Leyla-pqfe]

I remember when I was talking w my American friend I said “tilki” which means fox in Turkish and the funny part is that I pronounced it like it was an English word😂 she didn’t understand why I was laughing afterwards, i had to explain it to her lol