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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]DS got into a great preschool starting in August. It's outdoor play based and in a nature center for 3 days a week. All of his little friends will be going as well. The only problem is that he's on the very low end for speech (around 40-50 words max) and still doesn't seem close to combining 2 words, which we were going to bring up at his 2 year checkup in October. This school is French and Spanish immersion. I'm torn now about sending him since I worry that'll slow down his language even more. We already speak Russian and English at home. Should I hold him back one more year and just focus on allowing his language to develop? [/quote]

Young children aren't confused by multiple languages *in general*.  If your particular child has language delays, that's something else, but for a neurotypical child that would not be an issue.  Multiple languages DO cause smaller vocabularies in EACH language but that works itself out in time.

We speak Arabic and Russian at home, sent DS for a time to a bilingual English/Russian preschool since 16 months, and he had no difficulty picking up English and switching between three languages effortlessly depending on circumstances.

So the answer to your question is no, multiple languages will not slow down your son's language; if he is slow with acquiring words, then it's not because of multiple languages.  *In general*, being around other children and caregivers stimulates language development.

I am curious about the French/Spanish immersion. How exactly does this work out? French one day and Spanish the next day? You should make sure that you and the school mean the same things by "immersion".  So many times preschools bandy about the word immersion about when what they mean is "presence of another language." A true immersion program means all language all the time. [/quote]

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