Descripción:
This article deals with main issues concerning bilingualism and bilingual first language acquisition (BFLA). A review of the literature is presented on how children learn languages. In addition, this paper summarizes what bilingualism is and addresses how the One-parent One-language (OPOL) and the Minority Language at Home (ML@H) methods work. The paper includes sample testimonies of Itzel, a three-year-old child, raised with these methods. It also illustrates samples of her code-switching and code-mixing as part of her evolution in bilingual first language acquisition. Based on this evolution, there is some evidence that a child can become bilingual under foreign language conditions. Finally, the article reflects on the decisive role that dedication, consistency and effort have as crucial components to accomplish BFLA.