The Eclectic Female: Lifestyle Blog For Women

There are many children today that are learning two languages as they grow up.  This can be the result of living in a home that is bilingual, or there could be relatives that don’t live with the child, but are teaching the child their language.  However, more often than not, parents are taking it upon themselves to teach their young children another language either from coaching at home or by enrolling their children in a preschool that teaches an additional language.  Although all of these methods are effective, which teaching avenue is the best for teaching a young child a second language?

The truth of the matter is that they all are.  No matter which way a young child learns a second language, the point is that they learn, and they learn more easily than they will as adults.  There are some things you can do, however, to help your child learn faster and more thoroughly.

If your child is already immersed in a bilingual culture, all the better.  Immersion is one of the best ways for anyone – whether a child or an adult – to learn a second language.  Not only will they get the benefit of learning another culture and some of its traditions, they’ll pick up on the conversational speech within the home.  This will help in both languages and they’ll be able to instinctively understand things like grammar and pronunciation techniques without long lessons.  This will normally happen without specific teachings, as children often mimic what they hear.  As long as proper grammar and pronunciation is used frequently within the household, there should be very little problem with the basic words and phrases.  Of course, as the child gets older, there will be a need for more structured grammar, spelling, and pronunciation lessons.

However, if your household is not bilingual, you’ll have to find other ways to expose your children to another language.  There are some great software suites available nowadays that are geared towards young children learning a second language.  Many of these have different learning programs and levels of difficulty, so your child can continue to use them as they get older.  These programs typically combine fun games with learning tools to maximize the time spent in front of the computer. 

There are also great shows on television that help promote a second language.  Most are geared towards children who are learning both Spanish and English.  Shows like Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer and Blues Clues teach Spanish words and phrases, and while these aren’t complete lessons of course, ever little bit of learning will help.  If your children enjoy these programs, they may be interested in pursuing more formal language education as they grow older.

Teaching a young child a second language may not be as hard as you think.  Children are naturally eager to learn and eventually they’ll realize that another language is a good thing to know.  It takes time to become fluent, but it’s much easier to learn as a child than as an adult.  Take the time now to teach your child while they’re still small – they’ll appreciate it later on.