When to start children on learning languages?

[AdamDavis14]

Definitely early. But only when they can start picking up words and stuff otherwise they might not learn a thing and it could be hard for you. But it would be hard to find a programme to keep them interested.

[Czarownica]

The earlier, the better! I personally think that a child should at least talk and read in their own language to start learning another one properly, but some people start ever earlier. I don't think trying to teach a toddler another language will get you anywhere, but children as young as 2 or 3 can start learning another language and be successful.

In general, young people are better at learning languages - that doesn't mean that it's impossible when we're older, though

[rand paul]

As soon as possible, its a lot easier than when there older.

My mother had me speaking French from an early age and its been a great help in life.

[queenbecka]

I have 3 kids ages 3, 5 and 7 :-)

We started teaching them Ukrainian right away.

My father, his sisters and my grandmother all spoke to the kids in Ukrainian whenever they interacted while they were babies.

Now that we don't see our family as much, we have developed a way of learning within the home. We started with DVD's made for kids back in 2008. Technology has moved quickly since then, though, so now my kids learn through apps and the computer. They also really like Spanish and learn that, too.

Kids are like sponges- their brains let them absorb new languages really easily! Also, starting them right off with many different languages becomes naturally to a child. They are not going to get confused because they are in learning mode- they don't even know their native language yet if you think about it.

[Guest isabbbela]

I think the earlier the better. As soon as a child learns to speak, another language can be slowly incorporated. For actual classes, starting around 5 or 6, which is when they start to learn how to write, is a good age.

[Preya_M]

I have to agree with the majority in this thread, definitely starting your child earlier would be the best. Their minds are fresh at that stage and they can pick up things faster than you would as you age. A friend of mine talks with their child in Hindi, while his wife speaks English. The child is about a year now and she can distinguish the languages quite well, I am witness to that.

[bonniea]

The earlier the better. When they are infants they need to hear one language. Once they start speaking well then you can add the second language. The most effective way seems to be to speak the lesser heard language at home. Then when they are in school (or pre-school) they will hear and learn the primary language of the area. Then they become bi-lingual from a very young age.

[rgaz83]

I also agree with (most of) the rest when they say the earlier the better. I've read before that studies have shown that a child understands/prefers his native tongue by 6 months old, if not earlier. Around 18 months, IIRC, they start to lose the ability to distinguish sounds they're not exposed to. It's not as much an issue with your intended target languages, but the earlier the better.

Many of my (English speaking) coworkers have problems with any Spanish accent while I, typically, do not. Although I am nowhere near fluent in Spanish, I credit my understanding to early exposure to the language. It also helps with other languages, as I understand most (even fairly thick) Asian accents as well. Asian-Canadian accents are still difficult, though.

[Baburra]

I was taught a second and third language as early as I could remember, and I never really had much trouble learning it, probably because I started off so young. The only advice I'd give for this is to make sure that the other languages are constantly put to use at home, since it's too easy to forget without practice, even with decades of training.

[diprod]

Hello all.  My first child was born last month and my we've been discussing how and when to start teaching her languages.  Specifically, our plan is to teach her Spanish and German.  I've read that young children can pick up a language more easily than an adult, so we have a good opportunity to help her get started.

So, to parents or teachers, when did you start introducing younger children to a non-native language?  How did you integrate this instruction in day-to-day life?  Any tools or tips we should know about?  Any pitfalls to avoid?

Any thoughts would be great.  Thanks much.

I think I will start teaching them the native language we speak at home first. Then will inject every now and then some new ones. Children's mind are that of the sponge. It's fast for them to learn.

[justusforus]

I think children are like sponges and we should take advantage of any early education where a child has a desire to learn.  I remember as a grade school child picking up my siblings high school latin books.  I was so taken by not only the language but also the refences to mythology that it was something I really wanted to read.  I "graduated" at a young age to a love of Greek and Roman mythology and the arts and I believe this had to be a youthful innocence and curiosity.

[JulesX]

The earlier you can introduce a child to other languages the better. Some people fear that this would confuse the children, but in reality it aids in the development of the brain. I do not have any kids a yet, but as a former teacher, I have been collecting multimedia learning aids over the years. As soon as my children are in the womb, they will be introduced to the different languages.

[writeletters]

By the time I was five years old, I could speak three languages fluently. It all depends on how you are going to teach your child - because if you live in a country which teaches two languages as part of its curriculum, then you can rest easy knowing that they will learn at school.

[Christina Curtin]

I would love to teach my son some Russian, I think it would great for him. The faster you start teaching them the faster they pick it up. Their brain is like a sprung they soak in everything. 

[Firelily99]

Children are amazing learners and the earlier they get started the better.  I taught American sign language to two three year old kids and they were unbelievable in how quickly they picked it up.

[lizbeth19hph]

Here in our country children learn our second language English as early as 5-6 yrs. old. Younger than those ages I think will not give their attention and absorb what they are learning for they still want to play rather than to study. I learned English in preschool about the age of 5.

[petesede]

I wouldn't stray beyond your native tongue until the child is in at least middle school.  Otherwise, they will be confused with spellings of words.  They'll mix up the proper way to spell words because they'll confuse the words from each of the languages.

I agree with this.. I am not sure I would wait until middle school, but I would definitely wait until they understand that what you are teaching them is a different language.  I would think 6-8 years old or something like that.

If they are younger than that, sure they will be able to learn words and even non-english sounds.. but it will cause a lot of problem the first few years of school if they don´t understand what they learned isn´t ´normal´ for their current environment.

[Astdua]

The younger the possible. A child's mind is amazing and can absorb a ton of information at a very rapid rate, so that should be taken advantage of. I wouldn't push my children to learn too much or have them get the grammatical part of it, but simply expose them to foreign languages and culture, be it through children's books, movies or toys, and let them get an early start on linguistics. They will thank me later.

[sidney]

I would agree that the earlier the better, after all, I'm sure you're familiar with the quote "You can't teach an old dog new tricks". I noticed that a child is more malleable when trying to learn stuff such as languages or sports as compared to adults, so the earlier they're exposed to it, the better. I think the pre-school age would be fine to start teaching them.

[Rosa]

Little ones are great mimickers so I believe the earlier you start teaching her , the better . I do suggest if you speak the languages you want to teach her then try to use them to communicate with her all the time. I understand small children are able to differenciate each language and won't get confused .

[Champollion]

The earlier the better.

The luckiest children linguistically are born to parents of different languages, because if the parents speak to the child naturally in their languages the child will grow up bilingual. It's very important for parents to preserve their languages by passing them onto their children.

In Spain the people don't speak English as well as in neighbouring Portugal for one important reason: the English films on TV are dubbed directly in Spain whereas in Portugal they have them in Original Version but with subtitles. Result... the kids have exposure to English from an early age.

[marmunmrhundun]

I think children should start learning languages at a age, that they can actually comprehend what they are doing. I would suggest teaching around the time they hit there teenage years. I think that is the first time I walked in a foreign speaking class anyway. I wouldn't want to force children to do something they don't want to do at such a young age.

[jdent5936]

I am an English teacher in Taiwan. I teach kids ranging in ages from 5 to 18. It always amazes me how much faster the little ones learn. It can be quite overbearing when trying to prepare a lesson for them. They plow through new material in what feels like a matter of seconds. They don't have the voices in their heads saying that they can't do it. I think continued practice with both languages is still essential. I met a guy last weekend who spent half of his life in Taiwan, and half in USA. Now, he feels like neither his Chinese or his English is that great.

[kilat]

Young kids are like sponges - they can soak up all kinds of things they're exposed to. Unfortunately, many of us lose this ability as we get older. I have read recent studies that conclude that being functional in two or more languages as a young child has a positive effect on brain development and improves a person's ability to process other types of complex information too.

So it appear that parents can do their children a lot of favours by letting them learn other languages at a young age. If you can bring your child up to be bilingual, that's fantastic, especially if both parents (or other people who are around a lot) speak both languages. Sending him or her to a bilingual playgroup or school can be great too, but it's always best to provide as many different situations as you can for your child to use his or her languages in - i.e. not just at school.

[Peninha]

Young kids are like sponges - they can soak up all kinds of things they're exposed to. Unfortunately, many of us lose this ability as we get older. I have read recent studies that conclude that being functional in two or more languages as a young child has a positive effect on brain development and improves a person's ability to process other types of complex information too.

So it appear that parents can do their children a lot of favours by letting them learn other languages at a young age. If you can bring your child up to be bilingual, that's fantastic, especially if both parents (or other people who are around a lot) speak both languages. Sending him or her to a bilingual playgroup or school can be great too, but it's always best to provide as many different situations as you can for your child to use his or her languages in - i.e. not just at school.

Great post kilat, you are so right, kids are like sponges and they do lose the ability to learn with age, not only languages, but everything is easier when kids are younger. Being in a bilingual atmosphere would make language learning for them something natural and easier than just study. I always try to speak English around my kids so that can start to pick up the accent and some words.