Second Language For Your Baby

It is generally agreed that teaching a child a second language gives him an invaluable skill, and may help him to think in different ways, possibly even improving his future academic performance in other areas. If the language is one that some of his relatives  speak, it also gives him a significant link with his roots.

So when is the best time to start introducing your baby to a second language? Most experts suggest beginning as soon as a baby is born so that the second language is “acquired” along with the first, not “learned”, as it would be when introduced later. Others recommended waiting until a child is two and a half or three before putting in the Berlitz.

Whether you start now or in a couple of years , there are several approaches to to encouraging your baby to pick up a second language. One parent can speak English and the other the foreign tongue, or both parents can speak the foreign language  (with the expectation your child will pick up English in school and elsewhere). When a grand parent or sitter speaks the foreign language and the parents English it is usually the least successful of the methods. None of the methods of teaching a second language is successful if the “teacher” isn’t fluent in the language.

Experts recommend not to “give lessons in” a second language and instead immerse you child in it – play games in it, read books in it, listen to CDs and watch DVDs in it, visit with friends who are fluent in it, and, if possible, visit places where the language is spoken.

Whoever is speaking a second language should speak it exclusively to the child, resisting the temptation to resort to English or to translate. Expect your child to go through some periods of mixing the two languages in the beginning. Eventually a separation of the two will occur. During the school years, the child should be taught to read and write in the second language in order for it to take on greater usefulness and significance.