Learning a second language at an early age is possible and of great advantage for a child. All children have the cerebral capacity to learn a second language in the first years of life.
Bilingual children are in contact with a second language from an early age and are developing more or less parallel both languages. When reaching an adult age a child which was educated bilingually has the capacity to dominate both languages. But not only bilingual children can take advantages from the early learning of a second language. Children who do not have a real tie with a foreign language can also from early on take advantage of learning a second language.
The following are some recommendations to begin the education of a second language at an early age:
1. Do not create false expectations
The children who are in contact with a second language, without the intensity of a truly bilingual education, cannot reach results as bilingual children. Parents must be clear and not foster false illusions, like for example thinking that the children with a few hours of English a week will be able to speak this language in a fluid way.
YouTube offers an excellent compilation of materials in audio-visual format that can be used successfully in bilingual education, especially when in the country of residence of a bilingual family there is a lack of access to products in the second language.
In my search for interesting materials to reinforce the languages of my children, who grow up in three languages (Spanish, English German), I have resorted many times to YouTube. Some times we looked for children’s songs, other times for information on a variety of subjects and also for traditional children films. My children enjoy Youtube and I have one more support tool for having them listen to language.
It is for this reason that we want to make you aware of the information compiled through our YouTube channel. In our channel we have included interesting shorts on bilingual education, bilingual children and bilingual families, children’s songs and other videos that could be of interest.
This it is only the beginning. We wish that this channel grows with the support of all. So send us a link to your favourite videos.
“Raising Bilingual Children: Common Parental Concerns and Current Research” is an article written by Kendall King and Lyn Folge, Georgetown University and published in CALdigest and in the CAL (Center for Applied Linguistics) webpage.
This article shows the results of a study of 24 bilingual families with children between 0-5 years old in Washington D.C. , and also summarises previous research in bilingualism. The study comes to the following conclusions:
1. Bilingualism and language delay: monolingual and bilingual children meet major language development milestones at similar times.
2. Bilingualism and language confusion: the aproach “0ne-parent, one language”, while generally recommended, can also result in passive bilingualism. Parents in general do not need to fear language confusion if they opt for another aproach such as using the minority language at home. Parents also should think more about the quality and quantity of exposure to both languages that their children receive.
3. Bilingualism and television: human interaction ist better than recorded sounds for fostering language learning.
4. Bilingualism and inteligence: bilingualism should not be viewed as predictor of greater intelligence or as an overall indicator of high academic performance. Bilingual children gain specific advantages in targeted areas such as greater understanding of language as an abstract system.
“On Raising Bilingual and Multilingual Children” is an article written by Frances Kai-Hwa Wang and published in IMDiversity.com. This article give advice about bilingual education and is oriented to us second-and-third-generation Asian Americans. It it a very interesting article. The autorin recomend:
1. Just talk that talk: the kids need to hear the language on a daily basis. They should hear differents accents and vocabulary choices. And you can always supplement with DVDs, CDs and friends.
2. Start young and work on your own skills: If you start early you have more or less two years before the child can speak to improve your own language skills and get use to speak the language.
3. School, Tutoring, Travel, and Other Training.
4. Using other resources. Even if you doesn´t understand by bilingual books. The child can learn a lot about the written language.
“Bilingual, Baby! Many parents want nannies fluent in another language to help tutor their tots” is the title of an article written by Vanessa Hua in November 2005 and published in SFGate.com.
This articles speak about the advantages of using nannies: On one side, it helps immigrant families and their descendants to help pass on heritage. On the other side, parents seek a “foreign-language nanny” to to start early with their children in learning another language.
The article recomends that parents look after other opportunities for their children to hear other speakers using the same language. This can be obtained through school, through visiting a restaurant, cultural center or traveling abroad.
The article also recomends that nannies use consistently the same language with the child to play, to sing, and to read aloud.
“Foreign Language Power. Can Babies and Toddlers Become Bilingual, or Even Trilingual?” is an article written by Kendeyl Johansen and published in the internet webpage IParenting.
This article speaks about the rising tendence to learn a second language in the earlier years and gives some examples about this tendency. The article reminds us that the younger the children start to learn a second language, the better it is. And also that it is better if you keep the “one parent one language rule”.
But the most important aspect of the article it is how you teach language to your child. Johansen suggests that the best methode is making the child feel that he is only playing. Language becomes most interesting if you use it to play instead of using serious adult-child-conversations. The author, suggests for instance:
The use of audio tapes, but limiting the length so that the child does not get bored.
Videos and CD-ROMs that present vocabulary, in a funny and creative way.
Books, especially those that the child already knows, and likes in his predominant language.
Attending some kind of language play group, were the child sing and play in other language.
“Bílingual Parenting” is the title of an article written by Nadine Lichtenberger and published on the internet in TheGermanWay&More. This article gives a personal view about bilingualism from the perspective of an American mother raising her kids German-English in Austria.
“Bílingual Parenting” íst divided into two parts. In part one she speaks about the decision to raise her children bilingually and her search for information about the topics, she tell us about the advantages and disavantages of bilingual children and about the different methods of raising a bilingual child. Important is her personal advice to parents to decide early the goals to arise for the child and the family: completely bilingual vs just some passive knowledge. She also speaks about the difficulties and problems and how important it is to have faith in your own instincts and good feelings. She remembers us that many doctors and therapists have good advice and that others have not been so deeply involved in the area of bilingualism.
In the second part of the article the author speaks about her own experience and how important is to speak only one language to the child, sing songs and nursery rhymes, watch videos, read books, use educational CD-ROMs and visit a playgroup and the country of the minority language.
The Washington Post has a feature on the various benefits of bilingualism on the brain. To quote the article: “Bilingual speakers are better able to deal with distractions than those who speak only a single language, and that may help offset age-related declines in mental performance”. Read the articlehere
This is our blog page. We occassionally post information about other sites or articles regarding bilingual education, or anything else that takes our fancy.
Hope you enjoy. Comments and feedback are always welcome!
