Raising Multilingual Children

In today’s world knowing two or more language is a huge advantage. Being able to communicate in a global environment often requires speaking to people who are native English speakers, or might not know English at all.

Parents want to give their children every advantage possible, and many recognize that second language could benefit their children, but they have questions about teaching their children multiple languages.

Will it affect my child’s development? How many languages can a child learn? When is the best time to start? How much exposure does it take for a child to learn a language? These and other questions need to be considered before deciding whether or not to raise a multilingual child.

Studies have shown that children who learn multiple languages at the same time as their first language often take a little longer to speak. However they also show that after the child begins speaking he/she learns both languages without any problems and can become fluent in both.

In order for children to become fluent in any language they must be exposed to the language often. In order to learn a language well, children need to hear the language roughly 30 percent of the time they are awake. Children can learn as many languages as their parents can arrange to have adequate exposure.

When teaching a child any language, even if it is the only language they learn, the more varied exposure they receive and the earlier it starts the better they learn. Listening to music, hearing and interacting with multiple people all make it easier to learn the language. The more natural the exposure to each language is the better the child will learn them.

http://www.actfl.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3651
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/may09/bilingual.kids.sl.html
http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/development/language/teaching-second-language/