How to Introduce a Second Language to a Child

Languages come easily to many children, especially if they start young. Bilingualism will give them opportunities to communicate with a broader range of people around the world, and will serve them well throughout their lives.

Difficulty:

Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Foreign Language
• Dictionaries
• Foreign Language Phrase Books
• Foreign Language Tape
• Foreign Language Software
• Foreign Language Tutors

1. Start early ' well before your child reaches school age if possible. Language acquisition comes quite easily to children who are just learning to speak, and they can pick up more than one language simultaneously.

2. Begin with simple words and phrases, just as you would with a first language, then move on to simple sentences when your child seems comfortable with a basic vocabulary.

3. Try the "one parent, one language" system ' if your goal is complete bilingualism, one parent consistently speaks to the child in one language, while the other parent always uses the other. This will help prevent the child from getting confused.

4. Be consistent. Set aside a certain time of day, or a certain set of activities, for the second language. It doesn't matter what you do ' read books, sing songs or bake cookies ' as long as you do it all in the second language.

5. Get books, videos and music in both languages to share with your child. The more reinforcement he gets in both languages, the faster and more thoroughly he'll learn them.

6. Find out if your school system offers a second-language immersion program, and ask to see the curriculum.

7. Immerse your child in the second language whenever possible. Take trips to places where he can speak to and listen to native speakers, and where the language will seem real and alive to him.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to have a good bilingual dictionary around, especially if you aren't completely fluent in the second language you're teaching your child.

• Encourage your child to use his language skills, and make it clear that he doesn't have to be embarrassed by mistakes. Many children are afraid of looking silly, but the only way to become fluent in a language is to speak it regularly.

• Don't make a big deal out of bilingualism; just treat it as part of daily life. Language learning can be lots of fun as long as it isn't treated as a chore.

• Don't worry if your child is reticent at first or seems slightly slow to acquire language ' many children take longer to process two languages than one, and may wait until they're sure of themselves before they begin talking a lot.

• Your child may sometimes confuse grammatical structures or spelling rules ' this is normal. He's processing a lot of information, and everything will fall into place as he gets used to the rules and constructions of each language.