Do you want your child to be exposed to ideas and opinions from people who speak a different language? Do you fantasize about your son effortlessly switching between languages while you sip Prosecco and watch an Italian sunset? Do you fantasize about going to Paris with a daughter who knows how to haggle like a local?
Great! When should you encourage them to begin learning a foreign language, then? Is it best to start teaching them English as soon as they can speak, or should you wait until they have mastered the language?
For a variety of reasons, all academics believe that the earlier a child begins learning a second language, the better. According to several studies, second language acquisition skills peak around the age of 6 or 7. Others argue that this window lasts till puberty. However, they all agree that learning a new language after puberty is far more difficult. All of the major points of view, as well as their supporting reasons, are listed below for your reference in order to help you make the best decision possible.
Why start when you're three or four years old?
Everyone would have looked at you as if you were an extraterrestrial if you had asked that question a few years ago. Given that they had not yet mastered their mother tongue, it was unthinkable for children as young as three years old to be able to learn a second language.
However, current research findings suggest something very different. Children who study a second language at an early age have more creativity, critical thinking skills, and mental flexibility, according to Harvard University research. Preschool years, particularly the first three years of life, are thought to be critical in a child's development. This is when, among other things, the foundations for attitudes, thinking, and learning are laid.
Because learning a second language is as simple as learning the first, it is highly urged to use that inherent talent. It may appear to be a significant burden, but it is not. The human brain is a marvel to behold. We learn in six different ways from the minute we are born:
Sight
Taste
Smell
Sound
Touch
Doing.
Everything we learn later in life is based on the information we gather in our first few years. According to studies, we develop 50% of our learning ability by the age of four, and another 30% by the age of eight. This is why it is suggested for three-year-olds to study a second language. However, this does not imply that an individual's knowledge or intelligence is established in the first eight years of life.
It basically means that throughout the first few years of life, children create their key learning pathways.
According to studies, the younger the learner is, the easier it is for her to absorb new pronunciations and replicate new sounds. Furthermore, children as young as three or four years old can learn through play because they are not yet overloaded by facts and information that must be retained and assessed, as we do as we get older.
"Bilingual youngsters who start learning a second language at a young age sound like native speakers in both languages."
The brain changes after adolescence, making it incredibly difficult for an adult to acquire a new language.
This isn't to say they won't be able to acquire it; it just means they won't be able to do it in the same way as a youngster because the mechanisms that aid language development aren't the same as they are between the ages of 2 and 5.
Children learn a second language more effectively when they study it in their homes rather than in the classroom.
Furthermore, multilingual youngsters are not only more fluent in two languages than their single-language classmates, but they are also better at doing tasks that require a shift in focus.
Also, research has shown that children who studied a second language after mastering their mother tongue became fluent in the foreign language but never reached the same degree of proficiency as those who learned both languages at the same time.
What About Bilingual Families' Children?
Everything is dependent on the family's situation. For example, a child born in the UK to a British mother and an Italian father can begin learning both languages as soon as he is born.
A school-aged child from, say, Germany who emigrated to the United Kingdom is pushed to learn the new language – English – as quickly as feasible. Depending on the child's age, reaching the level of a natural English speaker could take many years. It won't happen quickly or easily, so it's best if parents don't have false expectations about their children's ability to acquire a second language.
Why should a young adolescent (11-13 years old) learn?
Youngsters who began learning French at the age of eleven did better on second language competency tests than those who began at the age of eight, according to a survey of 17,000 British children learning French at school. That study is the largest of its kind yet conducted on youngsters learning a foreign language in a classroom setting.
Other investigations of Danish pupils learning English and Swiss children learning French corroborated these findings.
Furthermore, teenagers who study a foreign language before the age of 15 have the superior pronunciation of the second language, which is classified as "near-native-like." However, the younger they begin learning the second language, the more of a native-like accent they develop. Ones over the age of 15, as well as adults, have been found to be more adept at learning a new language than younger children. This is due to the fact that young children have more experiential and cognitive constraints than teenagers and adults, allowing them to learn more quickly.
What if a second language takes the place of the first?
If the child's first language was not properly developed and he or she was forced to learn a second, there are risks that should be avoided.
Parents who encourage their children to spend more time learning a second language should exercise caution. To spend enough time on second language acquisition, the child may have to minimize or even eliminate some other subject(s). Is this something you'd want your child to experience? Older students, on the other hand, are more efficient learners who require less time to "master" something new. As a result, gaining a native-speaker-like pronunciation isn't a priority.
What about bilingual kids who combine words from both languages? Is That Something to Be Concerned About?
Children who are learning two languages frequently mix words from one language with ones from the other. This is known as "code-switching" or "code-mixing," and it is not something to be concerned about. It's also not a sign that they're having trouble with bilingualism, so you can breathe a sigh of relief.
In truth, among those who study two languages, this is a natural way of speaking that is viewed as a complicated, yet rich, kind of conversation. Yes, you may come across arguments against code-switching from educators and health professionals who perceive it as a barrier to children's language development. Despite this, data suggests that all bilingual speakers (of any age) code-switch from time to time, which is not a sign of language dysfunction or confusion.
When it comes to preschoolers learning a second language, there are a variety of reasons why kids could code-switch. Due to the fact that multilingual youngsters are rarely equally fluent in both languages, they will switch while conversing with others. Regardless of whose language they are from, they will sometimes choose words that they are more comfortable with. As a result, words from both languages get mixed together in a sentence.
It's also worth noting that multilingual youngsters (even two-year-olds) are incredibly knowledgeable about the linguistic preferences of the person with whom they're conversing. As a result, they are perfectly capable of communicating with their peers in the finest of both languages. As a result, it's not uncommon to find multilingual children conversing in the language that their conversation partner prefers.
Bilingual youngsters are more conscious of which language to utilize in the community and public settings after they reach the age of four.
You can also anticipate them to have a large vocabulary in both their mother tongue and their second language and to be able to maintain a conversation in one language rather than switching between them. Small children are clearly extraordinary language learners with tremendous potential and abilities that we, as parents, do not imagine they can have at such a young age!
Many elements play a role in the successful acquisition of a second language, with school-based teaching methods being one of the most important. Furthermore, young bilingual learners are exceptionally clever and may easily switch from one language to the other to appeal to the peer with whom they are conversing.
And, while data on the best age for a child to begin learning a second language is still ambiguous and contradictory, you might always give your toddler the option to learn. If you see somebody struggling, you know what to do better than any expert. After all, even at a slightly older age, there is always time to learn something new.
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