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When is The
Best Time to Start?
The longer you wait for your child to start learning another
language, the more difficult it becomes, and the more likely
you'll put it off forever. So, even if your child is already
well on his way to speaking his first language, right now is the
perfect time to add the second.
Waiting for the right time
As the saying goes; the most difficult language you'll ever
learn is your second one. So why not skip that altogether, and
learn two languages from the start?
Once a child has already mastered -- or is actively using one
language -- adding another language isn't the same as learning
both languages simultaneously from birth. There are many reasons
to expose a child to a foreign language after infancy. Among
them: moving to another country or taking advantage of a foreign
speaking baby sitter. Or maybe you just didn't think about
raising your first child multilingually, but want to do so with
your second (which incidentally gives your first child the
opportunity to learn along with the new baby.)
Whatever the reason, the sooner you begin, the better. As a
reference, based on visitor registration on this web site, we
see clearly that the older the child, the less likely they will
start learning a new language.
Tweens
Nowadays children between the age of 7 and 12 are called 'tweens.'
This is just one indication of how children's lives have
changed; they are growing up earlier and becoming teens before
their time. Although their brains retain plasticity, tweens
spend significant amounts of time at school, doing homework, as
well as engaging in all sorts of hobbies like sports and music.
Adding to the challenges of tweeners are their social
preferences. Kids this age are more interested in doing what
their friends are doing -- which is unlikely to be learning some
obscure language.Thankfully, the first years of life are free
from this sort of peer competition, but once you hit the tween
years, it becomes a primary issue.
Another difficulty in learning a language for tweeners is that
literacy skills are extremely important in the majority
language, and many parents want to concentrate on refining
those, rather than adding another language.
Teens
During the teenage years, parents consider it a major victory if
they get their kids to do anything they tell them. So adding
another language, unless it's part of the school curriculum,
falls too far down the priority list to have a chance. You may
think it's better to simply wait until adulthood. But we all
know what happens then -- and how many of us wish we could speak
another language?
The bottom line: Don't put it off! The 'perfect time' will
probably never arrive. Kids of all ages can learn another
language, but every day that goes by means that it will require
a bit more diligence and motivation.
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