We are all fairly savvy to the fact that we live in an increasingly global society in which our neighbor is from Ecuador, our colleague is from France and the person who teaches our child is from Sweden! We realize as adults how difficult it is to learn a new language after our youth, but we keep reading that it is the perfect time for our own children to begin the language learning!

Time & Newsweek ran feature articles years ago about the window of opportunity for second language learning being somewhere between birth and ten years old. It is so true, and yet so many parents continue to insist English only for the first years of life. It is all a matter of educating the parents of today, helping them to realize that a growing number of brain studies indicate that young children learn languages easily and retain them longer if they are exposed to new languages early in life. Experts agree that while a baby is learning one word for an item, it is just as easy for his young brain to learn a second word for the same item.

Tell a new mom about the studies out of York University showing that children who received instruction in two languages scored twice as high on language tests than their monolingual peers, and that new mom will look at you with amazement. Then go on to inform this mom that these bilingual children also read sooner and demonstrated advanced problem solving capabilities. (Dr. Ellen Bialystok, 2001)

I recall sharing with a mom who had two preschool age children the fact that children learning through a bilingual format will outperform their monolingual peers in grade school as they experience advanced cognitive development. She could not keep her disbelief hidden as I then went on to share with her the fact that the added benefit of learning a second language before middle schoolis that her children will speak the new languages with native or near-native pronunciation.

We have witnessed through the programs on television for children how quickly they pick up a new language as they yell at the tv set their new found words! We watch as our children learn new things so quickly between the ages of birth and five, acting like little sponges and soaking everything in their environment in. Why then should we not think that a new language could be next on the list of important things to bring into the life of a child? Give this gift early enough, and your child will read sooner, score higher on standardized tests and have better opportunities in life. With many linguists, educators and experts agreeing that sooner is better, begin the bilingual fun now!

By six months old a baby has the ability to learn all of the hundreds of languages of our world. Around eleven months old the brain begins to specialize and, as we all can vouch for, it becomes increasingly difficult to pick up a new language year after year. Up until the age of five a child still has the ability to learn five languages simultaneously. By middle school we all know learning a new language is no longer as easy as it used to be in elementary school. Children whose brains have been wired to learn languages early in life will experience advanced success in learning any language of their choice later in life.

Finding a fun and easy way to bring the language learning into your daily routine is often the challenge. Many a new mom tell me that they have no time to add an extra class to attend with their children much less find one more hour a week to fit a language class in. The key can then be to find multimedia products that use a bilingual format for introducing the language to children ages birth – five. Find CDs for the car and DVDs that incorporate all of the senses and many of the learning styles. Experts agree that the two languages should be presented in a bilingual format because as the your child is still acquiring skills in his native language, the new language should be presented in a seamless bilingual format alongside his native language. This allows for better retention most often, higher self esteem and fun for the entire family.

This season give the gift of a second language journey that is easy and fun for you and your child. Sing, dance and play together as you enjoy learning each new word on the path to becoming bilingual. Prepare your child for successful travel through our very global society and what is sure to be a very diverse future.




By: Beth Butler