It’s a new year and a great moment to kickstart your child’s bilingual learning! However, this thought or resolution might sound great during those first few hours of the new year. Once January begins, many parents want to raise bilingual children but hesitate to begin because they feel they do not have the means to do it.
They start worrying about:
Not speaking the language themselves.
Starting “too late”
Confusing their child
Doing it incorrectly
But we are here to set the record straight!
If you are wondering how to kickstart your child’s bilingual learning now you need to read this:
Decades of research in linguistics, cognitive science, and child development show that children are biologically prepared to acquire more than one language, and they can do so successfully when exposure is consistent, meaningful and developmentally appropriate.
See, bilingualism is a process, not a program.
One of the most important findings in language acquisition research is that language is acquired, not memorized.
Kiddos learn a new language through: repeated exposure, meaningful interaction. Emotional connection and contextual understanding. These are true for first languages and additional languages alike.
And second language learning, much like first language learning, is not about mastering vocabulary lists or grammar rules early. But about building neural pathways though consistent input over time.
One of the things that matter most is not the exact age you expose your kid to a new language but the quality of that exposure.
If you are ready to kickstart your child’s bilingual journey then you need to know what will benefit them more:
Naturalistic input: think stories, songs and conversations.
Repetition without pressure.
Opportunities to understand before speaking
The Role YOU will play
Now, one important thing to keep in mind is that you as the parent play a crucial role, even when you do not speak the target language fluently. You see, children do not require their parents to be language experts; but they do require encouragement, consistency, and access to meaningful input.
In my opinion, out of these three, consistency is the most important one. And I get it, how do you stay consistent with a language you yourself don’t understand much of?
My solution has been: regular interaction with native speakers and/or ongoing routines involving the language.
Which is why all our Spanish classes have Spanish native speaking teachers and our curriculum is overseen and written by native speakers as well.
So, if you want to kickstart your child’s bilingual learning please remember:
Consistent exposure is key and that your kiddo’s brain is built for it. You just need to say: Si! Hagamoslo!
