The world is becoming an increasingly interconnected global village, which has prompted parents to take drastic action for their children’s bright future.
Introducing their children to a second language is a common phenomenon among parents today. Sometimes it happens because more than one language is spoken in a family. Parents want the children to learn both languages and become connected to their culture and heritage.
Although promoting multilingualism in your children is a great way to expose them to different cultures and make them more confident and accepting, it also comes with a set of challenges.
Besides the usual difficulties of learning a new language, parents also face a tough decision on whether their child should learn both in parallel or let the children learn one language before starting to learn the next one.
Sequential Bilingualism
Sequential bilingualism is when children learn the first language before the second language. Parents often start with the majority language first and introduce the minority language at a later stage.
This establishes firm learning of the first language and prevents burdening the children too much. However, it’s a wide known fact that children learn better in their formative years.
So, although they learn the first language without much difficulty, a lot of effort and time will go into learning the second language when they start at a later age.
Simultaneous Bilingualism
Simultaneous bilingualism is when children acquire the first and second languages concurrently. It’s a more natural way of teaching children multiple languages before the age of three.
As young children learn at home, parents need to foster a creative and engaging learning environment for them. It’s important to give equal exposure of both languages to the children to establish a firm foundation.
Plus, when children start at a young age, they learn faster and pick up things rapidly. Learning two languages at once won’t be much of a problem for young children. They can easily strengthen their languages as they grow older.
Bottom line
No matter which route you choose, it does not affect whether a child becomes a balanced bilingual or not.
Both methods have their pros and cons, and there are various factors at play:
- At what age are the children exposed to one new language
- The amount of time
- Degrees of exposure
- Which language takes precedence
- Communication skills
- Parents language skills
- A bilingual school
- Reading and writing
It is important to consider these factors carefully before you embark on the journey of teaching your children a second language.
Buy Multilingual Storybooks For Kids
The Cat, the Fish, and the Waiter is a multilingual storybook for kids that teaches them three languages. You can order a copy of the children’s book online today and encourage your children on the road to bilingualism.
Visit our website to place an order.
Disclaimer: Please note that this content has been proofread manually and through grammar checkers to eliminate all spacing errors. Any spacing errors you may come across are due to compatibility issues in Microsoft Word.