When Should Children Learn a Second Language?

I often receive questions about children learning a second language. Especially after I speak about how children shouldn’t be going to school or learning academic subjects at too young of an age, parents ask me whether second language learning fits into the same category. The short answer is no, provided the second language is learned in the same way all of us learn to speak our native language. In fact, there are many benefits for children learning a second language while they are young.

Becoming bilingual or multilingual is good for the brain. Research suggests that those who learn more than one language have better decision-making skills, problem-solving skills, reasoning abilities, and cognitive flexibility than those who are monolingual. Bilingual children are often able to process information faster and score higher on memory tests than children who only speak one language.

Becoming fluent in a second language can open doors for employment as a translator or interpreter. And learning another language can also help one be a more effective missionary. There are many areas of the world that are in great need of the assistance of those who know more than one language, and your child can be a wonderful blessing to others if he gains this skill.

Start young

Babies and toddlers are wired to learn language. A two-year-old needs no textbooks, vocabulary lists, pronunciation keys, or word definitions to help him start talking in his native language. He simply starts piecing the language together by hearing it and trying it out in everyday life. It’s quite remarkable, actually.

Even more remarkably, a child can learn a second, third, or fourth language in the same simple, easy method – even doing so simultaneously with the learning of their native tongue! It’s a wonder of development that, through everyday conversation, a child can learn English from Dad, Spanish from Mom and French from Grandma and Grandpa, and differentiate between them depending on who he is talking to. God designed the young brain to be incredibly adept at language learning, and parents can take advantage of this to help their child become bilingual or even multilingual from an early age.

Note: Be prepared that babies who grow up multi-lingual often are slower to start talking. That’s ok! The brain is just taking a bit more time to figure it all out.

Language learned through exposure during early childhood will be more whole-brain and natural than when it is learned later in life. While not impossible, learning another language only gets more difficult with age.

Learn through exposure, not flashcards

Because babies and toddlers are primed for language learning, a child will quickly learn basic communication simply through exposure. As mentioned above, children don’t need vocab lists and flashcards to learn their native tongue. Nor do they need such things for learning a second language.

Do you or your spouse speak another language? If so, decide to use that language with your child. For example, if Mom speaks Spanish and Dad speaks English, then Mom should always speak in Spanish to the child, and Dad can speak English. Begin as soon as baby is born. Without even trying, your child will become bilingual.

If neither parent speaks a second language, but the grandparents or another close relative or friend does, parents can be intentional to spend time with that other individual and ask them to communicate with their child in that other language. Some families will even move and live in another country for six months or a year when their children are young to help their child learn a second language.

Don’t be afraid to try – and make mistakes.

Is your child past the babyhood stage? It’s not too late to start. Make the learning fun and conversational. To learn language well and prevent the learning from becoming drudgery, avoid the mundane drills of verb conjugations and vocabulary lists, and skip the memorization of mostly useless phrases. Instead adopt the language learning technique that has been successfully used for thousands of years. Expose your child to the second language and daily use it in your home.

What if no one in the family is fluent in a second language? Make it a family learning affair! Don’t worry if you make mistakes. Don’t worry if your patched together sentences wouldn’t make sense to a native. Simply attempting to include the second language in your day creates connections in your child’s brain that makes later language learning easier and more efficient. Everyone can learn together and have fun.

Language learning is a vital part of true education. Take advantage of the early years of childhood to effortlessly give your child a boost in brain development and a tool for being a better worker for the Lord. They will thank you someday!

Joshua White