How to teach a new language to a child

When Louise Sanders adopted her daughter, Camille, from Panama, she thought it was important to teach her about her heritage. So just before Camille turned 3, Louise enrolled her in a Spanish-language school in their Tucson, Arizona, community. Now, at 3 1/2, Camille loves to sing Spanish songs, and sometimes she even answers questions more quickly when her teachers ask her in Spanish rather than in English.

"Kids this age are developing language skills rapidly, and they quickly absorb whatever they hear," says Erika Levy, Ph.D., assistant professor of speech and language pathology at Columbia University Teachers College, in New York City. "They can learn to understand new words in two different languages at an incredibly fast rate." And you don't need to enroll your child in formal language classes to hear her repeat words and songs in a new tongue -- just listen in when she's watching television shows like Dora the Explorer, Go, Diego, Go! and Sesame Street, which teach basic Spanish words to the preschool set. Lots of parents are also supplementing this elementary knowledge with bilingual books, toys, and CDs.

Why are so many families jumping on the bilingual bandwagon? "In our increasingly global world, parents realize that their kids will benefit from knowing more than one language," says Nancy Rhodes, director of foreign-language education at the Center for Applied Linguistics, in Washington, D.C. "There's definitely been a grassroots push for more bilingual education in preschools." Exposing your child to a second language will help him learn about other cultures. Research has shown that bilinguals tend to be more creative thinkers than those who speak one language, and one study suggests that their brain functions may stay sharper as they age.

Here's how to get your little linguist to begin learning.

• Start now. Two- and 3-year-olds are not only increasing their vocabularies, they're starting to recognize the speech patterns they've been hearing since birth. The earlier you introduce a second language, the easier it will be for your child to pick up its unique sounds. The ability to hear different phonetic pronunciations is sharpest before age 3, and we lose the capacity to hear and produce certain sounds if we aren't exposed to them early on, according to Fran?ois Thibaut, director of the Language Workshop for Children, in New York City. So just hearing a television show, listening to music, or learning a few words in a second language will give your child essential tools for appreciating it now and learning to speak it later.
• Create a casual learning environment. The best way for a child to learn to understand a new language is for him to hear people speaking it fluently, says Thibaut. If he's exposed to conversations, he'll begin to pick up the sounds and the natural accent. Choose a language that is spoken in your neighborhood, on a television show your child can watch regularly, or one that is offered in classes or playgroups in your area. "If you have a bilingual babysitter, encourage her to speak her native language to your child exclusively," says Rhodes. Two- and 3-year-olds love to mimic what they hear, and soon they'll begin to understand the meanings of short words and phrases.
• Teach a word at a time. If you don't want to do formal lessons, you can introduce bilingual basics by pointing out to your child that objects can have two names -- one in each language. "When my 2-year-old son, Constantinos, sees a spider, he'll say 'spider' to me in English and then say it in Greek to my husband," says Cassandra Attard, of Nottingham, New Hampshire. "He knows they mean the same thing." As your child learns new words, tell him what they're called in a second language too.
• Have reasonable expectations. Of course, a child won't learn to speak another language fluently from hearing words, watching videos, or singing songs. But simply being exposed to a language will help her understand phrases when she hears them. So even though you probably won't be having a French conversation with your child very soon, if you say "bonne nuit" every night at bedtime, she'll figure out what you mean.

The only way a child can truly master a second language is if she is frequently around someone who speaks it fluently. Here are some things to remember in a bilingual household.

• Try "one person, one language." It's helpful to have one adult speak only the second language to your child so she doesn't get just pieces of it, says Dr. Erika Levy.
• Expect minor mix-ups. It's natural for a child to confuse the word order or use words from both languages in the same sentence. He'll quickly learn to separate the languages.
• Don't underestimate her progress. Even though many people think learning two languages causes speech delays, that is not the case. Your little one might say fewer English words than other kids her age, but if you add in the words she knows in her second language, her total number of words will probably be more than that of her peers.

When you shop for bilingual toys, games, and CDs, make sure the words are spoken clearly and by a native speaker with a proper accent. Your child will have a fiesta learning a new language with these.

1. Chicco Talking Farm ($30) Help your little one learn animal names, sounds, colors, and numbers in English and Spanish.
2. Language Littles Dolls ($35) They speak in both English and a second language -- there are ten languages to choose from.
3. Leapfrog Learn and Groove Counting Maracas ($15) These musical maracas introduce Spanish numbers, colors, and vocabulary.
4. Sing & Learn Italian With Professor Toto ($30) This line of books, CDs, and DVDs also offers versions in Spanish, French, and German.

Thanks for your feedback!

• I am a teacher of English and have taught all ages for the past 31 years. I have been struggling with a 7-year-old student, Konstadinos, who does not stop moving around during our lesson. Do you have any advice?

  It’s wonderful that you are teaching Konstadinos a second language! It sounds like Konstadinos is a kinesthetic learner and likes to move a lot. You can use his affinity for movement to try to get him more engaged with learning the new language by playing a game using verbs in the second language. The games “Simon says” or “charades” are great ways to begin playing with words in a new language. Be sure to incorporate a lot of movement into your lessons, such as singing songs with movement, perhaps rolling a ball to knock down paper towel ‘bowling pins’ with words written on them, or any other game that you two create together that involves the secondary language. Be sure to avoid long periods of sitting, listening, reading or writing to best keep Konstadinos interested in the new material.

• Is 30 to 40 minutes too long to expect to have a child's attention in a foreign language lesson, two times a week?

  No. That is fairly standard and a good amount of time.

• If I am not a native speaker and speak to the child in both my native and foreign language, will that confuse the child? How will he learn to switch between languages and not mix the two in one phrase or sentence?

  Speak in your native language at certain times of the day and the other language at different times. Using a routine will make it clear which language is appropriate.

• I'm starting a Spanish language class for my 7-year-old girl. Our first language is Hindi and second language is English. It's going to be a proper class. Should start with learning alphabet, or small phrases?

  Alphabet, It will be easier in the long run and will be a good start for the child.

• We have a native speaker in our family. Unfortunately their time for the children is limited to an hour a day. What kind of activities would be the most effective in this situation?

  The biggest advantage of having a native speaker is that they can make conversation with the children in the target language, helping the children to exercise their skills and naturally absorb rules like grammar and word usage in the same way they do in their first language. The best use of time in this situation would be to have the children study new vocabulary on their own or with someone other than the native speaker, and then spend the time with the native speaker actually speaking the language out loud - having conversation, reading picture books together in the target language, etc.