I was born and raised in the western United States. During my early 20s I developed an interest in the history, geography, and cultures of the western hemisphere. So one day while at the book store I picked up a book about Canadian society. I learned a number of things but what really stuck with me wasn’t strictly about Canada or Canadians. The author wrote that while growing up he remembered thinking it was quite normal for a child to speak French to his mother and English to his father and being surprised to discover it wasn’t. That’s it. That one statement made quite an impression on me.
Because of my interest in the Americas I dreamt of moving to Chile or some other Spanish speaking country. I wanted to explore the countries I was interested in, although I admit I also had developed an interest in the exposure to “hot Latinas” I would undoubtedly experience in Latin America. While attending the University of Colorado I discovered a study abroad program in Mexico so that’s where I ended up going. It turned out to be a good choice.
In the end I wound up traveling back and forth to Mexico quite a bit. I even moved there for a time. During my first trip to Mexico I had met the desired “hot Latina.” We are now married and live in the United States and have two children. Throughout all of this I remembered the statement from that Canadian author. When our first child was born there was no hesitation about whether we should raise our children with both Spanish and English from birth.
Myths
However, many people weren’t so sure it was a good idea. We kept hearing concerns such as “won’t she be confused by being exposed to both languages?” “She’ll wind up speaking Spanglish.” “It would probably be better to wait until she was already secure in English - then learn Spanish.” I just kept reminding myself of that Canadian author growing up bilingual from birth. However, to back up my position with facts, I also did a little research and discovered I had nothing to worry about.
It has been proven with studies that a second and even a third language isn’t really an obstacle of any kind for a baby. In fact, it’s the best time to start a second language. Because of the way the brain develops and the way children learn language and language sounds, the ideal time to start learning 2nd and 3rd languages is by age 3. But even if one waits until age 5 or 6 the child is in a good position to become fluent and free from foreign accent.
It is true that the child will do some language mixing, but as he or she ages the mixing will disappear. Just as a monolingual child eventually learns to say “you were hungry” instead of “you was hungry,” a bilingual child will learn to separate the languages and say “She’s my friend” and not “She mi amiga.” The best way to deal with this is to just be consistent and not mix languages yourself.
Yes, your infant and toddler may get things confused from time to time - but so do all children. If you wait until your child is 10 or 12 to avoid “confusion” you will just be making it more difficult for him to learn. Ten or twelve is better than eighteen or twenty, but just as it’s easier to learn a second language at ten rather than twenty, it’s also easier to begin at age 3 than at 10. One of the great obstacles to learning a foreign language is the fear of looking stupid. People hold back when speaking to avoid embarrassment. A child of 3 years is not going to have the same inhibitions as an eight year old and especially a fifteen year old. There is also the question of whether your teenager will even want to bother putting in the required effort with another language.
Because of my interest in the Americas I dreamt of moving to Chile or some other Spanish speaking country. I wanted to explore the countries I was interested in, although I admit I also had developed an interest in the exposure to “hot Latinas” I would undoubtedly experience in Latin America. While attending the University of Colorado I discovered a study abroad program in Mexico so that’s where I ended up going. It turned out to be a good choice.
In the end I wound up traveling back and forth to Mexico quite a bit. I even moved there for a time. During my first trip to Mexico I had met the desired “hot Latina.” We are now married and live in the United States and have two children. Throughout all of this I remembered the statement from that Canadian author. When our first child was born there was no hesitation about whether we should raise our children with both Spanish and English from birth.
Myths
However, many people weren’t so sure it was a good idea. We kept hearing concerns such as “won’t she be confused by being exposed to both languages?” “She’ll wind up speaking Spanglish.” “It would probably be better to wait until she was already secure in English - then learn Spanish.” I just kept reminding myself of that Canadian author growing up bilingual from birth. However, to back up my position with facts, I also did a little research and discovered I had nothing to worry about.
It has been proven with studies that a second and even a third language isn’t really an obstacle of any kind for a baby. In fact, it’s the best time to start a second language. Because of the way the brain develops and the way children learn language and language sounds, the ideal time to start learning 2nd and 3rd languages is by age 3. But even if one waits until age 5 or 6 the child is in a good position to become fluent and free from foreign accent.
It is true that the child will do some language mixing, but as he or she ages the mixing will disappear. Just as a monolingual child eventually learns to say “you were hungry” instead of “you was hungry,” a bilingual child will learn to separate the languages and say “She’s my friend” and not “She mi amiga.” The best way to deal with this is to just be consistent and not mix languages yourself.
Yes, your infant and toddler may get things confused from time to time - but so do all children. If you wait until your child is 10 or 12 to avoid “confusion” you will just be making it more difficult for him to learn. Ten or twelve is better than eighteen or twenty, but just as it’s easier to learn a second language at ten rather than twenty, it’s also easier to begin at age 3 than at 10. One of the great obstacles to learning a foreign language is the fear of looking stupid. People hold back when speaking to avoid embarrassment. A child of 3 years is not going to have the same inhibitions as an eight year old and especially a fifteen year old. There is also the question of whether your teenager will even want to bother putting in the required effort with another language.
No comments:
Post a Comment