Parents want what’s best for their kids. For example, if you learn a language at school, you'll probably want your child to speak it fluently. This often includes teaching them a foreign language

Children are great at learning languages, they learn language quickly and gain fluency in a matter of years.

“There’s no minimum age” when it comes to learning a language. Most children start learning their native language the second they're born and are conversational by the time they start school.

Young parents often ask how teaching their child or newborn an extra language can help them gain proficiency or even become fluent.

When should our children start to learn English words and phrases? Should you consider language immersion from birth?

Experts say that you can from as early as birth! Language acquisition in children is an incredible thing so there’s no age set in stone for when it comes to giving your child an extra language!

Could a child learn French and English, for example?
As soon as a child is born, they’re capable of reproducing words and their parents can even start talking to them in English. However, the learning process has to be a little different as it would be with a monolingual upbringing.

In fact, a child's first few months are “monolingual”. Language learning in infants is an interesting process. In the beginning, they’ll learn whatever words their parents teach them, considering these new words as part of one language's vocabulary without distinguishing between the two languages. They aren't aware they're learning another language.

If, for example, Mum and Dad address the child in both English and in French, a young child won’t know they’re two different languages. You can't switch from one language to English at this stage. This can often be difficult for multilingual or polyglot parents who are very used to changing language whenever they feel like or when a situation requires a certain language.

How can you let them know which word belongs to their first language and which to their second language? How can young children learn to speak English in a non native household?

The two languages (French and English in this example) have to be personified by the two parents. For example, Mum has to speak in French while Dad teaches the child English. The child will quickly learn the two languages at the same time and realise that something can be said in two ways.

Parents needn’t worry about messing up their child by mixing languages in a bilingual environment as children are very adaptable.

In fact, bilingualism can bring a lot of benefits. They’ll grow up hearing two languages and they’ll also be able to understand and speak both languages like a native long before they’ve ever taken any classes in either of them.