Tips for families where their child, or children, are growing up with more than one language:
- Speak to your child in your mother tongue. It is important that you speak to your child in the language you are most confident in.
- A child who develops good use of grammar and vocabulary in their mother tongue is more likely to develop good use of a second language.
- Children don’t get confused by hearing more than one language.
- If you as parents speak different languages, one of the best ways for your child to learn the languages is for each parent to speak their own language, e.g. Dad speaks English, Mum speaks French.
- It’s important that children hear any language they are learning in a natural/play environment.
- When young children are learning more than one language, they may use words from both languages in the same sentence. This is completely normal.
- Children growing up with more than one language may be a little later in starting to talk, however their understanding of their first language should be similar to other children who are exposed to only one language.
- For children that are new to a second language, it is common for them to go through a silent period. They may communicate using gesture rather than words, while they are settling into a new environment such as nursery or school.
- Letting your child hear English from an early age will help them when they reach nursery. You don’t need to teach it! They will hear English in the community such as at Parent and Toddler Groups or Bookbug sessions at the local library.