My daughter has no second language but her younger cousin is already learning to speak two. I think it’s time we sat down together and started learning some basic French.
At six years old, IJ is still getting to grips with the basics of the English language; her reading and writing skills are improving all the time and she is starting to attempt more difficult spellings. Compare that to my two-year-old niece: her language skills are also progressing steadily and she is starting to put her first sentences together in English. And her knowledge of Mandarin is progressing just as well.
The difference is that my niece, Little E, is being brought up in a bilingual family. Her mother is Chinese and speaks to her in Mandarin during the day. When her father returns home in the evenings they speak in English. The fact that Little E has been exposed to a second language, and indeed a second culture, from birth means that she is picking up both languages with ease. This means of course that she is able to communicate with all her relatives and also that she develops an appreciation of her cultural identity. Blogger Cartside talks about her own experience of bringing up her bilingual child over at Mummy do that.
Experts agree than the earlier a child is exposed to a second language the better. According to Linguatots, research has shown that from infancy to age 6 or 7, many new connections are being formed in the brain. So exposing a young child to the sounds of a second language during this time will actually result in the brain growing connections that make a new language easy to learn.
For IJ, the story is a little different as I have no second language. Therefore, like the majority of children, learning a second language will involve the pair of us sitting down together and actively learning the vocabulary using the wealth of language study tools available. The BBC schools site has resources for learning both French and Spanish. There is also a BBC learning site for adults wishing to brush up their language skills.
She will also start learning French in school as part of the National Curriculum in September 2010. From that date, modern foreign languages teaching in schools will become statutory at key stage 2. However, it seems sensible for both of us to start looking at some basic vocabulary together now rather than waiting for the school to introduce the topic. That way we can both learn the basics of the language together in a fun and enjoyable way, at a pace that suits us. We both have the time and the interest, so why wait?
And it is not just our family who will be attempting to learn a new language. Watch this space for news of a blogger who's about to tackle teaching her family a certain je ne sais quoi.
Are you planning on learning a second language with your child? When do you feel is the right time to start doing this?
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06 May, 2010
I remember studying this at Uni. We do seem to have an innate ability to learn language that lessens as we grow older. I've often wondered about the language schemes they've advertised on television (I can't remember the name), but they seem so expensive. It's great that language is going to become part of the primary curriculum. I just hope they don't begin at the beginning again in secondary as this is what happened to us and it made our year 6 learning seem a bit of a waste.
Great post Rosie.
06 May, 2010
Spot on Rosie, all the research shows that the capacity for learning (any) language easily falls away sharply after age seven. The traditional problem with language-teaching in UK primary schools had been a lack of qualified teachers. And without skilled learners, there are fewer teachers of the future and the vicious circle is complete.
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07 May, 2010
Great topic Rosie - I too have a second language (Afrikaans) and speak it fluently as I grew up abroad, although it's not my first language. My friends ask me why I don't teach my children but it's a tricky one - it's not one I use at home unless I am speaking to other friends from South Africa...it's a tricky decision as I want their second language to be a useful one.
I'd actually rather my children learned French as we spend many of our holidays in France and feel it would be more beneficial to them. My daughter is in reception class and has already starting learing the basics which I am very pleased about. This is also something we have discussed learning together as neither my husband or I are very good at it...which I'm hoping will make for exciting "family time".
Leigh
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