A question I hear all the time is: Is it too late to raise my child bilingual?
NO! It’s never too late for a child to learn to speak another language.
But…
The age of your child will determine your approach.
Young children under the age of 6, who are in the first plane of development as identified by Dr. Maria Montessori, have what she called an Absorbent Mind. This means that they take in everything from their environment effortlessly and completely.
From birth until age 6, children are also in a Sensitive Period for Language, where they are drawn to language stimuli, including mouth movements and sounds. With enough interactive language input (like conversations – not movies or TV) children under the age of 6 have the potential to become fluent in another language simply by being immersed in it. (Experts say children need to spend about 30% of their time exposed to a language in order to become fluent.)
According to Dr. Montessori, children’s Absorbent Mind fades as they transition to the second plane of development around the age of 6. In its place, they develop a Reasoning Mind, with the ability to abstract and think through mental processes.
Children in the second plane are no longer able to simply absorb language from their environment, but they now are able to think analytically about vocabulary, grammar structure and pronunciation. They can exert an effort to consciously learn a language.
In the first plane of development, from birth to age 6, children will benefit most from rich conversations and immersion, and don’t necessarily need direct instruction in order to absorb the vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation of a new language.
In the second plane of development, which lasts from age 6-12, children will enjoy and benefit from language classes, language learning games and books, and flash cards with direct translations, in addition to interactive conversations and immersion.
Depending on your child’s age, your approach to language teaching might differ; but it’s never too late to teach your child a new language.
The best time to start is NOW!
