Should Your Toddler Learn a Second Language?
Being a toddler can be exhausting. That’s without even considering the toll their enthusiasm takes on their parents. This important period from 13 months to 24 months involves learning the world around them. They’re learning how to walk, talk, communicate, and find their place in the world.
Knowing how much they have on their plate, including learning their primary language, you might not think teaching them a second language is wise. After all, they’re still mastering the basics of their first language. However, teaching your tots a second language might be worthwhile for some of the following reasons:
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You Don’t Have to Do It Yourself
Teaching your toddlers your first language can be challenging enough. Teaching them a language you’re unfamiliar with would be next to impossible. Fortunately, there are ample resources to help. You can enroll them in language programs with providers like World Kids School and use apps, books, and online resources. You and your toddler might even be able to learn a language like Mandarin Chinese or Spanish together.
They Can Connect With Peers and Family
Millions of families in the United States are bilingual. This means that millions of children are communicating with their peers in one language and with their families in another. Failure to teach them both languages can mean they can’t adequately communicate with everyone in their life. They might not be able to connect with family members involved in their upbringing or people in their community. This might cause many problems in later life.
They Can Become Fluent
Learning a language later in life can be challenging. Most people never become fluent in their second language once they reach adulthood. However, teaching toddlers a second language can improve their chances of being fluent in both. Studies have shown that children can speak a second language proficiently up to the age of 18. However, grammatical fluency is best achieved if they learn before the age of 10.
They Can Be High Achievers
We all want our children to be successful in whatever they put their minds to. That’s not to say your children won’t be high achievers if they don’t learn a second language, but it might help. Studies have found that bilingual children have cognitive flexibility and are more adept at solving mental puzzles. They may also have better critical thinking skills and creativity. While you might worry that your children will be distracted or confused by two languages, that’s not believed to be the case. Children’s brains are more flexible than you might think.
It Can Be Easier
We all know the importance of educating our children from a young age. Early learning encourages them to be confident and develop essential life skills. It can also be much easier to teach children new things while their brains are still developing. A new language is no exception.
Babies and children form neural connections quickly. This means that learning new languages can often be much easier. Children have a better chance of taking on the accent of a native speaker when they don’t have the same neural shortcuts in their brains as adults.
Later in life, we tend to use the same sounds and phonemes from languages we already know. Children are essentially blank slates. It has even been theorized that if a child doesn’t learn any verbal or non-verbal language during their critical childhood period, they may never learn any language. However, this is not something we can test to know for sure since studies would be inhumane.
Teaching your toddler a second language might seem daunting, but it can be much easier than you might think. Explore language programs and online resources, and you might be ready to begin.