How can I help my children learn a second language?

David H. Broersma, Ph.D.

Conventional wisdom says that children learn second languages with almost no effort, but simply by being exposed to them. There is plenty of circumstantial evidence to support this belief, but it is not always true. Many families living abroad find it very difficult to foster second language ability in their children. The suggestions in this article are geared for those who are living outside their home country. Many of the suggestions could be applied at home, too, but they would need a little modification.

Schooling in the Second Language

One of the first issues which must be weighed is schooling. Putting children into an immersion environment for school has been a very effective way to stimulate second language acquisition. Children do learn a second language relatively quickly when all of their school tasks are in the second language, but there can be drawbacks as well. First of all, it can be very traumatic for children to be placed into an environment where they don't understand anything, and often they are the target of jokes and ridicule because they are "different." Secondly, the educational culture of the school may be very different from that of the home school, and there may be philosophical differences about education in general. For example, in some cultures, the primary means of motivating students is by shaming them, publicly humiliating them in front of the whole class for mistakes. This might be a little bit much for a child who is struggling to understand a new language. A third issue has to do with future plans for the child. If you plan to have your children attend college in the home culture some day, then they will need to make their first language their dominant language. If all or most of their school education is in the second language, they will need additional instruction (minimally) to prepare them for higher education.

Other Opportunities for Learning

If children do not go to school in an immersion environment, learning the second language will be more complicated. It is helpful if the children can interact with friends who speak the second language, but depending on the context, it might be difficult to find friends. In fact, in many parts of the world, parents are eager to have their kids play with yours to practice speaking English. In addition to finding native-speaking children for your children to play with, the following are some suggestions of ways to increase second language learning for children:

Hire only native-speaking baby-sitters and require them to speak only the target language with your children. Take your time about finding the right baby-sitter and settle on one who is extroverted and who expects the children to answer back when questions are asked. Also, ask the baby-sitter to read to the children in the second language regularly.

Hire a tutor to work with the children on a regular basis. Especially when your children are young, this time is best spent in games, reading fun books, learning songs and poems, etc. As the children get a little older, finding creative ways to practice grammatical structures becomes important.

Involve children in extra-curricular activities where they have to interact with native speakers. For example, sports teams, art classes, Bible clubs or Sunday Schools in churches make good ways to practice the language. Also, if you hire teachers for music lessons, you can ask them to speak only in the second language.

Suggestions for Parents

Don't give up! It is easy to be overwhelmed by the task, but your children's independence in the culture depends on their ability to speak the language.

It is important to keep in mind that each child is unique and has different learning strengths and weaknesses. Some children will find second language learning easy and fun. Others will struggle for everything they learn. Especially for those who struggle, parental encouragement is needed during each step of the process. In addition, children quickly identify and adopt their parents' attitudes toward the language. If your attitude is positive, it will make their learning process much more manageable and enjoyable.

Research indicates that learning a second language is a good thing for children's intellectual development and it opens up career opportunities for them that would otherwise not exist. To have the chance to learn a second language is a gift you give to your children—a gift for their childhood years and their adult years.

Resources

There are many publications dealing with child second-language acquisition. Some have been written especially for parents, while others are aimed primarily at teachers. Many are filled with nuggets of valuable information for both parents and teachers. Here are four articles to get you started in your search, and they will lead to many more resources.

1. The ERIC Digest, "Myths and Misconceptions about Second Language Learning," summarizes the findings of Barry McLaughlin in a report written for elementary teachers. The article identifies and discusses five important myths: (1) Children learn second languages quickly and easily, (2) the younger the child, the more skilled in acquiring the second language, (3) the more time students spend in a second language context, the quicker they learn the language, (4) children have acquired a second language once they can speak it, and (5) all children learn a second language in the same way.

2. The 2006 CAL Digest, "Raising Bilingual Children: Common Parental Concerns and Current Research," by Kendall King and Lyn Fogle helps those who work with bilingual children and their parents to understand common concerns related to bilingual childrearing and also become familiar with the current insights about bilingual child development.

3. The recently updated CAL Parent Brochure by Kathleen Marcos, "Why, How, and When Should My Child Learn a Second Language," informs parents of the benefits of helping children learn a second language at an early age.

2. In the on-line ERIC/CLL Resource Guide, "Raising Children Bilingually," Kathleen Marcos lists ERIC Digests and other ERIC publications, books, publishers, Web sites, conferences, and listservs as well as an annotated list of relevant publications in the ERIC database.

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© David H. Broersma, Ph.D.
Second Language Acquisition Coordinator
Institute for Cross-Cultural Training (ICCT)
Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL 60187
(revised 2007)