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SECOND LANGUAGES FOR YOUNG CHILDREN
A
ccording to language experts, 6-month-old babies
babble using 70 different sounds that make up all of the
languages of the world.
Children are not pre-programmed with the language(s)
of their parents; they learn the language of their environments.
For example, the child of parents who consistently speak multiple
languages in everyday conversations will naturally speak both
languages.
Learning a second language is not as challenging for a young
child as you may think. Teaching a 1-year-old the word “red” and the
Spanish version, “rojo,” is similar to teaching the words “stone” and
“rock.” There is nothing confusing about this for a young child.
The key to teaching your child a second language is to immerse
him or her in the language. Your child’s teacher may do this
throughout the day by labeling and referencing items and actions in
the classroom in different languages