Development of the child’s brain can be achieved by providing it with the appropriate information.
Despite the incredible complexity involved in the process of learning a language, a child has mastered one or more languages by the age of three or even younger.
Learning a second language at a young age develops the child’s brain pathways in the auditory cortex and general intelligence.
Indeed, learning a second language at a young age is an effective way to greatly advance all children, including brain-damaged children and children with autism.
The younger the child, the easier and more natural it is to learn a language. The older one is, the more difficult it is to acquire a good accent and to gain native-speaker-like mastery of grammar.
Learning English at an early age will help the child succeed in school English lessons and enjoy learning the language.
Is there any point in teaching an infant a second language when he does not speak his first yet?
Yes, very much so. An infant who hears two languages will grow up understanding them both. It is not uncommon for a baby to grow up with three or four languages and to understand them all.
Experience has shown that children can differentiate between languages. Learning different languages at an early age expands the child’s mental capacity.
On what should I put the emphasis when teaching my child?
1. Do NOT pressure your child to speak in English. 2. Do NOT test him. If you must test your child, he should not be aware of being tested. If tested, he may answer wrongly deliberately. 3. Do NOT try to correct your child’s accent, even if she confuses sounds. Do believe in your child! 4. Encourage and praise her enthusiastically when she deserves it and at every opportunity. 5. Put the emphasis on fun, both yours and your child’s. Enjoying your experience will make your teaching most effective.
How quickly should I progress with the child’s learning?
Remember that the faster your child progresses, the more he will enjoy learning. There are tapes and books made specifically for young children on the market.
To ensure fast progress, he must listen daily to the unit being studied. Slow progress because of irregular listening will create boredom and lack of joy and motivation.
When the child has a pretty good grasp of the unit being studied and knows (according to your feeling) most of the vocabulary of that unit, it is time to go on to the next unit.
In general, start as early as possible. Your child can indeed learn spoken English for five whole years before approaching reading and writing. Just as a child arrives at kindergarten with a spoken language of about 6,000 words, your child can be proficient in spoken English before going on to the written medium.