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Tips for Raising a Bilingual Child

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that 31 million residents ages 5 and older speak Spanish fluently at home, so it’s no surprise that immersion schools are popping up across the country and bilingual babies are all the rage - Madonna, Andre Agassi and Antonio Banderas are all raising polyglots-to-be.

The ability to speak one or more foreign languages can build confidence and provide a competitive advantage in school and later on the career path; but the question is-what is the best, most effective way to incorporate a second language into a household, especially if a parent is monolingual themselves?

Duane Sider, an education expert at Rosetta Stone (a leading language learning solution), has provided several tips to help encourage the process:

Commit to a System: Before embarking on the language learning journey, the entire family should discuss how the second language will be introduced at home. For example, decide if both parents will speak the minority language during the weekend even though one parent may only be a rudimentary speaker of the language; or if one parent will only communicate in the minority language.

Join a Bilingual Playgroup: Kids learn best from each other, particularly when they are engaged in the activity at hand. Participating regularly in a playgroup dedicated to second language learning will help maintain consistency and using everyday objects and actions during playtime to show the meaning of words in your child’s world will help facilitate success.

Turn Chores into an International Experience: Whether you are baking a batch of cookies with your child, picking up toys, or helping them get dressed in the morning, make sure to continuously name the world around you. Rather than translating words from one language to another, you and your children can use your senses to connect new words to their real-life meanings - the way the brain is wired to learn your first language.

Immerse the Whole Family: Family time can be fun as well as educational. Parents and children who are over the age of five can learn a language together easily using computer-based language-learning programs such as Rosetta Stone, a completely interactive, immersion-based program for learning new languages on CD or online. The Rosetta Stone Audio Companion even allows families to practice their language skills while on the road.

Make Your Voice Heard - Over and Over Again: Focus on the spoken language - listening and speaking both. Hearing the sounds of a new language while you are young, often through learning some of the new language, even songs in the language, eases the process of mastering a second language. And repetition is key - the more often the words are repeated, the most likely it is that the word will be remembered.

Info provided by Rosetta Stone.