Using more than one language with my baby
Many children grow up hearing, and then communicating in, more than one language. This might happen in families with adults who speak multiple languages and in families in which the language used at home is different than the one used by other people in the broader community.
Whatever the reason, children who are exposed to more than one language eventually can become fluent and will be able to tell languages apart. Just like children who speak only one language, those who speak two or more languages need lots of “input”. This means that people speaking to young children in each language should communicate regularly, in a variety of natural situations. The children also need to be in situations where they have to use each language to communicate with other people who speak it. The videos below show examples of different ways to expose children to multiple languages that can be done at any age.
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- I use some basic signs for words that describe my baby’s needs and wants, such as, milk, food, more, all done, hungry, and sleep.
- My baby hears these words often; using signs as well as spoken words develops my baby’s ability to communicate.
- I make the sign at the same time that I say the word and I try to be consistent.
- I know that my baby might be able to make similar hand gestures before being able to say words clearly.
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- When adults around a child speak more than one language, two common approaches are:
- One-adult-one-language
- Two-adults-two languages
- With the “one-adult-one-language” approach, one adult speaks one language while the other adult speaks another language.
- With the “two-adults-two languages” approach, both adults use both languages.
- Both approaches work well and children will learn to tell the difference between languages.
- Children pick up language best from people who speak that language easily.
- Babies and young children can learn more than one language if they hear the languages regularly.
Click on the “CC” button above for French or English captions.
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- There are lots of ways to help a child learn more than one language.
- One way I do it is to talk about objects, using the words for the objects in both languages.
- I use just one language in each sentence, to help a child tell the two languages apart.
- Keeping it natural and relaxed is important. I don’t want it to feel like a lesson.
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