Especially adults who have learned or are learning a foreign language complain about how difficult this process is due to the intensity of work life and responsibilities. Maybe that's why the first question that comes to mind for many people who hear that we teach Spanish as well as English in the course program we have prepared for our children is "Can children learn two languages at the same time?" or "Don't they get confused?" The biggest reason we make this mistake is comparing children to ourselves, or maybe even underestimating them by thinking how they will succeed when we have difficulty as adults.
Before going into detail, let's answer our question: Yes, children can learn two languages at the same time. Here are the reasons:
LANGUAGE LEARNING STARTS IN THE WOMB
Language is made up of sounds. Therefore, the act of 'learning a language' is actually the act of processing sounds. All languages in the world consist of an average of 800 sounds. This means that each language has an average of 40 distinctive sounds that distinguish it from other languages. Here is the interesting part: Babies come into the world with the ability to distinguish all these sounds.
Scientific studies show that babies start learning a language while they are still in the womb. They start learning their 'mother tongue' before they are born thanks to their mother's voice. When they are born, they not only can distinguish their mother tongue and other languages, but they also have the ability to perceive the differences between other languages. In other words, when they are born, they can hear the difference between these 800 sounds and learn any language. An example of this is children growing up in a multilingual family. These children learn the languages they hear in the family at the same time in a natural process as they grow up.
DO CHILDREN GET CONFUSED WHILE LEARNING TWO LANGUAGES?
One of the most common myths is that children are likely to confuse the languages they learn. We usually fall into this mistake because bilingual children sometimes add words from the other language to the language they speak. In fact, if we know at least one foreign language, we do the same thing. For example, when speaking Turkish, we put an English word in between. Does this mean that we are confused? No. The reason for this preference is essentially the same for us and for children:
Children who learn more than one language naturally have more than one vocabulary. Sometimes, if they cannot find the word they need in one language, they compensate by using the word in the other language. Apart from not being confused, it can even be said that they are quite lucky in this respect. A child who only knows his/her mother tongue does not have the same advantage. If he/she does not know a word in his/her mother tongue, he/she may have more difficulty expressing it himself/herself since he/she cannot find its equivalent.
In reality, children easily adapt to the person they interact with and know how to distinguish between the two languages. For example, a child whose parents speak different languages knows which language to speak to which parent and interacts in that language without question. Our brains are often expected to learn similar topics at the same time. Throughout our school lives, our curriculum is prepared with this logic, relying on our ability to process and filter information from many categories.
WHAT IS THE BEST AGE FOR CHILDREN TO LEARN A LANGUAGE?
We just mentioned that newborns can hear around 800 sounds. However, as babies grow older, they lose this ability because they gradually become aware of and record the sounds they hear the most in their environment. Therefore, by the time they reach their first birthday, they have lost the ability to hear and distinguish so many sounds. This actually shows us that the younger we are, the easier it will be to learn a language.
According to most experts, the most ideal age is the period from birth to age 3. However, children who learn the easiest can generally be grouped as those under the age of 10. Again, foreign languages can be learned more easily during adolescence than during adulthood. After adolescence, new languages begin to be stored in a different part of the brain. The brain uses the native language or the translation process to learn the new language.
Despite everything, although there are ideal ages for learning a language, there is no such thing as being too late. All these scientific studies show that children can learn more than one language, and that they even learn more easily than us adults. Adults can also learn many foreign languages using a method similar to the natural learning processes that children follow unconsciously.
WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF LEARNING TWO LANGUAGES AT THE SAME TIME?
Children who learn two languages at the same time constantly switch their attention between these languages. This provides them with cognitive advantages and improved executive functions*. In other words, they have the ability to manage and switch their attention, switch between tasks, and solve problems more easily.
In addition, they have increased metalinguistic skills. Metalinguistics is the branch of science that studies language and its relationship with other cultural behaviors. Thanks to these skills they develop in childhood, they have a career field they can choose in their professional lives.
Another cumulative effect of learning two languages is that it protects against cognitive decline and Alzheimer's (dementia) disease that comes with aging, as it is an action that constantly exercises the brain. *Executive functions are supervisory and regulatory functions that occur in the frontal region of the brain called the prefrontal lobe.
Don't forget to read our article to see how you can help your children with their language education.
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