When teaching your child multiple languages, starting early is very important! Learning multiple languages early means your child has more exposure and practice with understanding and speaking. Learning more than one language does not cause delays in your child’s speech; children still learn at the same rate as others, but at 2 years old they may have 25 words in English and 25 words in another language, rather than 50 words in just one language. Children typically do not become confused by learning multiple languages; although there may be some grammatical mishaps here and there, children are often able to differentiate between languages and use them with the appropriate setting or person by the age of 3 years old. Kids who start learning multiple languages at a young age can learn quickly and easily, but older kids and adults also can become fluent in multiple languages with practice and frequent exposure!

It is very important to be supportive of your young children learning more than one language. Focus on giving them a lot of practice and exposure to multiple languages and give them daily opportunities to work with their speech. Resources such as books in different languages or music and songs can be fun ways to learn new words and work on what they already know. Once your child begins daycare or school, you should still continue to speak other language(s) at home; they will often get plenty of practice with English at school, but would benefit from practicing their other language(s) in the home environment. There are even some dual-language programs (such as preschools, camps, and clubs) that can help your child practice other languages outside of the home. 

If you have concerns about your child’s speech development, schedule an appointment with one of our providers to go over developmental milestones! For more questions and information regarding learning languages, view this article from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

HealthyChildren. (March 25, 2024). Young Children Learning Multiple Languages: Parent FAQs. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/gradeschool/school/Pages/7-Myths-Facts-Bilingual-Children-Learning-Language.aspx