Foreign Language for a Babe in Arms

It is not a problem for a baby to learn two languages at the same time in a bi- or multilingual family. But what if mum and dad speak the same language but still want their little one to study a foreign language as it is much easier to learn a language when one is little. I will share my experience of “teaching” our daughter English (Russian is native to her). Any second language could be taught like that.

When Soniya had turned 2 months old, I decided to buy a book of poems with colourful pictures in English. But I could not find such a book in our bookstores. I found some books with fairy-tales instead. And it was for the better as later I found out that the child is not interested in poems at all (these rythmic lines were like a noisy background for her) but likes to listen to stories when mummy is reading them for her.

From 2 to 4 months

I read 5 funny phrases about animals to our daughter – every day, with the right intonation and pronunciation. And the baby was really listening.

From 4 to 5 months

When she had turned four months old, I added 2-3 pages of a book abridged for beginners. We had two books of such kind and when we finished both of them I started to read them from the very beginning. Again, I must emphasize that the right intonation and pronunciation are vital for the baby to feel a language system different from his native language.

From 5 months

We added a page from an original English literature. It was a good practice for me as well as it gave me a chance to improve my language, too. I was interested in what I was reading and Soniya, I am sure, felt it.

After 6 months

When the baby started sitting, I began to place her in front of me with her back to me in such a way for both of us to see our reflection in the mirror. The book I was reading was lying in front of the baby. She was looking either into the book studying it with her hands or into the mirror watching how my lips were moving. Sometimes she was even echoing me “a-a-a”. She was trying to copy my intonation.

I also included some colloquial phrases into our “lessons”. Between reading the book I was telling our daughter about her toys: “Let’s open the book? See? And now let’s close it. Open the book. Close the book” or “This is a dog [showing her a toy].Woof-woof” , etc.

After 10 months

When the baby turns 10 months old, he starts being interested in images in the pictures (and not just in colourful objects). At that time we added several books with large pictures under which there are some simple colloquial phrases. I believe hearing the phrases again and again will leave its trace in the baby’s memory. And in five minutes, when the child’s attention turns to toys and other things, I start reading her texts abridged for the Intermediate level sitting beside her.

Result

Last week, we visited our friends where there also was a man from Turkey. I was an interpreter speaking either Russian or English. For Soniya, it was quite natural that mummy speaks two languages. But suddenly our dad started speaking English. The baby was so much surprised! For me, it was a sign that the child distinguishes that the languages are different.

Our daughter is 11 months old now. I do not strive to teach her English words. On the contrary, I do not want to make the baby mix two language systems until she starts speaking her native language. That is why I do not name things in English. But I want our daughter to get used to hearing another language for her to learn it easily when time comes.

Note bene

If you start teaching your little one a foreign language, it is important:

- to do it systematically, 20-40 minutes every day;

- the language should be taught by a real person, an audio tape will be just a background.

- it is very important that the pronunciation of the one who speaks should be right.

Anastasia

For this article in Russian please follow the link http://parentsideas.com/2009/04/anglijskij-dlya-grudnichka

Next time we will share with you our experience of how to wash the floor successfully with a 12-month old child.