When should you start speaking another language with your child?

When should you start speaking the other language to your child?

As soon as possible: when he’s still in your womb, if your husband feels comfortable talking to him, if not as soon as he’s born, every time he talks to him. The sooner you get used to it, the more it becomes natural for the baby, but also for the dad… and the mom.

Does a bilingual child understand everything?

Yes, from the first months, like unilingual children. Except that he appropriates the words in French and in the other language simultaneously. He does not need to translate since he is learning both languages ​​at the same time. Finally, for him, the same object can be said in two different ways: one like mom and one like dad. And since the newborn child is able to reproduce all sounds as he hears them, he will have no accent, neither in one language nor in the other. A real chance …

Can a child be disturbed to hear two languages?

Not at all ! Because not only do children naturally have a great ability to adapt (adopted children learn a new language in a very short time), but in addition this pattern, provided it does not change too much, will serve as benchmarks: hearing and understanding two languages ​​will become his norm.

What language should we favor in a bilingual child?

The two ! And always by giving him benchmarks: his dad speaks to him systematically in English, his mum in French. Between yourselves, do not change your habits either. The main thing is to always adopt the same attitude towards your child: as with other learning activities, you must not confuse the codes, otherwise you risk unintentionally creating a blockage in your little one.

Will my child learn to speak later?

Not necessarily, but it can happen. In any case, the first language learned is often the emotional language or the one he hears most often. This is why the child learns both languages ​​more easily simultaneously when the mother is a foreigner, especially when she spends more time with him. But in the case of a foreign dad in a French environment, we often notice that the child speaks French first because he does not want to feel different from others.

What if he always answers in French?

Don’t force it. Depending on his temperament, he may first want to master one language perfectly before acquiring another. And if it is French, it is certainly because it needs it more often to be understood (at the nursery, at the nanny’s …). No worries: even if he still sulks English at 5, be sure that he understands everything and that the words will come naturally to him when he is at the park with Grandpa and Grandma, for example …

Encourage a bilingual child

By offering him other sources of English than his dad. There is no shortage of DVDs and the choice of language is often quite wide. Take advantage of a trip to England to bring him back nursery rhyme CDs, or books that his daddy could read to him. And do not neglect his family across the Channel: that he regularly calls or sees his grandparents. Even kill two birds with one stone by taking a babysitter of the same nationality …

Is a bilingual child going to have the double culture?

Without a doubt, on condition that he sensitized him from an early age to his other country. And that goes through the language, but also by talking to him about it, going there regularly or even familiarizing him with food. Do not hesitate to show him pictures, to evoke memories. And since children love stories, use them to arouse their curiosity: the Queen of England, the hunt with hounds… And don’t forget: having two cultures is an enrichment and not a constraint.