The Right Time to Introduce a Second Language

Teaching your baby to talk, read, and communicate is one of the most exciting milestones for parents. So many parents think about what their child’s first words will be and spend plenty of time trying to get their babies to say “Mama” or “Dada” as soon as possible.

However, what many parents don’t realize is that this formative time is also the perfect opportunity to teach their child a second language. No time is too early to start encouraging your child to learn two languages. In fact, in many situations, it is better for your child!

Parents who have tried to learn a second language as teenagers or adults may feel as though this is a lot to add to their baby’s plate—but learning a language early on is actually quite easy at this young age. This is because babies’ brains are naturally designed to learn language just from picking up on cues from their environment. 

Some parents may worry that learning two languages at once can be confusing or overwhelming for kids, but research actually shows the opposite. The optimal language learning is between birth and three years old. 

Babies start learning language the moment they are born. They even start picking up sounds and voice recognition when they are in the womb. Infants can pick up sounds, words and eventually a full language from listening to others around them.  

Helping your child become bilingual can be as easy as picking the right books. In fact, this is a great place to start on your dual-language journey. That’s why we’ve partnered with our friends at Binibi, makers of beautiful bilingual sound books designed to make language learning easy and fun for your little one. With engaging sounds and bright illustrations, these books will entertain your little one and help them take the first steps towards bilingualism.

We’ll be sharing more language learning tips and resources for your baby, so stay tuned!

Sources: ASHA the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association; Colorín Colorado, a nationally recognized resource hub of bilingual, research-based information, activities, and advice for educators and families of English language learners (ELLs). 

This blog series is powered by Binibi, an education company dedicated to promoting bilingualism at the earliest ages. Binibi makes bilingual sound books for children ages 0-5 that are designed for parents to have a fun and easy way to introduce a second language at home, from day one. Binibi is dedicated to creating reading experiences that are both entertaining and educational, and to encouraging parents and caregivers to spend time with their babies through reading together. Binibi seeks to promote language development in children and to encourage families to raise bilingual children.