Sharing Language Skills

Families today span the globe due to work situations and social mobility, and it can be a good way for them to encourage their children to learn more than one language at a young age. A family member married to someone from another country might find they are quickly learning a new language, but it can be difficult when inviting their family to a holiday meal. As everyone’s children grow up, all the adults might be fascinated on how sharing language skills between their children can become a new way for the family as a whole to communicate.

The ability to speak a particular language is not something a child is born with, so they can learn almost any language if they are immersed in it. A child growing up where only one language is spoken will tend to speak only that language unless they are taught another by their family or at school. For those who have cousins or other family members from a different country where another language is spoken, picking up random words will be a normal part of their upbringing.

Children playing together may revert to whatever language is normally spoken in their own home, and it will not necessarily be the same one as a cousin or friend. Children are generally patient with those their own age when it comes to language skills, and they may be willing to educate each other as they play together. Encouraging this type of sharing can help children learn quickly, and it can be a gift shared by the entire family.

Language skills begin to be acquired at birth, and they progress quickly during the first six years of life. Children growing up surrounded by two different languages will tend to learn both, and they are often able to converse comfortably in either at any given time. Teaching their friends and relatives how to do it might take patience, but it can deliver benefits as everyone learns.