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Foreign Language Power

Can Babies and Toddlers Become Bilingual, or Even Trilingual?

By Kendeyl Johansen

Some children resist learning another language. When my Norwegian husband tried to teach our 2 1/2-year-old American son, Max, how to speak Norwegian, Max insisted, "Speak English, Daddy!" But when we traveled to Norway, Max hated not being able to understand anyone. He tentatively asked us, "How do you say, 'Hi' in Norwegian?" By the end of our 10-day trip Max could communicate in basic Norwegian just from immersion in the culture.

If your child balks at learning another language, Thibaut suggests signing onto the Internet and ordering cartoons in the second language. Another suggestion is finding something that interests your child like a favorite action figure or doll and developing games to play using the second language. "Your child will be more interested if you integrate a second language in play, rather than in adult to child conversation," says Thibaut.

Sometimes simple persistence works. When Gloria Attar moved from the United States to Bologna, Italy, her 2 1/2-year-old daughter didn't want to learn Italian. "My daughter completely resisted my efforts, but as I kept speaking in Italian to her, she started to ask, 'What's this in Italian,'" says Attar. Reading Italian picture books also helped. "It's very sweet when your child starts talking to you in the foreign language naturally. Like to them, it's no big deal," she says.

Give your child the gift of another language while they're still small and it's easier for them to learn. A second language lets them create special friendships, understand different cultures and seize opportunities resulting in lifelong benefits.