Your child is unique, but what all children have in common is natural curiosity and an ability to learn they are born with. Our brains are active all the time, and a baby's brain is the busiest of all. Research has shown that babies begin to understand language about twice as fast as they actually speak it. By showing children other languages at an early age, you are giving them the opportunity to make use of their natural ability to hear and recognize between the sounds of other languages, and their ability to make sense of what they are hearing.
Communication is something that children do to help them achieve something else, and they are unaware of the large amount of learning taking place. They take everything in through their senses, making connections between what they hear, see, smell, taste and touch. As long as we provide the right conditions, their learning and development will take place in a natural way.
In your child's early years, the emotional environment is just as important as the physical environment. Children learn when they feel safe, happy, valued and listened to. This is central to any learning experience in a child's early years, including learning an additional language. Your child has a trial-and-error approach to its development, and making mistakes is a valuable part of the learning process. When children learn an additional language at an early age, they get the benefits of experimenting with that language as a natural part of their development. Their progress isn't prevented by a fear of getting it wrong, and very young children are simply working their way towards getting it right.
The long-term benefits of learning another language go beyond being able to communicate with others. Studies suggest that children learning an additional language tend to score better on standardized tests because learning languages develops listening, observation, problem-solving and critical(批判性的) thinking skills. These are skills that are of life-long benefit, both personally and professionally. Encouraging in children a love of language at an early age prepares them well for school and for life.
