Many parents ask if it's a good idea to have their children study more than one language at a time, or even to mix the language study within the household.
Big Brother is learning German, Little Sister wants to study Spanish. Beginning a new study of languages concurrently is not a good idea. The brain treats all second languages as a whole. Meaning, whatever is not a native language gets lumped together. So the frustration of keeping vocabulary words memorzed and in the correct categories actually becomes doubled!
I remember when...
As anecdotal evidence, I performed for an oral exam in college completely in French. I had beautiful pronunciation, my professor was QUITE impressed. However, she was conducting the exam in Spanish! I had studied French for three years in high school and when the pressure was on, I understood the questions and my brain translated to the second language most readily available. Happily, my professor was a kind soul, and also trilingual, and allowed me to come the next day to try to converse in Spanish. (I passed!)
Younger students are almost immune
Even today, my three year old mixed German and Spanish as she expressed a desire to use the restroom. At her age, she will figure it out, and I need to do little to change her path. With older students, though, be sure they have at LEAST two years of a foundation in one foreign language before throwing a second one in the mix. This includes Latin!
Two at once?
In your house, you do not necessarily need to separate the students studying separate languages, as long as one of them began study at an earlier time. Any amount of time lapse is good. If you have to make a decision - both want to study this year, and both are choosing separate languages, choose ONE as a family (the older one's choice, most likely.) After a year, allow the younger one to switch, or perhaps the choice will remain!
It's food for thought, and I welcome any specific questions regarding this issue. As always, feel free to post your own anecdotes and comments on language systems or ideas you have come across.
Buena suerte! (Good luck!)
Senora Gose
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Please define "younger" student. What is the cut off age?
Thank you.
Many Blessings,
Holly
Younger Ages...
For this blog, I would say it depends on the child, but I would say up to the age of 5, you can mix languages without too much trouble of them being able to keep them separate when they want to. My own 6 year old can easily answer someone in German, and then switch to Spanish if I ask him a question in the next moment even. However, he has been exposed to Spanish for the entirety of his life, and German just for a few months now.
Linguistically, the brain changes along with growth spurts. So around Kindergarten/First Grade, you'll most likely want to choose one language to focus on for a year or so. (You'll go faster, too!)
Thanks for the question! I'm glad I had the opportunity to define that a bit more.
