To think that children who watch cbeebies are far too young to be 'learning' a different language?

[Jane04]

I just don't understand it, My nearly 2 YO DS isn't talking properly yet and the occasions when he does watch TV there are program's on there which teach him different languages.

I don't understand it

The younger the better when it comes to foreign languages. My mum spoke both French and English to me as a baby and I learned both with no problems.

Learning a different language is fine. Lingo-bugs( or what ever its called) isn't. I can't follow it never mind a toddler.

Magic hands and something special are good though.

My ds is 2.11 and if I ask him what hello is in Mandarin he knows! Because of cbeebies. I don't think it's much different from him learning welsh in nursery, which he has been doing for over a year.

The earlier the better. I've worked with Trilingual children who have switched between the different languages of mum and dad and English with us. It's something that very few british children have the chance to ever experience.

At that age, it's just acquiring more vocabulary, and they're not stressing or worrying about the grammar etc. I think it's a brilliant idea and will help them in the future.

As-salam alaykum.

It's all good. My lot love it.

I should add I've never seen the programme, but bilingual children usually "learn" both languages from birth. Just think about how you learnt your language - from listening and copying your parents, family etc.

The earlier the better, their brains are like sponges.

I'm a speech and language therapist and have never heard of this programme so thank you OP for the information!

Must look into it.....

'Far too young to be learning a different language'? What age are these children? My DS is 12 weeks old and is already being exposed to a different language in the hope that he'll grow up able to speak it.

WestieMamma, how are you introducing another language to your 12 week old? Is it your or your partner's other language?

Congratulations by the way!

YABU. Language acquisition peaks before the age of 7, so it's exactly the right time to be exposing them to foreign language.

It's all about familiarisation. Helps avoid xenophobic attitudes.

They aren't there to teach different languages (each ep has about ten words?). Its to spark an interest while they are young and show that there are different languages. I think its great! THE LINGO SHOOOOW THE LINGO SHOW!

YABU.

It's just a bit of fun.

The Lingo show only teaches a tiny handful of words in each language anyway (1, 2, 3 plus some colours, animals and transport mainly - can you tell I've watched it a lot?)

Children can learn several different languages from birth if they are exposed to it regularly enough.

My husband is tri-lingual (is that the right word) just because he grew up listening to 3 different languages from birth.

Much of the world grows up bilingual. Many grow up trilingual. It is normal*.

• because many people have their own local language and the 'official' one, or because they live in a region where more than one language is routinely spoken. Or because they have a home language from their ethnic background and another from the host country....etc etc.

My 3 DC were bilingual from birth (Welsh and English) and by the time they started school could also count and say simple phrases is Spanish (thank you Handy Manny).

It is so much easier to pick up a language when you are a toddler than when you are an adult or older child. I can't imagine children will become fluent from watching a TV programme, but it puts the idea in their heads that there are other languages and that learning them can be fun.

DD has recently been given some books which are bilingual - French/English and Welsh/Spanish. She loves reading them and working out what the French and Spanish words mean. She is 7.

YABU. Children of bilingual families are exposed to different languages from birth. They are never too young to learn, the earlier you get them the better they soak it up! Both our kids are bilingual because we've spoken both French and English to them from birth.

In support of the OP; in Scotland we have kids TV programmes in Gaelic - Postman Pat, Fireman Sam, a version of Play School and that sort of thing. I and the other mums from our playgroup days can vouch that our kids did not pick up one single word of Gaelic from this. More worryingly, the kids would sit glued to these programmes without mentioning they didn't understand any of it.

WestieMamma, how are you introducing another language to your 12 week old? Is it your or your partner's other language?

No we're both English speakers, but we live in Sweden. My daughter is fluent in Swedish so speaks to him in Swedish, when she remembers, and sings and reads to him in Swedish. Other people he comes into contact with eg health visitor, use Swedish when talking to him rather than the English they use when talking to me.

Yabu its good for them. My dd is 2.5 and she just watched the link go show and a was repeating the words and I repeated them with her and then told her what they are in English. It won't make her fluent in another language but it all helps and she likes it :)

She also copies the signs on something special.

Well it depends what you want from it. DS has been bilingual from birth, although he obviously didn't talk then, and at 2 is making headway on his third and fourth languages. He doesn't seem remotely confused and will quite happily ask for hugs in the appropriate language to the appropriate person.

I don't like programmes which try to teach a language systematically (you won't actually learn much from it and they're mostly terrible) but watching a programme in a foreign language or a programme about different languages with some examples is only beneficial INO

I had never thought about it that way, of course there are families who are bilingual.

Yes okay, IABU