AIBU in enrolling my toddler in a language course?

[Nothinglikeachocolatebrownie]

I'm asking AIBU because I wonder whether anyone has actually taken lessons as a child without having a native speaker at home, and eventually become bilingual?

Everyone I know that is bilingual either has family that speak the second language or they worked hard at school/uni to learn. I've never met anyone who went to classes as a child and ended up bilingual. So I'm wondering whether it is worth sending my toddler or not!?!

I don't think classes would be the way to go for a toddler. It would be better to find a way of exposing him/her to the other language in a more natural environment.

Research suggests better results after the age of 11 for languages learned in the classroom. (The UK’s current approach is not research based.)
Children are not very good at learning languages, though they are amazing at accents and at guessing.
Toddler classes would be a waste of time. Instill a love of her mother tongue and of reading and you’ll give her the tooks to learn later on.

...tools

My DS goes to a bilingual nursery although we only speak English at home. I'm not expecting him to become bilingual in both languages but I think exposure to a second language can only be a good thing in terms of his development.

I went to Welsh language primary and was fluent when I left, from an English speaking home. I've run Welsh groups for toddlers and I would say that they pick up songs etc but I wouldn't expect them to be fluent without being immersed in the language for a significant part of their week.

I'd go for it anyway though if they enjoy it - understanding that there are multiple languages is a big jump for a toddler brain!

There are a lot of countries where toddlers routinely learn a second language but it's usually by attending an English speaking nursery.

I think language classes can be great fun and teach some vocabulary ahead of learning it at school. I don't think they will make your child bilingual. I think it's really hard to be bilingual without a parent (or someone you spend lots of time with) speaking the language with you. I think bilingual nurseries or nannies can help, but even then it is often lost when they start school.

I live in Wales so my little one will start learning Welsh at school in 2 years, neither me or my husband speak it. We've gotten some first words type picture books with bilingual labels on the pictures and found some Welsh nursery rhymes we sing to start getting him used to the language.
I'm not sure formal classes/lessons are needed at such a young age where learning is through play.
I'm hoping that getting him used to Welsh and learning a little as we go myself will help.
Whether you do a toddler focused class or less formal learning they will pick up on it as they're such sponges for language at that age. It's also great to be able to learn with them so you can help with pronunciation and later spelling.

Wonderful idea! There is another way to become bilingual you haven't considered -

• being exposed and around the language throughout childhood> leading to confidence in learning it when older> leading to being bilingual.

Which is the case with me. We had French 'lessons' from very young and we used phrases and words at home with mum. When it came to learning French in year 7 it really wasn't a big deal ... I had been exposed to it all my childhood after all and had the confidence to try/speak etc. I excelled in French in school and now speak it fluently.

(French then became even better when I lived there for a year)

You're not being unreasonable at all!

I think it would be difficult to become bilingual when just having a class or two a week. You need immersion, really, so a home or setting speaking that language, as pp have said above.

@AlexaShutUp

I don't think classes would be the way to go for a toddler. It would be better to find a way of exposing him/her to the other language in a more natural environment.

I think it's the word class or lesson tbh! Classes and lessons for toddlers and very young children aren't really lessons if you see what I mean...

A bit like music lessons for 3 year olds aren't really lessons but rather musical experiences if that makes sense....

I started english lessons at 6, after I learnt how to read/write in my mother tongue

Can you supplement the language lessons at home by reading books in that language and having some of the TV your little one watches be in that language. Keep it around to reinforce it (that way you'll pick some up too) and its not just a random half hour or so a week.

Save your money. I speak 5 languages and didn’t go to toddler classes. My children go to bilingual school, and I still don’t consider them bilingual, because we only speak a English at home. No-one just “ends up” bilingual if they grown up in a monolingual home. It requires a lifetime of work and exposure.

The one thing you could do now is learn another language yourself, if you’re monolingual, so you can model language learning throughout life for your child. Why should she otherwise be interested if you are demonstrating by your actions that it unnecessary.
If you are already fluent, watch TV in the other language(s) and keep your books in those languages out.

My DSis emigrated to a Scandinavian country. Her older (primary age) two children attend an English medium school but have about 20% of lessons taught in the native language (including the formal language lesson). Her youngest (preschooler) attends a setting which is native language. The staff there do speak English but everything is delivered in the native language. My DSis has evening classes in the native language.

Not surprisingly, the preschooler is the most proficient in conversation, despite not being able to read.

My DH is a foreign national, but it's an Anglosphere country so we're monolingual. I have considered learning a language now, after doing German GCSE back at school, but I'm not sure which one to choose!

My DC went to nursery aged 5 months. They did French sessions daily and we then did some sessions at home via books and YouTube. He was pretty fluent by 4. I don't speak French.

If you do choose classes, ensure whoever is teaching is actually fluent.
I've attended two different Spanish classes, and both times pronunciation and grammar were wrong.

Genuine question, how do you judge the fluency of your child (or the teacher) if you don’t speak the language yourself?
A child of 4 won’t usually have mastered all the structures in their mother tongue so would be a real exception to be fluent in a second classroom-taught language at that age.

What about cartoons etc in the desired language. Muzzy (BBC) and similar programmes work via watching lots of stuff rather than learning formally, afaik.

@MySocalledLoaf I attended two classes for toddlers, with songs etc.
My Spanish was good enough to know one of the teachers was mispronouncing lots of words. I actually went to the second one with my mil, visiting from Spain. She identified lots of issues.

We are a bilingual household, so the classes were just for a bit of extra fun. I'm not prepared to pay quite high prices for incorrect teaching though, fun or not.

I suppose if you don't speak the language then maybe ask the opinion of someone who does. Do any native speakers attend the class?

To get a good grasp, a child needs a lot of exposure to that language...more than a couple of classes a week would provide

My mom started teaching me French when I was only two. I continued learning French at primary school, it was part of the curriculum. I was raised in a cultural house actually, my mom knows Italian and Spanish, I can talk in both English and French and my dad knows German and Tamil.

I can say Hello in Spanish as well.

There are toddler friendly language lessons available, search Facebook or ask around for some useful names and recommendations. Alternatively you can enlist the services of a good local qualified tutor in languages too. There are plenty of free resources on Amazon and online as well, try Duolingo. Also visit your local library etc to see the books on learning French etc.

We laugh at ourselves for paying for french lessons at nursery. Dd1 didn't even take a gcse language she was so bad at French compared to her other grades (she's clever) and dd2 was gifted at German (school put her German not French) but struggled with French when they had the odd lesson. Its a fun activity for little ones and possibly helps future interest and pronunciation because we have plastic brains but ultimately if its not constantly developed it won't result in much.

I think it sounds great (assuming the lessons are fun and toddler friendly). Learning a second language is great. I agree that they are unlikely to become fluent without speaking the other language at home, bit that doesn't mean it isn't a good idea.