how much exposure does a child need to learn a language?

[Kelly1978]

My dts are a year now, and have just recently met my partner's family and are now spending quite a bit of time with them. In the last three weeks, they've prob spent a total of 6 days with them. His gran doesn't speak much english at all, so they tend to speak their own language, and I am wondering if the dts will pick it up or if it is going to be too little too late? DP speaks english to them at home since I don't understand gujarati.

bump.

Never too late and at a year should be fine. Make sure that they are exclusively spoken to in that language in their company so they can make a clear association of language and person. they will come to understand more than they can speak for quite some time though so don't have high expectations for a year or two.

Defo not too little too late... my nanny is Polish and started with us when dd was 3yo. Her mother comes on extended visits (2xchildcare for me for the price of 1 and speaks polish as she doesn't speak English... no problem for dd and I'm sure she's picked up some, because when we were on holiday she was having a 'conversation' with a Russian lady who was at the pool with her baby!

Years ago I was an aupair in Germany and I couldn't speak a word of German , I looked after a 15 month old girl and she later understood every word I said, including cumbrian accent! However she didn't speak in english. I know she understood though because she followed everything I said. Now I have 2 of my own and they started learning German at 3 or nearly 4 years old and I just took them to german kindergarten and they picked it up, 3 hours a day- now they are fluent.

They'll just pick it up - it's amazing how kids do this. Do you have any kids tv progs in this language? - always found this a useful language source.

thanks for all the replies, it does look hopeful then.
We do have a couple of gujarati nursery rhyme dvds, but that's about it. There isn't a lot about. I was thinkign about subscribing to the gujarati channel on sky.

I keep trying to get dp to talk to them in gujarati more, but he 'forgets'!