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If you’re a parent, then you know how quickly kids learn. One minute they’re saying only mommy and daddy, and the next they’re running around speaking in full sentences. A child’s mind is literally like a sponge during this time, they’re learning, watching and trying to imitate everything that goes on around them. For this reason, it’s a great time to think about teaching your child a second language. If Possible…Learn a New Language EarlyMore than any other time in our lives, people have the easiest time learning a new language or other skills when they’re young. A child’s mind,...

Dual-language immersion programs are continuing to expand in schools across the country, Education Week’s Lesli A. Maxwell reports in a recent story. California, Texas, Utah and North Carolina are just a few of the states with popular programs. Maxwell reports that experts estimate that more than 2,000 programs exist nationwide. Such programs give equal weight and time to English and Spanish. Instruction in each language is alternated, often by half-day or every other day. The classes can be comprised of all English language learners or “two-way” programs that mix ELLs with children who are fluent in English. I find the...

Inside the small classrooms of Lorenzo de Zavala Elementary School, first-grade students detail recipes, in Spanish, for limonada, lemonade. “Agua, hielo, límon.” In another room, older students construct sentences, in English, with the word “malfunction” as they work through a Star Wars-inspired game. “My brain wasn’t working,” says one boy mischievously. “It had a malfunction.”Not missing a beat, teacher Charles Stewart tells a Star Wars comrade, “Cesar, turn his brain back on.” The giggles tumble out. But this is serious teaching and turning brains on is exactly the point. Teaching at this humble elementary school, just west of the Trinity...

This book is an excellent and easy to read step-by-step guide for anyone interested in raising children with a second (or multiple) language. It is an invaluable tool for parents and teachers alike. The guide is exceptionally rich in personal narratives and practical advices based on research results and Steiner’s personal experience as a mother and pediatrician who raises her own children multilingual. The author demystifies bilingualism and encourages parents to participate in second language education at any child age. If parents do not speak a second language, she suggests for example to incorporate the language experience of the babysitter...