Reading to Your Children in a Second Language

Reading to your children in a second language is not different to reading to your child in your first language especially from a young age. Here’s why:

Children learn their first language through meaningful input with others. They learn to speak by copying what they have heard. They build their vocabulary by linking words to images when their parents are talking to them or reading to them. When you read, sing or speak to your child in your first language you don’t concern yourself with their ability to understand your words. You know they will learn it.

It should be the same with a second language. If you are reading to your children in another language the pictures give the children the context to understand what you are saying the same way it would in their first language. Reading to your children in a second language is a great way for you and your child to learn that language. It doesn’t have to be scary either. You can start from the very basics the same way you would with the first language. One word per page books to one sentence per page to two or three sentence per page to a whole paragraph per page. It is possible and you should try it. Just grab a book from our English library if you live nearby or ask for book suggestions if you don’t.