How does language develop in children?

Language development in infants begins even before birth. As growing fetus begins to recognise sounds and begins to develop hearing capacities. From this point a complex learning process begins until the infant is fully able to communicate. A child goes through different stages, and he is equipped with a complex cognitive system even though mastery of the language is still years away.

Children learn languages unconsciously and above all through hearing. The goal of a child is not to learn languages but to be able to communicate and interact in his environment. Adults, on the other hand, learn a language by reading and writing, with full intention of mastery of the language. The goal of the adult is to know the grammar and an extensive vocabulary.

It is important to keep in mind that all children are different. It is also important that from the beginning the parents know that child’s first language is the language of the environment and the society and the other language is the second language.

Raising children bilingually does not just relate to the actual languages but one must also understand the intercultural aspects as well. Each language has its distinct use of different customary forms, for example talking to an elderly person, showing politeness and volume. Furthermore, each country maintains distinct traditions and habits, which are further assimilated in a family unit. According to this the parent of the second language should accept that the first language’s intercultural aspects will be more automatically to the child and the second language’s aspect will be ‘studied’.