The second phase incorporates the time between age 3 to 6 years of age, but more specifically, the pre-school years.
You need to accept that the language of the environment (nursery school, friends) is the first language of the child, do not force him to use the second language, make the second language interesting to the kid with games. Never forget that you build a second language.
In this stage the child develops further cognitive skills of understanding communication as well as the capacity to tell events and stories. He communicates in complete sentences which become more complex by the application of logic. At the end of this stage, the child exhibits greater use of vocabulary and a better command of grammar.
At the age of three a child starts to understand sentences with greater complexity. He is able to react to commands such as “Please, bring me the cup!”, and “Please, bring me the ball! “, and so on. The child composes his first questions and can use the past form of verbs adequately.
At the age of four, the child can recount experiences in his everyday routine, ask a myriad of questions, and use fantasy when playing games, such as playing doctor, papa or “Dan the Pilot”. He begins to use the correct application of the personal pronoun and can sustain a conversation.
Between the ages of five and six, the child uses the past, present, and future forms in his speech. He can also describe things in detail and voice an opinion on varied topics. His sentence formation gains also in complexity.
The goal of this phase is to enrich his vocabulary, and to learn the correct syntax of languages.
The followings are recommended to the parents:
Motivate the child to communicate, for example by constantly asking simple questions and engaging the child in dialogue.
Take the time to answer each question the child may ask.
Listen to the child and his stories.
Try to avoid mixing languages when you talk to and with the child! One parent once use one language. You can have similar dialogues in both languages to practice but never mix the languages in one dialogue.
If you want to know more about what is recommended feel free and get in touch with me!