Learning a foreign language: the earlier the better?

Judy_Zhu(Swiss)

My daughter Nicole has been exposed to a trilingual environment since she was born, Chinese mandarin, Swiss German and English. But the pity is that Chinese is really an extreme minority here, only her parents speak Chinese to her. She started regular communication with local people and babies and toddlers since she was one year old. As for English, when we three are outside, both parents speak English with other friends. Her speech development has long been my concern during the past two years, as it has significantly lagged behind compared with the kids from the same age group. Nicole's experience is not a single case. Many kids normally start speaking later, some at 2 years old, some at two and half, some are even later at 4 years old. That's why I'm still reassured although I do worry a lot. So my suggestion is, earlier is better, but you need to wait until she can speak in her first language, and is able to tell stories, after that, you can start with the second or third foreign language. And I think the normal age will be around 3 to 4 years old.

Sean McNally from Britain teaches Chinese children how to learn English through paintings. Many students in China have trouble learning English and using it in their daily lives. (Photo source:Meng Zhongde / China Daily)