3 ms·
I think the main point is that small kids get the basic building blocks for learning languages from anything they hear (even if they don't understand it yet), s
by imp0cat 3y ago
I think the main point is that small kids get the basic building blocks for learning languages from anything they hear (even if they don't understand it yet), so listening to as many languages as possible when they are young will make learning languages easier for them later in their lives.
- jeroenhd 3y agoI've heard this argument before, mostly from companies trying to sell language courses for kids. As far as I know it's true that kids pick up on languages much easier when they're young, but I'm not so sure those skills will stick if all they can converse with are the TV. That's quite different from having a speaking partner such as a teacher or a bilingual parent. I suspect this is why shows like Dora the Explorer are set up like an interactive game. I myself have been exposed to subtitled English shows and movies all my life (not every show or movie was dubbed, and there were some German shows that made it through as well) but I don't think I actually started speaking any English until I needed it to interact with strangers in Runescape, while at the same time I stopped watching any dubbed shows. Almost all of the content I consumed became English language content. Almost passively learning a language by enveloping oneself in it works (though actual study will help you advance quicker), but you need more than TV. I can't find the actual paper I read on this once (thanks, SEO spam!) but as I recall, the biggest advantage kids have to is learn pronunciation without an accent; picking up vocabulary and grammar don't seem to be too affected by age from what I recall.