Introduction

Learning a second language as a child can be a complex process, which is best done during early years, or early school years. Research shows that their capacities in that second language later on may greatly differ depending on how late (older then the peak stage of 0-3) in life they start this language acquisition, and also how often they are exposed to it (Beaudin, 2025). This is because if they do not speak it on a regular basis, it is easy to lose those bilingualism capacities. It is also interesting to further analyze the differences between the emotional language development between monolinguals and bilinguals (Nicoladis et al., 2016).

Nature-Nurture

Nature-Nurture is a learning process that involves both the home environment, and the learning in school. At home it may look like parents reading to their child a book, or simple interactions on a daily basis, whereas the nurture part involves the learning in the school environment (Purnama, 2017). 

Here is what it may look like for children acquiring a second language (Purnama, 2017):

- Linguistic replications seem to be controlled by an internal language-monitoring process

- They learn basic rules of language around the age of 5

- Use of inexistent language structures like "Where I am".

- Seeing the use of overgeneralizations such as "goed" and "putted"

- Seeing a child produce more sound combinations than they have previously heard, and to have them understand more than they can produce.

Physical Activity

Research shows that children are going to learn and assimilate new vocabulary better while being in movement than when they are placed in a traditional classroom sitting at desks and listening to the teacher. When you are learning new words, you are working on developing different types of knowledge such as conceptual, semantic, morphological, phonological language,  and more (Liu, et al., 2017).

As quoted: "Movements of the body can also affect cognition during problem-solving tasks" (Brooks & Goldin‐Meadow, 2015).

In a study conducted by Schmidt-Kassow and their colleagues, about how physical activity will accelerate the learning process in general (Schmidt-Kassow, et al., as cited in Liu, et al., 2017). The two conditions that were considered in this study were spinning (e.g. Bicycling), and learning more the traditional way (Schmidt-Kassow, et al., as cited in Liu, et al., 2017). Results were higher for children who were simultaneously exercising physically (Schmidt-Kassow, et al., as cited in Liu, et al., 2017).

Citation

As cited by Saffran, et al.: "Imagine that you are faced with the following challenge. You must discover the internal structure of a system that contains tens of thousands of units, all generated from a small set of materials. These units, in turn, can be assembled into an infinite number of combinations. Although only a subset of those combinations is correct, the subset itself is for all practical purposes infinite. Somehow you must converge on the structure of this system to use it to communicate. And you are a very young child" (Saffran et al., 2001).

Children with Exceptionalities

There was a study that was conducted to see how students with exceptionalities acquire a new language, for example those with dyslexia and dysphasia, ADHD and development delay, anxiety and Tourette's syndrome. These 3 francophone students were put in a 5 month long English course to see how they learned best. Results showed that the factors which were in favor of their learning were: Intensity, student-teacher relationship, oral interaction, explicit learning, and the classroom involvement (Students With Exceptionalities Learning a Second Language: A Case Study of Three Children’s Experiences in Quebec’s Intensive ESL Course  - Spectrum: Concordia University Research Repository, 2014).

What to do?

There are many ways of how you can support a child in learning a second language (Beaudin, 2025):

- One on one interactions, communication.

- Books and storytelling.

- Creating exposure opportunities, for example at the grocery store.

- Using a varied vocabulary when talking with the child.

- Listening to music in that language.

Literacy Skills

Here are the different literacy skills you will start to observe and see the child developing eventually (Beaudin, 2025):

 

- Print Motivation (Having fun with books)

- Print Awareness (Familiarizing themselves with printed language)

- Phonological Awareness (Learning about sounds)

- Letter knowledge (Learning the ABCs in that new language)

- Vocabulary (Learning new words in that second language)
- Narrative Skills (Being able to tell a story, even if it is with assistance)

 

Quote

As said by Piaget: "Oh, my errors". I believed in language too much. I had the children talk instead of experiment" (Evans, 1973, p.4, as cited by Nemoianu, 1980)

This goes to show the importance of hands-on learning.

Compare and Contrast

During my research, I was able to read in detail different studies on ways to approach the concept of acquiring a new language as a child, and assisting them through that process. I found a couple studies each showing different experiences where they were able to discover how inter connected physical activity and cognitive development can be.

On the other hand, I read about that study on students with exceptionalities, who stated afterwards the different classroom settings and tools that were helpful to them, none of them involved any form of physical exercise. 

This goes to show how every child develops and learns differently, highlighting the need to get to know children individually, to be able to best assist them and guide them through their journey of learning a second language.

Limitations

It would have been helpful to have more resources available where you get to hear the children's point of view, as opposed to only hearing from the author. It helps us as the reader to really understand both from an objective point of view, as well as learning about how the children feel about it, and what they have to say regarding their experience and needs.

Conclusion

Learning a second language as a child is a process that comes with benefits, yet just like they do with other things, it is crucial for them to be guided and helped through that process, whether it is within a school or at home environment. There is no right or wrong method, it's all about what your child needs, and what works for them. This journey will look different for everyone, there is no "one size fits all".

References

Beaudin, H. & Algonquin College. (2025, January). Literacy and Theories [Slide show]. EDU4240 Week 1.

Beaudin, H. & Algonquin College. (2025, January). Development of Literacy Infancy to School-Age [Slide show]. EDU4240 Week 2.

Beaudin, H. & Algonquin College. (2025, January). Supporting Second Language Development [Slide show]. EDU4240 Week 3.

Brooks, N., & Goldin‐Meadow, S. (2015). Moving to Learn: How guiding the hands can set the stage for learning. Cognitive Science, 40(7), 1831–1849. https://doi.org/10.1111/cogs.12292 

Liu, F., Sulpizio, S., Kornpetpanee, S., & Job, R. (2017). It takes biking to learn: Physical 

activity improves learning a second language. PLoS ONE, 12(5), e0177624. http://dx.doi.org.algonquin.idm.oclc.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0177624 

Nemoianu, A. M. (1980). “The boat’s gonna leave”. A study of children learning a second 

language from conversations with other children (Vol. 00001). John Benjamins Publishing Co.  

Nicoladis, E., Charbonnier, M., & Popescu, A. (2016, October 1). Second Language/Bilingualism at An Early Age with Emphasis on Its Impact on Early Socio-Cognitive and Socio-Emotional Development | Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development. https://www.child-encyclopedia.com/second-language/according-experts/second-languagebilingualism-early-age-emphasis-its-impact-early#:~:text=In%20conclusion%2C%20research%20has%20shown,children%20who%20speak%20only%20one. 

Purnama, S. (2017). Second Language Acquisition and The Development through 

Nature-Nurture. JETL (Journal of Education, Teaching, and Learning) (Online), 2(2), 164-. https://doi.org/10.26737/jetl.v2i2.280 

Saffran, J. R., Senghas, A., & Trueswell, J. C. (2001). The acquisition of language by children. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 98(23), 12874–12875. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.231498898 

Students with Exceptionalities Learning a Second Language: A Case Study of Three Children’s Experiences in Quebec’s Intensive ESL Course  - Spectrum: Concordia University Research Repository. (2014). https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/id/eprint/979064/