How long will it take my child to be bilingual?

Research has shown that there are at least 3 factors that may influence the progress that a child makes in the second-language acquisition process.

1. Motivation: The best motivation for learning is having a use or need for the learning content. An environment in which a second language is used creates that need and will be a motivating factor to be children to learn. Our Mandarin syllabus is also interactive, fun and tailored for young children. However, as with all learning, different children will have different motivation levels and come to enjoy learning at different times and in different ways.
2. Exposure: Generally, the more a child is exposed to a language environment, the faster the child will acquire the language. Active engagement is also beneficial to language acquisition. At Bilingual by Five, your child will be exposed and actively engaged in a second language environment all day, each day they are at the centre.
3. Personality: Researchers studying young childrens second-language-learning acquisition have observed that there seems to be a personality continuum stretching from shy and reserved at one end to outgoing and socially tuned in at the other end. Where a child’s personality can be located along this continuum may have an impact on how quickly that child learns a second language. This is because a child that is more reserved and shy is more likely to approach the second language with more caution, or take a long time to go public with their newly acquired language skills.

To summarise, every child acquires languages at different rates and stages. However at our centre, children will be given the best opportunity to acquire another language as best they can before they start school.