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The best age to learn a second language is while young. Children put in an environment where they are exposed to hearing words spoken in that language will learn to speak like natives. The reason for this is because they are at an age where they learn easily and in many situations by unconscious acceptance of how things get different responses. Just as learning their mother tongue becomes a natural part of their learning process beginning with single words, so is learning of another language and it is the exposure to that language which will improve their communication skills.

*Listening.
*Repeating and copying.
*Schooling.
*Expressing themselves.
*Speaking a language with fluency.

Listening.

A child listens to the world around them. If what they hear is American, this will become the natural language they will learn. If, however, they are exposed to different languages, such as in the case of bilingual parents, they also learn what certain words mean by association. Bilingual parents tend to split the area of who speaks which language to give a child more clarity, and it is the listening process in a child's upbringing which will have the most effect upon their ability to speak and understand another language.

Repeating and copying.

Children learn by experimentation and natural curiosity to try new things. This works with all areas of their development, and language is no different. When you hear a child using bad language, they will have heard this and will be experimenting with the use of that word heard. Similarly in language learning, a child will use words to express themselves, and although in the early stages this may be simple words with very little sentence structure, the more articulate the examples given, the easier a child learns to speak in a fluent and understandable manner.

When they copy accurately, reward helps enormously, even if that reward is as simple as acknowledgment that they did well. A parent's praise helps that child to see that a certain behavior pattern receives reward. In language learning, this is very similar, and by rewarding a child, a parent gives them the incentive to learn more.

Schooling.

Within a school environment, a child will not always excel in language learning. Put that same child in a school where children speak another tongue, and the picture changes. The exposure to language given to a child during a one hour lesson may not be sufficient to sustain extended use of a language, whereas exposure in the playground and with interaction

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