Multilingual Babies: How They Learn Several Languages Naturally

At Alora Montessori we witness something truly beautiful every day: the birth of language. Many babies arrive with us around 12 months without speaking words clearly, yet they already communicate a great deal — using gestures, facial expressions, and pointing at objects.

An environment of many languages

Many of the families who come to us are international. We have children from homes where Japanese, Russian, French, German, or Spanish is spoken. As the months pass, we see something that continues to impress even those who have worked in early childhood education for many years: by around 2 and a half years old, many of these children communicate naturally in both Portuguese and English.

The sensitive period for language

In the first years of life, the child is in a sensitive period for language. Their brain is especially tuned to understand the language they hear around them. They observe adults, listen carefully, and associate words with actions.

How babies learn two languages at the same time

There is still an idea that learning two languages can confuse babies. However, research shows the opposite. The infant brain has an extraordinary capacity to organise different language systems simultaneously.

At Alora, two educators communicate in Portuguese with the children and one educator communicates exclusively in English. The children do not have formal language classes — language happens in the context of daily life, during activities and moments of play.

The process we see repeatedly

Children arrive without clear words. First we see gestures, then syllables, then isolated words, then sentences. Many children understand two languages perfectly before they even begin to speak. Each child has their own rhythm, but all show the same extraordinary potential.