The essentials from part 1 at a glance:
👶 Children can learn multiple languages from the very beginning. The brain processes language playfully and builds structures even when little is spoken.
🗣️ Active speaking is crucial. Books, songs, games, and small daily routines encourage courage and help make German a normal part of everyday life.
🎯 Consistency is key. Even short, regular German moments and mini-groups or one-on-one lessons are more effective in the long run than rare, long learning sessions.
1. My child hardly speaks German – how can they start speaking more German?
If your child doesn’t know any German yet, or understands some but doesn’t speak: It’s important that they come into contact with the language regularly—and actively.
👉 Everyday life & at home: Read simple German books together, sing songs, or watch short films in German. Even if you speak little German yourself, it’s enough to learn small words or sentences together.
👉 Courage & speaking practice: Often the issue is not the ability but the courage. Ask each other questions or watch a film and briefly talk about the characters afterward. Every little bit counts.
👉 Leisure & peers: Your child learns fastest when doing something fun with other children—at a sports club, music school, or swimming lessons. German is used there naturally, without it feeling like “lessons.”
👉 Targeted support: A children’s German class can help practice the language playfully and regularly. Even one hour per week helps a lot—especially if the course focuses on active speaking.
👉 If you speak little German yourself: Learn together. Your child may be motivated when you discover new words together. It also shows them that German is important to you. For pronunciation, you can use audiobooks, children’s songs, or learning apps—it reduces pressure and is fun.
👉 If you speak little German and your child doesn’t want to speak German with you: Speak to yourself in German, practice for yourself, and ask your child if your pronunciation and grammar are correct or if you’re using the right word. This can create a bridge for your contact in German and will naturally get your child speaking.
💡 Important: Even if it seems like your child is not absorbing anything at first—the brain is working. With patience, positive experiences, and many small speaking opportunities, German will gradually become a normal part of everyday life.
2. German is my native language, but my child refuses to speak German with me. What can I do?
Children often refuse to speak German with a parent if another language has been dominant so far. They first need to get used to the new language, because person and language are closely connected. Speak short sequences in German regularly—two to three sentences or a mini-dialogue per day. It works best to use a fixed daily situation, so your child recognizes a routine: “Mom or Dad speaks German now.” This way, they learn step by step to accept and use the language.
💡 Tip: You could always speak German when talking about your child’s favorite food. The topic should be something your child enjoys.
3. Will my child manage at school if they speak little or no German, and will they be able to express themselves well later?
If you plan to send your child to a German school and they speak little or no German, individual schools offer language support programs. On the Schulämter Hessen website, you can find information about available support for your child.
Regardless, it is important that your child engages with German daily and builds their vocabulary—through reading books, playing games, and watching films in German. Contact with German-speaking children also plays a major role. With this support, they will manage well in regular school lessons.
Make sure to stay in touch with teachers and get regular feedback on your child’s language progress.
4. My child mixes several languages. Is that a problem?
No, it’s not a problem if your child mixes languages. It’s actually positive, as it shows they are actively using all languages—even if at different frequencies or strengths. This means they are in the process of organizing all languages in their brain. You can imagine it like buying many new books and reorganizing your large bookshelf with many existing books.
This mix forms a foundation for your child to learn new languages more easily in the future and to adapt quickly in different communication situations—a valuable skill.
5. Can my child make friends if they don’t speak German?
Absolutely. Your child can make friends even if they don’t speak German yet. The ability to learn a language is innate, but learning, internalizing, and using the language only happens through contact and community with others—whether it’s a foreign language or a mother tongue.
At first, children will communicate with “hands and feet,” gestures, and actions. Over time, words, sentences, and dialogues will follow. There will be frustrating moments because your child doesn’t understand something—but there will come a point when your child no longer perceives a language barrier and learns more German.
Your child needs other children who speak German to intensify and expand contact and language. You’ll see—it’s easier for your child than you think.
Language connects us with others. We tell, share what matters to us and how we feel—we want to communicate. This is human nature, whether young or old.
6. Is it useful to support the mother tongue and German at the same time?
Yes, you should absolutely support both languages. Your child will not forget their mother tongue. You can continue speaking it with them. If they do not learn to write in their mother tongue at school because they start a German school at age six, you can use a language school that offers reading and writing in the mother tongue or find a solution at home. This is especially useful if your mother tongue uses a different alphabet.
Our conclusion: How children really learn German
Children can learn German—it requires the right support, patience, and fun.
Research on first and second language acquisition shows:
- The ability to learn multiple languages is innate.
- This ability remains throughout life.
- The brain can reorganize when learning new things—like new languages.
- Infants can hear the mother tongue from the 6th month of pregnancy and remember it after birth.
- Language is closely linked to relationships. Stories and dialogues shape how the brain distinguishes between mother tongue and foreign language.
- Language helps us understand others’ intentions and attitudes—a foundation for social contact and integration.
In short: Children are natural language learners. Their brains are designed to absorb new words, structures, and sounds—even in multiple languages simultaneously. For parents, this means: with patience, everyday practice, and targeted support, children have the best chance not only to understand German but to speak it actively and confidently.
This is exactly what our German courses for children in Frankfurt focus on: playful, speaking-oriented, and in one-on-one instruction. Your child gains early the routine needed for school and everyday life.
Here are our classes: German classes for children in Frankfurt
Sources
- DeCasper, A. J. & Fifer, W. P. (1980). Of human bonding: Newborns prefer their mother’s voices. Science, 208 (4448), 1174–1176.
- Premack, D. & Woodruff, G. (1978). Does the chimpanzee have a theory of mind? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1(4), 515–526.
- Weißhaar, W. (2009). Neurobiologie des Erzählens: Wie das Gehirn Mutter- und Fremdsprache unterscheidet. Dareschta Verlag.
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