Sing Your Baby Bilingual! How to Teach Your Baby a Second Language Through Songs and Music

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There are lots of strategies for teaching your baby a foreign language and bringing up a bilingual or multilingual child. But whatever one you choose, be sure to make singing a part of it on a daily basis!

The universe is very clever. An infant can be born anywhere in the world, and from day one, they possess the capacity to learn any language. They begin able to distinguish speech contrasts from languages around the world. Over their first 12 months, their perception gradually becomes tuned to the sounds they hear regularly.

You can support this early familiarity by exposing your baby to multiple languages from an early age. So what’s the best way to do this?

In this article, I’ll share six good reasons to sing to your baby in other languages. I’ll then give strategies you can use to make this singing with your baby part of your everyday life.

A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away with a native speaker for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.

6 Good Reasons to Sing to Your Baby in Another Language

Reason 1: Singing is a Form of “Motherese”

When excited parents-to-be first hold their bundle of joy in their arms, many naturally gravitate towards speaking in a baby voice to their child. Others vow never to succumb to this sometimes cutesy, exaggerated form of speech commonly known as “motherese”, “fatherese” or “infant-directed speech”, as it will be referred to here.

Rather than silly noises and nonsense words, infant-directed speech is a special style of speech characterised by a higher-pitched voice, greater variation in pitch, exaggerated emotional intonation, slower delivery, more repetition and shorter, less complex phrases.

Whatever your view on the matter, research suggests that babies respond positively to infant-directed speech. In a trial conducted by Robin Cooper and Richard Aslin, two-day-old infants listened longer to infant-directed speech than to adult-directed speech. This suggests not only a preference for this style of speech, but also that the preference may appear very early. Infant-directed speech can be found in many languages besides English, including European, Indian, Asian, African and Middle Eastern languages.

Closely related to infant-directed speech, nursery rhymes and songs include many of the same elements: short phrases, repetition, musicality, variations in pitch and emotional inflection. A study of six- to ten-month-old infants found that they could differentiate between sung and spoken stimuli and preferred the singing.

Reason 2: Nursery Rhymes are a Global Tradition for Teaching Babies New Things

Nursery rhymes and songs are part of longstanding oral traditions around the world. Music appears across cultures.

In any language, nursery rhymes serve a variety of purposes. Lullabies can soothe a baby and help them to sleep. Some nursery rhymes are little singing games with a cue where the child learns to anticipate a resulting action, for example, a tickle. Many songs reinforce vocabulary through simple gestures and corresponding movements. Others help to teach numbers and counting, or use repetition to tell a story.

Reason 3: Nursery Rhymes Create a Bond Between Parent and Child

Nursery rhymes and songs are fun and engaging. They can help forge a bond between a parent and child who share the experience, increase social interaction and foster a sense of togetherness. As part of a group, they can provide a common reference point and a shared cultural experience.

In whatever language you choose, nursery rhymes and songs can help children develop communication and social skills and learn new words. They introduce the concepts of rhyming, rhythm and repetition, as well as allow children to play with sounds and explore elements such as alliteration and onomatopoeia.

Reason 4: Learning Songs is a Similar Process to Learning a Language

Fluent in 3 Months founder Benny Lewis has previously pointed out that learning music and learning a language have similarities. Both are composed of smaller units that come together: in music, a series of notes forms the melody and song; in speech, a series of sounds (phonemes) forms words and sentences.

To take this concept further, researchers have explored how musical ability relates to language acquisition and may assist in language learning. Another study found that musical experience from nine months of age improved infants’ ability to process both musical and speech rhythms.

Reason 5: Children Love to Play with Sound, and Songs Let Them Do That

Learning to speak is naturally a very musical process, which includes experimenting and creatively playing with sound, intonation, rhythm and rhyme. Song is, essentially, a musical form of speech. And if you consider that nursery rhymes and songs form an integral part of a baby or young child’s language acquisition, then the link between language and music becomes even more apparent.

Songs and rhymes are a great way to help prepare a child for language before they learn to speak, as they involve the ears, the voice and the brain. Singing to a child, and later singing with them, is a powerful way to support their ability to communicate.

Reason 6: Singing With Your Kids Will Improve Your Own Language Skills

What if you don’t speak a second language? Having a baby is a good reason to start learning, and singing with them will help you pick up the language too.

Learning a few songs is a relatively easy language goal. It’s a fun and simple way to get started with the language, and it will be an experience that you can share with your child. If you already speak another language, it’s a way to keep using it and build your vocabulary.

As a non-native French speaker, words like “bib”, “pacifier” and “nappy” were never a part of my vocabulary until they became relevant when I had a baby! As my child has grown, my vocabulary has expanded further still.

So what are you waiting for? Pick a language and start singing! Here are my top tips to get you started:

5 Simple Ways to Sing to Your Baby in Your Target Language

1. Sign Up for a Foreign Language Music Class

Join a foreign language music group. Research has shown that babies respond better to humans rather than recorded music. So while recorded music can be used to enhance and support your baby’s learning at home, nothing beats the real human element of having a song sung to them.

For example, in South London I run a French-language story and singing session for children aged five and under called Les Petits Tigres. Our classes use puppets, props, sensory play, musical instruments, images, gestures and movement to engage with the children. I email lyrics to parents and carers after the sessions so they can sing the songs at home and continue learning. In my neighbourhood, you can also find singing classes for little ones in Chinese, Spanish and Russian, so it is worth having a look around to see what’s available.

To find a music class in your area, take a look at family activity listing apps such as Hoop or Happity, local neighbourhood forums and listings, libraries and leisure centres, or search Google for your target language + baby group. Larger cities often have language institutes (such as the Institut Français Royaume-Uni in London) that put on events for kids and families.

2. Make Friends With Other Parents Who Speak Your Target Language

For older toddlers who speak another language, the social aspect is incredibly important.

If you are the only person who speaks another language to your child, they may wonder why mama or papa uses that funny language. But expose them to other people speaking the target language, particularly other children, and you open their eyes to the possibilities of the wider world.

Making it accessible to them and showing them why it is useful is a hugely motivating factor. Spend time with other people with children in your area who speak the same language. It’s good for you to keep up your skills and great for them too. My son went to a French preschool where he had the opportunity to interact and socialise with others his own age in the target language, and he benefited by being able to play and speak with these other children in that language.

Depending on where you live and how far you’re willing to travel, you can find a class, Saturday school or playgroup in nearly any language. Or you can always start your own group.

3. Listen to Music in Your Target Language at Home and Sing Along!

Supplement your at-home learning with recorded music. Put the tracks on repeat, learn the words and sing along. Pretty soon, you’ll be singing to your baby without needing the recording. A parent or carer singing to a baby can be especially engaging, in whatever language! Songs with actions and gestures are a fantastic way to engage with your child and get them involved.

Mama Lisa’s World is a comprehensive website featuring nursery rhymes and songs in a wide range of languages. Many have MP3 tracks so you can hear each song, as well as videos, lyrics in the target language and in English, sheet music, a brief history and a description of any corresponding actions or gestures.

You can also find numerous channels on YouTube featuring children’s songs in many foreign languages. A lot of them feature the lyrics on screen to help you sing along.

4. Get Out Musical Instruments to Play With

Music isn’t limited to singing: it can be as simple as shaking a rattle in time or as complex as playing the guitar.

Developing musical skills has a correlation with language acquisition, particularly as so many rhymes have a musical, rhythmic quality. This quality can be emphasised through playing along with the rhymes and songs.

Get your child involved and give them a shaker or drum to bang on; a pot with a wooden spoon works well. You can make your own simple shaker with a plastic bottle filled with dried pulses. You may also like to repeat the same song, playing with the tempo and learning about opposites by doing it slowly, then very fast.

5. Read Nursery Rhymes and Simple Stories

Read target-language nursery-rhyme books. The illustrations will help your child with comprehension, while reading aloud is a cornerstone of literacy development and contributes to listening-comprehension skills.

Really engage with your child and make it interactive. For older children, encourage participation. Ask them what they think will happen. Talk about rhyming words and have them point them out to you. Make up your own alternative versions, substituting words – for example, Baa Baa Black Sheep may become red sheep, blue sheep, etc.

Puppets are an excellent prop for all ages. Websites such as Little Linguist (based in the UK, with international shipping available) have plenty of books in over 50 languages to support your bilingual baby, as well as puppets and CDs.