Spanish immersion preschool + invented language/gibberish

[kalusignan]

Hello!

My dd4 has been attending Spanish immersion preschool (3 hours per week for 5 months last year and now 6 hours a week). She doesn't speak much Spanish as of yet but is VERY interested. She learned all of her English letter sounds at 18 months and started blending CVC words at age 3. I couldn't keep up with her desire for 'more, more, more', which is partly why she's going to Spanish immersion preschool now.

 

Shortly after starting at the preschool, she started talking gibberish/invented language on her own. Similar to baby babbling, it sounds like she's 'talking' with inflection and exploring different sounds, but she's not actually saying real words.

 

I guess I'm just wondering if this is something that others have experienced. I'm not worried and find it generally amusing. I don't really have questions about it other than my curiosity if others have experience with this sort of thing. I can't seem to find any information on it and whether this is a common developmental step towards second language acquisition.

 

Thanks!

[maize]

Not something I've seen as part of second language acquisition, but not unusual as a way for children to play with made-up language when they are aware of the existence of different languages.

Edited September 21, 2016 by maize

[Arcadia]

Made up language is common. My oldest made up his version of pig latin to talk to his brother.

 

As for second language acquisition, my kids have fun talking in both languages in the same sentence even though they know how to say in both language for the same sentence. For example they would say they are going to brush their teeth and read a book but would say teeth and book in another language. When they pick up a 3rd language it was funnier with three languages in a sentence. Since they can translate and write correctly, I let them have their fun when talking. They do speak properly to their language teachers.

Edited September 21, 2016 by Arcadia

[Earthmerlin]

My kid's 7 & trilingual. She still makes up her own languages. It may just be a normal part of childhood, because of her creative mind, or a result of her language-rich environment--who knows? I find it adorable & part of her unique personality. She also periodically speaks with a British accent--probably due to all the audiobooks she listens to. I just take it all in & enjoy every drop!