How interactive does language exposure have to be in order for my child to develop use of that language?
If you set your child in front of a television screen which is broadcasting in Italian or play Italian tapes continually in your home, your infant will not learn to speak or even understand Italian. This passive language exposure will stimulate the child to a degree, possibly increasing their ability to learn Italian or another foreign language during a formal study of that language later on; however, in order to actually learn to communicate in a language, children must interact in that language. The more they interact the more they learn. A child that hears his or her mother speak Italian to him or her, but who refuses to return communication in Italian will not progress as well in Italian as the child who is exposed to the same amount of language from his or her mother, but willingly returns conversation in Italian. In order to maximize your child’s ability to communicate in a language, you need to find as many creative ways as you can to get them to use the language interactively.
