Be Careful About Your APD Child Learning a Foreign Language

Language Is Not A Strength For Children With APD

You’ve heard the conventional wisdom. Learning a foreign language is fantastic for kids. However, that’s not necessarily true for all children. Auditory processing disorder and learning a foreign language do not go well together.

You learn a foreign language by listening, and processing sounds, the exact skills children with APD struggle with!

Not only will learning a different language be a challenge for your APD child, but it could also affect general learning momentum.

Here are the concerns for a child with auditory processing disorder learning a foreign language:

• Learning another language will be a challenge
• It could muddle up the sounds of English (phonics), which already are not 100% mastered
• It has the potential to undermine confidence

Why Learn a Foreign Language?

Learning a foreign language offers numerous benefits for children, both cognitively and socially. Even for children with APD or other learning challenges, the advantages might outweigh the difficulties if taught properly. Here are some key benefits:

• Cognitive Benefits. Learning a second language strengthens neural connections, improving overall brain function. Studies show that bilingual children have greater cognitive flexibility and problem-solving abilities.
• Enhances Focus and Attention. Switching between languages requires mental discipline, improving a child’s ability to focus. Bilingual children develop stronger executive functioning skills, including task-switching and impulse control.
• Helps Literacy. Learning a second language improves understanding of grammar, sentence structure, and vocabulary in your native language.
• Expands Cultural Awareness. Learning another language teaches respect for different cultures, traditions, and perspectives. It fosters open-mindedness and empathy in children.
• Easier to Learn Additional Languages Later.  Once a child learns a second language, they can pick up additional languages more easily.

No doubt, learning a foreign language can help cognitively, academically, socially, and professionally.  And so, it’s tempting.

Another argument for learning a second language at a young age is that it’s easier for a child because their brain is growing faster. This idea was based on research from the 1960s.

The age at which a child should learn a second language is debatable. Research shows younger children pick up on native accents better. But researchers Stern, Burstall & Harley in 1975 followed 17,000 British schoolchildren learning French and discovered that older children did better.

The Challenge of Learning a Different Language

It’s tempting, but it’s always going to be an uphill climb.  Children with APD will almost certainly have difficulties in processing and interpreting the sounds of another language. The key challenges are:

• Difficulty distinguishing sounds, and phonemic awareness.  Foreign languages have phonemes (speech sounds) not present in English. Children with APD struggle to hear the subtle sound differences, making it harder to distinguish between similar words or pronunciations.
• Trouble processing fast speech. The same difficulties experienced in their native language, i.e., people talking too fast, apply to new languages.
• Poor auditory memory.  Learning a foreign language requires remembering new vocabulary, sentence structures, and grammar rules. Children with APD often have less developed auditory memory, making it harder to retain and recall new words.
• Challenges with listening comprehension. APD makes it difficult to follow spoken instructions or conversations, even in English.  Understanding a second language through listening alone can be overwhelming, especially in noisy environments.

The idea of children with auditory processing disorder learning a foreign language is not impossible.  However, children with APD will need structured, multi-sensory, and patient teaching methods.  A focus on visual aids, repetition, and a controlled listening environment can make the process much easier.

Impact on Learning Momentum

Languages have different sound patterns that have to be learned by the brain – different phonics.  If your auditory memory is already a little muddled and fragile due to APD, adding in sounds from another language could add confusion.

It could alter how English sounds are heard and spoken – and how they are stored in auditory memory.

The main point here is that for students with auditory processing disorder foreign language sounds are not easily heard. Children with APD aren’t hearing the sounds of the words in the first language either.

Children with APD often have difficulty building up their vocabulary, because they can’t process words they hear with enough clarity and confidence to use them when speaking. If a child is struggling to store and recall English words, adding a second language can feel overwhelming.

Finally, if your child is already struggling with English comprehension due to gaps in vocabulary, language syntax, etc.  The language rules and conventions of a second language could add confusion for your child, delaying progress in both languages.

Impact on Confidence

How much can a young brain with and without APD handle at one time? If the child has auditory processing disorder, then all the good intentions in the world won’t help make that comfortable or remotely easy. It could be setting the child up for failure.

For children with auditory processing disorder, learning a different language will add a significant cognitive load. it requires additional effort in distinguishing sounds, memorizing vocabulary, and understanding grammar

This can lead to fatigue and frustration, possibly affecting motivation in both languages.

Then comes the inevitable comparison to peers. Why is it that others are picking up the sounds of this new language easily and I am not, what’s wrong with me?

Many children with APD have fragile confidence and self-esteem.  Taking on a new activity, a foreign language, that first and foremost requires the skill that is their weakest, processing sounds, is a decision that at the very least needs to be made carefully.

Final Note

While learning a foreign language is rewarding, parents need to weigh up the risks and the rewards.  Our goal here is not to talk you out of adding a foreign language to your APD child’s curriculum.  But rather to make sure you go in eyes wide open.

If your child does have APD and a foreign language is a requirement at your school, consider an auditory processing disorder treatment at Gemm Learning. Our software uses intensive exercises to strengthen language dexterity, using the sounds of English.

To learn more about APD, recognizing symptoms, how to help a child with APD, and your treatment options, request our free report.