3 year old child with no english skills at all

[smilingcrow]

If a 3 year old child that speaks a foreign language then came to the uk to live (with no grasp of english). then how hard will it be to lear english?

[cathfromsaron]

if they are spoken to and immersed in english, not hard at all.

[coccinelle]

If they play with English speaking kids they'll be speaking it in no time.

[murraymints]

I have a friend who'se 4 year old is fluent in english, italian and french !!!!...mum is french, dad is italian...lives and goes to nursery in Edinburgh...

[LoftyLottie]

It will be extremely easy, especially if she is socialised. In no time at all she will be fluent. My husband came over to England at 7 and was fluent very quickly indeed. Children have no hang ups or inhibitions about talking in a foreign language which means they will chatter away regardless without thinking whether they are right or not. Also children learn very, very quickly. They are like a sponge at 3 years old, they will soak up the language!!

[LoftyLottie]

Yep Mr LL was fluent in three languages at 7 - the language of his parents, the language of the country where he was born and English.

[Sharrazan1]

Extremely easy -- it is as simple as that !
I live in Spain and am amazed at how fast the British children are speaking fluent Spanish. Oldest child who was 10took him around 7 months - and the youngest around 5 speaks more Spanish than English now - and was really thrown in at the deep end. Within around 8 months she was well away LOL They all have got to the point where the parents ( all British ) insist that they all speak English at home- so they do not forget their own language !! :)

[EcclesCake]

As soon as the child is mixing with other children they will pick up English very quickly.

My friends toddler had no English until he joined a playgroup and then within two weeks was speaking English.

[smilingcrow]

wow very encouraging answers! Thanks!

[tiggerblue10]

I came to the UK when I was 3. The language I learn't before (Turkish) is now very broken and very bad as I hardly speak it.

[tiggerblue10]

Forgot to say, I don't have an accent either. Its just Saff London.

[FredPuli43]

Very easy indeed. Children of that age are still learning, and making mistakes in, their own native language! Doing the same in a second or third one comes naturally to them, provided that they are constantly exposed to the new one(s).

[shaneystar2]

Not hard at all .My children are bilingual. They can swap from English to German and vice versa with no problems .We always spoke and read to them in both languages and their paternal grandparents only spoke to them in German so they just picked it up .