Very young children don’t learn grammar through formal lessons; instead, they pick it up intuitively and learn to speak correctly. We all possess this same natural ability, and we can rediscover it within ourselves.
So how do children learn grammar? They listen to hundreds, even thousands, of hours of a new language. As they immerse themselves in this process, they gradually start to recognize frequently repeated words and phrases that have clear meanings. These are often short phrases, just one or two words. We refer to these as linguistic patterns, like “I want...,” “I don't like...,” or “I need...”
They start by simply imitating these patterns to express their needs, and then they creatively modify them based on the language rules they’ve heard and pieced together.
For example: I want chocolate. I want a sweet. I need a car. I need to go.
Children aren’t afraid to apply rules to even irregular forms and to speak with temporary mistakes. They later correct these errors through autocorrection, paying close attention and noticing the differences in how they speak compared to someone who knows the language well—like their parent.
It’s from these model sentences, which children begin to use regularly, that they eventually spontaneously derive the entire grammar of the language. By the time they reach preschool age, they can speak quite well.
That’s why at Mooveez, we start by learning to speak through conversations and following the natural 4-step process. Once we're comfortable with the sentences, the Mooveez app offers help with understanding the grammar behind each sentence. However, by immersing ourselves in the new language, practising speaking and embracing our mistakes, we'll gradually pick up the grammar on our own.
This is often easier than we think because we all have the ability to learn any language. We’ve shown this by learning our native language, and we can awaken that ability once more.
