According to SVT Nyheter, linguist Anna Ingves at Uppsala University researches how young people who move to Sweden learn Swedish, highlighting that motivation is completely decisive for language learning. She notes that strong motivation can compensate for both lack of innate language talent and lack of opportunities to use the language. For some, it is simply biologically easier to learn languages, with innate language talent also playing a role, according to Ingves.
In multilingual families, many choose the model 'one language per parent', and in some families, the adults do not understand each other's native languages, which in practice can mean that the child grows up with three languages, SVT Nyheter reports. According to SVT Nyheter, Anna Ingves described that children are very much influenced by their environment and how supportive it is, with younger students motivated by their teacher and by enjoying the classroom, and for the very youngest, parents are completely decisive. She added that it needs to be noticeable that parents think languages are important, especially the native language, and that this language is supported both at home and in school.
For some, it is simply biologically easier to learn languages. They quickly pick up how to conjugate verbs, which words are used in which contexts, and in what order the words should come.
It is never possible to fully control which language children use, and according to SVT Nyheter, Anna Ingves described that in the end, it is the child themselves who chooses which language they speak with siblings and friends. The specific research methods or studies Anna Ingves uses in her work and how many young immigrants to Sweden are included in her research remain unclear, as do any policy recommendations based on her findings.
Children are very much influenced by their environment, and by how supportive it is. Younger students can be motivated by their teacher and by enjoying the classroom. For the very youngest, parents are completely decisive. It needs to be noticeable that they think languages are important, especially the native language, and that this language is supported both at home and in school.
In the end, it is the child themselves who chooses which language they speak with siblings and friends.