Language communication is one of human's basic integrative abilities that distinguishes him from all other beings, and language development significantly affects the development of many other human abilities. Language commuunication is one of the basic ways of communicating, transmitting ideas, information, feelings and desires, and communication in the mother language and communication in foreign languages are key competencies for lifelong learning of children. The purpose of this paper is to show how children learn Croatian as a second language in a kindergarten environment, through practical-situational communication and what affects their learning of another language. The importance of a rich language environment and various language contents that encourage children to express and speak in the Croatian language is emphasized. The tasks of educators in the preschool institution are reflected in the creation of a stimulating environment, the offer of diverse materials and the creation of a pleasant and supportive climate for language learning. It is shown how young children learn their mother language and how they learn grammatical and communicative components of second language. The issue of multilingualism as an incentive or barrier at an early age is raised and language difficulties in bilingual children are considered. Also, it is shown how much children's mistakes in language learning are indicators of progress or developmental difficulties and what influences their occurrence. Play is emphasized as one of the most important children's activities, which is a link between language, freedom, creativity and expression, and which enriches children's language experience. The most important part of a child's life is marked by play, and it is an indispensable way of learning language in preschool. Finally, examples of language games for native and non-native speakers of the Croatian language are presented, which can help children to overcome certain language difficulties or encourage them to speak and express themselves, and can be valuable material for educators to encourage children's language progress.