It is not easy teaching your child a second language. But it is a rewarding experience teaching them and you can open their young to explore a new world of sights and sounds. Even if you’re not entirely fluent in another tongue, here are 5 simple ways you can help your child learn to speak a second language confidently and easily.
1. Remember the earlier, the better. By the age of two, a child’s brain is sucking up and processing all the information he or she comes in contact with, so it’s an ideal time to start learning a second language. You may think, “But he hasn’t even mastered ENGLISH yet!” That’s okay! Believe it or not, children can easily juggle two (or more) languages at once without the difficulty that their adult counterparts may have if they try to learn the same language when they’re older. Learning two separate languages will also not hinder your child’s reading or speaking ability. In fact, it will actually improve and broaden their vocabulary as they get older, since many foreign language words are used in English as well.
2. It is better to teach your child with some simple words and basic greetings first. Learning a language does take time and repetition, so only move on when your child feels comfortable and confident in using what he or she has already learned. If you’re not completely fluent yourself, but still want your child to have the benefit of a second language, purchase a good dictionary and work book to reinforce what you already know so that you can teach it to your child.
3. You can try to make studying language to be a fun time by setting aside a special “Language-Only” time. Practice the language together with your child through music, books or videos and use this time to speak and play together using only the second language. It’s a great way to build up the child’s interest in another culture and will help him learn the language more completely and thoroughly.
4. If your significant other speaks a foreign language, consider having him or her speak only in the foreign language to the child, while you speak to them in English. This will quickly help the child understand each language’s structure and differences, and he won’t be as likely to get confused. Remember though, language learning is a slow by steady process. Let your child know not to worry about making a mistake or sounding silly. That’s the only way he or she will become confident enough to speak the language on a regular basis.
5. Whenever possible, immerse your child in the second language as often as you can. Taking trips to the place where the language is spoken is a great way to make a language feel “real” to a child. Children mimic what they see, so seeing others speak and use the language in their day-to-day lives will show him that he can do the same!
The most important thing of all is to treat learning a second language like a fun “adventure” rather than a tedious chore. If you keep these tips in mind, it won’t be long before your child is equally comfortable and proficient in both languages! Good luck!
Posts Tagged ‘Foreign Language’
Teach Kids A Second Language
January 2nd, 2010Learning French the Easy Way
January 1st, 2010Two years ago, I decided to learn a foreign language, and then I was puzzled, my mother tongue is English, so which language have I to learn? After I searched a lot on which one is most suitable, I decided to learn French. And before you wonder why, I’ll explain my reasonable point of view.
First of all, French is the official language in 28 countries. It is also – like English exactly- spoken in 5 continents, and considered the second global language, and it will support my career building, by allowing me to apply for a variety of positions which requires applicants to be fluent in French, both spoken and written.
Unfortunately, there were a huge problem, which is French language is not easy to learn or to speak at all, I had to learn tons of non familiar words, phrases, and pronunciations. I don’t even have a specified or structured method to learn and speak French. So you can imagine how much confused I was. In fact, difficulties in learning and speaking French made me –in the beginning steps of learning- very uncomforted, and I was about giving up.
The most difficult issue I faced, was the ‘ pronunciation’, it’s really so hard to be an English native speaker, and want to be completely fluent in French in the same time, although French is considered a musical language.
For example, the new sounds in French would make you crazy at first, as they are very confusing, the most obvious example for this, is the ‘French R’. Really it was my curse. Accents also will take efforts from you to expertise them, and to be familiar with.
In addition, you will also face difficulties in the liaisons and silent letters.
Verbs in French also were very hard to learn, each verb is changing in a different way, there’s nothing like (teach, taught, taught), or (speak, spoke, spoken), they all are like irregular verbs (go, went, gone), generally, grammar in French is not easy or clear as grammar in English.
Then it comes to understand spoken French, the best case is to have someone who deals with you in a daily base, so you could listen and speak to him frequently, otherwise, it’s really would take a lot of time and exercising from you.
From my experience in learning French, I can advise you to have your own expert guide, to facilitate the process of learning French as much as possible.
Finally, I found it very interesting as well as hard to be a ‘ French speaker’, it was really a good experience.
