Collaborative post
As a parent, we are always looking for ways to help our children succeed in each of their school subjects. When it comes to helping them learn a new language, it can be pretty overwhelming. Thankfully we don’t have to be fluent ourselves to provide assistance. My children learn Greek and although I’m not the best at the language not having used it often I am well versed in studying and the best ways to learn.
Today, I am collaborating with a private school in Hertfordshire to bring you all some great tips on helping your child learn a new language.
Labels
To help your child with general vocabulary, it can be useful and great fun for them to stick labels on all of the frequently used items in your home such as the fridge, shower, wardrobe. Encourage your child to speak the word aloud when they see it to work on their pronunciation. If they get used to seeing these labels every day, they will be more likely to remember the words during an actual conversation.
FlashCards
Our Greek tutor would often make flashcards for greek lessons. On one side was the word in Greek, the other a picture of the item. This is a great way to learn for children and adults as the picture automatically is associated with the word in your mind. You’ll find you get to learn all sorts of new words together.
Foreign Films and Fun Kids Programmes
Encourage your child to watch a foreign film every now and again with English subtitles. You can also find a range of cartoons and movies on YouTube that will be useful for younger children. It’s a great opportunity to spend a little time together. Make sure you pick something that will engage their attention. It’s a great bonding opportunity so try to take the time to watch this with them. Use the opportunity to discuss what you saw at the end. This way you kill two birds with one stone as you work on their comprehension skills at the same time.
Foreign Music
When you’re driving your child to school or you’re embarking on another journey, play some foreign songs in the car. You can download them easily on iTunes and other streaming services. Alternatively, if your car is compatible find what you need on YouTube via your phone, enable bluetooth on the car and link it to your phone. Look up any words or phrases they don’t understand. It’s not just about learning the words, this also helps to encourage good pronunciation.
Download Apps / Access Websites with Games
Don’t forget when teaching children it’s far easier if you make it fun!!! You’ll find a great range of games that you can download onto ipads and websites you can access that will have various free tools and games that can help make the job easier and most importantly more enjoyable for the kids.
Visit the Country/Bring that Country to Your Home
My favourite option of all that is the most fun for the whole family is to visit the country that speaks the target language. It is a great carrot to dangle to encourage children to learn if they know they are going on holiday to practise what they have learnt. Not always an option for all, another idea is to create dishes from the country on a fun theme night. Decorate with that country’s flag and pictures of places that are great to visit there. This way you experience the country and its food at a fraction of the price.
What tips would you suggest to parents teaching a child a new language?
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Great advice here. I always found foreign music was a great way to learn. Especially if you know the music then learning the lyrics is 10x easier!
It can be a fun way for children especially.
My son studied French at primary and loved it but weirdly he is now learning Spanish in secondary
I think there has been a shift towards Spanish as it is used more. Always good to know at least one extra language.
Really interesting tips! I remember always being told the younger they are, the more likely they will pick up another language. I think. it’s really clever.
It sure is. It’s important to start familiarising them from a young age.
this is roughly how i learned English , it so works , kids unlike us adults learn so much faster so start them young
They really do learn fast if you start young. It is so much easier for them.
There are lots of ways to help a child learn! I like the idea of using flash cards.
Flashcards can be a fun way to teach. Mine prepare their own sometimes depending on the subject.
My daughter went to a French class when she was 3 as a friend was running it, they learnt through games and songs and she picked things up very quickly.
That’s such a fun way to learn for children.
These are some really great tips – my eldest is learning Spanish and I am hoping to visit Spain next year, maybe Barcelona, so he can put his skills to the test and talk with native Spanish people
Laura x
That sounds great. I am sure the trip will really help reinforce what she has learnt.
I would absolutely love to be able to teach my children to speak a different language! I love the idea of listening to foreign music in the car – my eldest daughter always picks up the words of songs, so I’m sure she’d love to try learning a language like French 🙂
It’s great to encourage this at a young age.
Very interesting post! It is a good idea to start young when learning new languages. My wife’s best friend was a French teacher and her daughter could speak fluent French in her early teens an went on to study various languages at University!
I found it embarrassing that my children spoke better French than me when we went away!
These tips also work for adults, I always have Japanese subtitles when I’m watching dubbed anime
I loved magazines from the country. My greatest regret is that my Polish grandfather didn’t speak Polish to us as very young children. Learning it older with grammar rules was so difficult
I wish I could speak another language, and I’ve heard it’s easier to learn the younger you are so this was a great post for me to read. My grandson is only 6 weeks old, but it won’t be long before we could try something like this with him.
I think the playing foreign music is a great way to teach children another language. I remember singing songs in a foreign language at school and that stayed with me for years.
It can help with pronunciation and remembering words.
Just keep it fun and they will join in and learn mush quicker than you expect!
I totally agree. It can make a big difference if they are having fun.
This is really interesting! I think it’s great when children learning new languages when young.
It is good for them and great time to learn.