It is adorable to see your tiny infant utter gibberish. And as it grows, it starts picking up one word after another from its immediate environment. The primary language it learns is usually the one that is spoken at home.
Language is one of the most important means of communication. With booming globalization, it is crucial for children to learn more than one language so that they can express themselves in many ways. Learning a new language will also help children build strong interpersonal relationships, be competitive, and adapt faster and better.
However, learning a new language may seem like a daunting task for your child. Here are a few ways to make it interesting and quick for your kid to learn a new language.
- Do it together
Kids love learning in unique ways, especially if it is a group activity. It will be effective and fun for both you and your kids to learn together. You can make it a fun activity by using colorful cards, recollecting together what you learned, and conversing in the new language when possible. This way, your kids will consider it to be a quality time spent well together and be naturally interested in learning the new language easily.
- Play it out
Learning something new initially can turn out to be a little difficult or boring at first. It is a good idea to make games out of the new language. Parents can teach numbers in the new language to the children by playing “hide and seek”. The digital world provides various options too. You can find various puzzles and fill them out together.
- TV
It is good to keep children away from the television. However, when it comes to learning something new, TV can be a savior. You can make your children watch a children’s TV show or cartoon in the new language that you wish to teach them. This will engage their senses and interest in learning the language.
- Music
Songs are a phenomenal way to learn anything new. You can learn to sing in the new language and sing along. Familiarizing them with the tune will also help them become familiar with the new words. Music touches the heart and helps the brain learn faster.
- Daily Activities
It is a nice idea to include the new language learning in day-to-day activities. For example, when you go to the shopping mart together, you can name objects, shapes and colors in the new language. Children are very good at observing their surroundings. This will help them easily register and learn the new language.
- Books
There are innumerable books available in the market with beautiful pictorial representations. You can buy those books in the new language for your children and spend some time with them reading and browsing. Books are a great source of learning and hence a strong option to consider.
- Labeling
Another way to incorporate a new language into your children’s lives is by labeling things around the house. Since children tend to spend time in the entire house, touching this and touching that, they will keep registering the labels in their minds and easily learn the new language.
- Group Studies
Children love spending time with their friends. It will excite them to learn the new language if they do it with their peers. You can get in touch with the parents of other children and organize fun study sessions together. You can make snacks and schedule picnics too. Such an environment will have a positive, exciting and a healthy influence on the children’s minds, facilitating them to learn the new language easily.
- Bed-time Stories
Whilst, the night is a time to rest, it is a good idea to read out bedtime stories in the new language to the children. What they hear just before sleeping will sink into their subconscious minds and register deep down. Stories are a fun way to remember things. Additionally, as their day will end with the new language they will wake up eager to learn it the next day as well.
- Gestures
Big gestures and exaggerations can help the children register the new language very well. The children will surely associate with your facial expressions, and body language while recollecting what they have learnt. This will give you a chance to give a try at drama and improvisation and help bond with your children.
- Enact a play
You can take a popular fairy tale story or play and enact it in the new language. This will be an all-around development activity. It will not only hone your children’s language skills but also improve their theatre skills, public speaking skills, memory and spontaneity.
- Buddy
A very easy way to help your children learn a new language is by finding someone good at it. You need not find a tuition teacher, but someone who can spend time with your children and converse with them. That buddy can help the children correct their mistakes and work on their strengths as well. A support system can do wonders for your children.
- Puppets
Toys can never fail a child’s interest. You can use puppets or your children’s favorite toys to teach your children the new language. This will encourage your children to learn the language while having fun. They will look forward to the next learning time with a genuine interest.
