Encouraging Your Children To Be Bilingual — N’est-ce pas?
A National Institutes of Health article, “The Cognitive Benefits of Being Bilingual,” highlighted that bilingual or multilingual people have “better attention and task-switching capacities” than monolingual individuals. Young children are better able to adapt to change, and “seniors can experience less cognitive decline.” If you want your children to be bilingual, as with everything else with the younger set, keep it fun, and they will learn.
1. Make a Game of Conversation
Much like a talking stick used for settling disputes, a talisman can serve to make conversation a game. Choose something that will fit in a pocket or slip on a wrist, and use it to switch languages. Make it interesting, and let Sarah use English while you answer her in Spanish, for example. When you want her to switch, tag her with the talisman so that she must use Spanish while you switch over to English. Pass it back and forth until you’re both giggling and confused.
2. Play Games
Play board or card games, and use the second language. If several people are playing, mix it up, with some using one language while the others use the second language. Go outside and play hide and seek — great for counting and prepositions — or strike up a ball game where a goal counts only if the scoring team called instructions in the second language.
3. Choose Bedtime Stories
Find books that have been translated into the language of choice. Many popular children’s favorites are available in other languages. Green Eggs and Ham — “Huevos Verdes con Jamón” in Spanish and “Les Oeufs Verts au Jambon” in French — is just one of many that have been published in other languages. Some are even available in Chinese.
4. Visit Cultural Events
Many cultures hold ethnic festivals, where many languages other than English are spoken. Take Nicholas to a Greek festival. Foreign languages have a music all their own, and he can appreciate the authentic accents. Let him have a gyro, some spanakopita and a few loukoumades for a dessert he’ll ask for over and over. Make him learn to spell what he wants; feta is an easy one.
5. Find Enrichment Activities
Some areas offer immersion activities for children. If you’re lucky enough to live within driving distance, consider attending. Many urge parental participation, and children can be with other children who are learning, too.
6. Set Up Play Dates
Sometimes, children learn from one another better than from any adult. If you know other parents with children who speak or are learning a second language, invite them for a play date, and encourage a trade-off of skills. They may appreciate their child having an opportunity to practice, and maybe next time they’ll invite you.
7. Hire a Foreign Nanny
Many students from other countries — particularly Europe — register as nannies for a summer or an entire year. Too, students in study-abroad programs need a place to stay while in the United States. Take care to choose reputable agencies who place only vetted individuals, but find the right match, and Tessa can reap cultural benefits, too.
8. Cook Native
Cook ethnic or traditional dishes with native ingredients. Depending on what you need, you might have to track down an Asian market, for example. Try picking up a simple foreign cookbook in the second language, and be ready to convert measurements like grams to cups. Set a goal of completing one recipe a week, or make it a weekend experiment. Just keep it fun, and be prepared for some surprises.
9. Enlist Instrumental Music Teachers
If Wyn takes piano or other musical or instrumental classes, enroll his music teacher in your quest. Many of the songs we know and love are rooted in old ballads or carols from other countries and have not only that influence but also often lyrics as well. He may play and sing “Frère Jacques” repeatedly just to get to the “Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong.”
10. Use Audio Books and Electronic Media
Audio books are considered wonderful, interactive tools to teach children English, so why not use them to learn other languages? Finding some choices might require a bit of searching, but other countries have audio books, too. Let Maddie help choose what she’d like, and allow plenty of time for delivery. She’ll be thrilled to get them in the mail. Plus, you’ll know that she’ll be hearing — and most likely repeating — the language just as it’s meant to be.
Source Link http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583091/