We are going on a journey of toddler love!
Marie Martin
The importance of bilingualism as it relates to the world.
Why should our children learn a new language? What are the top languages spoken by the world? What are the benefits of being a bilingual child?
Research has shown that bilingual children perform higher on average on tests that involve multi-tasking, creative thinking, or problem solving.
Benefits of Bilingual Children
Being bilingual increases employment options. A growing number of industries are seeking employees who speak a second language.
Bilingual children are usually more adaptable to new environments, meeting new people, and stepping out of their comfort zone.
#4 Travel
Bilingual children are more likely to travel for business and pleasure.
Bilingual Myths
You have preconceptions that need to be addressed.
Know what you want to achieve.
Hit the Target
What is your language goal? How to begin?
Now that I have convinced you on the importance of your child learning a second language, how do you begin?
First things first! What is your TARGET LANGUAGE? English as Second Language (ESL) specialists refer to this as the language you are trying to learn. For example, English would be the "Target Language" that I teach someone who does not know English. Therefore, start with a goal. Your target language.
As you begin to think about your target language, think about local and global implications for needing that language. Our daughter's target language is Mandarin. If you checked the data on leading languages world-wide, Mandarin is first on the list. China is a major player in global business opportunities. Our daughter started learning Mandarin because we were actually relocating to China in order to teach English. Our daughter was going to be with a Mandarin-speaking nanny daily. We wanted to prepare her as much as possible for her new life as an expat kid.
Now that we are in California, her next language will most likely be Spanish.
Let's get to work!
Trust the dreaded algorithm to do it's job!
You have a language. Maybe you know how to speak it, maybe not. If you know how to speak the intended target language, then by all means start speaking it to your child immediately.
If you are not fluent in your target language, then you must rely on horrid "SCREEN TIME". I am one of those parents who LOVE to give my child lots of screen time. How is she using her screen time? Educating herself. Not only do we have education apps, games, and videos. We also use games, apps, and videos to work on her target language skills.
For Mandarin, we started with Sesame Street. Elmo has complete Mandarin videos that teach children in Mandarin. From there, the algorithm did its job and fed my daughter more and more Mandarin videos. Before we knew it, she was speaking words and phrases that we did not understand.
Now, that our daughter is older, she wants to watch her favorite Disney movies in Mandarin and all different languages.
Start with a character that your child is interested in. I love Sesame Street because it is an educational company that has a system for language learning.
Algorithm
Naturally, as you search for toddler appropriate videos for your child, the algorithm will clue in and assist you. When your child roams, it will automatically start playing songs, stories, and kids teaching the language on their iPad.
The last component is to add simple games for your toddler to play. Search the app store for games in your target language.
Let's get serious!
How long should I wait before I see results? What are some next steps? Anything else I should know?
Our daughter started her Elmo videos at 20 months. We went to China when she was 2. We left China shortly after her 2nd birthday. Although, we made the right decision to leave, we were worried that our dreams of her learning to speak Mandarin were finished. Until, that wonderful algorithm kicked in.
Over the next year, our daughter absorbed many videos. She preferred watching shows in English and Mandarin. She started trying to teach us words, because we couldn't understand her at times. She would say , "Mommy, dog means goa." That's when we took it to the next level.
Before she turned 3, we got our daughter a tutor. We contacted our local college and asked for a language tutor. They provided us with a couple of names for us to interview. Here are some suggestions for taking the next steps in your child's language development.
You may contact the local college or a language center. I loved having the college student because she came to our home and it was comfortable. Downside, was that there was not a direct curriculum being used. I still felt that it was beneficial because it was a first step. We only did 30 minutes per week.
We try our best to take our daughter to cultural events revolving around Chinese culture. We went to a Buddhist Temple and celebrated Chinese New Year. Also, try to travel to the countries that speak the language.
Language Schools
Language schools are great. We are using a language school now for our daughter. The language school has curriculum and systems of teaching the language efficiently. Our daughter is now reading and writing Mandarin characters. She has workbooks and homework. We would love to place her in an immersion school, but there aren't any in our area. So, the language school is great so far.
Although our daughter did travel to China and Hong Kong, she is excited to travel again in order to use her language. She also, loves to look at pictures and videos of her travels.
Yes, our daughter gets nervous using her language with people who she perceives actually speaks the language. Your child might be the same way. I constantly have to remind myself that my daughter is in "STAGE 1" of language development. This stage is usually called "The Silent Stage" to ESL Specialists.
There are actual schools that teach target languages for children as early as Kindergarten. This is a great solution for us, since there is not an immersion school in our area. Our daughter would learn along side American Mandarin students who are also learning the language for fluency. Schools have more intense classes that are 3 hour sessions.
Yes, not only are we (parents) learning some of the language, grandparents are also picking up apps to learn the language. I record new words learned from each lesson. I also look up writing videos to help my daughter learn the correct stroke sequences for writing the Mandarin Characters. Tutors and schools are going to want you to be able to help at home. We do what we can, but we are proactive in trying to help as much as possible.
Visit our website for more free travel eBooks, teacher resources, and info on our children's book series.
1. Why Your Kids Should Learn a Second Language Infographic commissioned and published by ECE Zone. Infographic created by Dubs&Dash.
2. The Benefits of Learning Languages Published by Kaplan International. Infographic created by Sergio Fernandez.