How to teach a foreign language to a child? This question has always been a concern for parents planning a successful life for their children. Having the second language today is not an advantage in the market, it is a necessity of a fast-growing world. Yet most parents don’t know how to teach a child a foreign language. They use the same methods and exercises they were taught by. However, the field of education does not hold, it grows as fast as the economy market. So below you can find several tips and tricks on efficient techniques to a language to a child.
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Bilingual Nanny
You might not have much time on your hands and even if you do, there is no better way of learning a foreign language than with a native speaker. Regardless of where you live, there will always be nannies speaking all kinds of languages. By acquiring two languages since birth, your mother tongue and your nanny’s, your child will grasp the feeling of language and later will have no problems with studying its grammar rules. Furthermore, nanny is considered a part of a family by a child; this means that language acquisition would easy, convenient, and naturally without much effort.
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Use technologies
Technologies surround modern children everywhere. Most toddlers learn using tablets before speaking and even walking. So why not make use of it? If you have been looking for an easy way on how to teach a foreign language to a child, then technology is your answer! You can search the net for the best language apps to turn learning process into a game for your child. Through the game the child will learn lots of languages without using much mental strength to do so.
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Listen to music
Of course, this means listening to foreign music with your child. But don’t just listen to it, try to learn the words with the child together. This is another way to make the learning process fun and easy-going. Don’t, however, force the child to learn the song. Your goal is to find easy-to-remember songs and lyrics to ensure that the child likes it and will repeat in later on. Listen to music while driving or when getting the kid into bath. Never focus child’s attention that it is time to sing a song or repeat some words. Make it go effortlessly and fun so the process of learning vocabulary and sentence structures will be pleasant.
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Hire a tutor
Hiring a private tutor is usually answer number one to the question of how to teach a foreign language to a child and there is a good reason for it. Tutors know what they do, they know language pitfalls and can warn the child about them Tutors know a huge variety of methods to match learning abilities of all children in general and yours in particular. Furthermore, there is a huge difference between hiring a tutor for, let’s say, French lessons and taking your child to group classes. Groups are great, but only up till some limit. If your child already has some basics of the language, regular lessons with a tutor can provide a real boost in knowledge, while group classes may show no result whatsoever.
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Visit restaurants
You know the drill that it’s better to touch something that hear about it a thousand times. Well, it is the same with language. If you wonder how to teach a foreign language to a child in terms of vocabulary, then hands-on experience is the best way of doing so. Let’s take food topic for example. Don’t make your child just learn the words – make the process interesting! Let’s imagine that your kid is learning French. You need to go to a local French restaurant and at first just discuss the menu – dishes and their ingredients, what’s the name of silverware in French, what you call a server, etc. Such French lessons would definitely be of interest to a child and at the same time would not be seen forced. Just don’t forget to have some treat at the end in the form of ice-cream or a cake!
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Travel as much as you can
If you have been wondering how to teach a foreign language to a child without the latter knowing about it, then travelling is your best option! Travelling is a great motivation for children to learn a foreign language. The opportunity to speak to people in the streets and shops, to understand advertisements and signs on the shops is the pleasure that a child would feel once learn at least a bit of some language. Professional teachers and tutors say that travelling is one of those awesome ways to teach a foreign language to a child. Travelling not only makes learners talk, it also teaches them new words, new phrases, comprehension of local vernacular language, and boosts listening skill.
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Speaking clubs and language groups
If you have no possibility to travel to China, for instance, then you can always find a speaking club with Chinese learners nearby. Communication with equal learners as well as native speakers, who are frequently invited to such language groups, is a replacement of the travel need for some time. The important fact here is that children learn language in a relaxed and friendly ambience with a native speaker and as a result learn to love and actually use the studied language in real-life situations.
