How to Accelerate Spanish Learning For Your Child
Americans are woefully behind the rest of the world when it comes to learning foreign languages. In many countries, foreign language instruction is introduced in the schools by the time children turn eight. In contrast, most students in the United States are not exposed to a foreign language until junior or senior high school. This means that while other children spend 10 to 12 years in foreign language instruction, the average American student only gets about four years.
Yet there are many proven benefits to knowing a second language. With all the languages there are in the world to choose from, Spanish is one of the most useful for American children. Spanish is the official language of 21 different countries and is the second-most spoken language in the world. A child who can speak both English and Spanish fluently can communicate with the vast majority of the world’s population. With that in mind, how can you excelerate Spanish learning for your child?
Start Young
To excelerate Spanish learning, it’s important to start your children young. Preschool Spanish and elementary school Spanish curriculum are available that can help your child start having fun with Spanish right from the beginning. The younger a child is exposed to a second language, the better. Before the age of eight, children’s brains naturally absorb language and language skills are relatively easy to acquire. Between the age of eight and 12, most children will begin to lose that excelerated ability to reproduce new sounds. The older we get, the more difficult it becomes to learn a second language effectively.
Make it Fun
Children learn best when they enjoy what they’re doing. Educators have long known that the best way to help very young children learn effectively is to essentially hide from them much of the learning that there actually doing. In other words, though young children should be slowly learning to take school and study seriously, much of what they’re doing during the day should also feel like a game. Games are how children naturally learn when very young, so working with this tendency is going to be far more effective than working against it. To excelerate Spanish learning in your child’s life, try looking for Spanish games, Spanish storybook sets, and Spanish TV programs that your children will enjoy.
Practice Everyday
You’ll never excelerate Spanish learning for your child unless it’s something that happens every day. It doesn’t have to be the same on each day, but every day your child should be doing a little something with their new language. Start by building up a vocabulary, since words are the building blocks from which all language are made.
Find Spanish Songs to Sing Around the House
Songs are an incredible way of learning any language or any information. By putting information into a song, we engage more of our brains in the process of remembering it. This helps us learn things faster and remember them better. A great way to excelerate Spanish learning for your child is to work with them on learning a new song regularly. Choose funds songs, preferably with motions, and student that’s what your kids will be singing as they travel in the car. Another tip with songs is to consider having your child learn the Spanish version of popular songs they already know and love, such as Let it Go.
Urge Them to Read to You
As your child begins to learn Spanish reading, invest in some bilingual books. You read the English portion and then ask your children to “help” you by reading the Spanish portion. Children love being able to help, and many are frustrated at times because there are so few things in life that they can do as well or better than other people. This not only excelerates Spanish learning for your child, but also gives them a chance to shine and show you what they can do. This will boost their self-esteem as well as their Spanish.
Teaching your child a second language can be one of the most important things you ever do for their future. Make Spanish learning fun and important in your home, and your kids will be speaking it before you know it.