Thoughts on Teaching Your Children A Second Language

As a former high school foreign (or "modern") language teacher, I wanted share a few insights gained over the past three and half years on "teaching" a second language to your child(ren). Thanks to God's grace, He gave me the gift of the German language, beginning in the 7th grade. I have always wanted to teach our kids German, but have wondered at times how it is possible at this busy stage in life.

When I taught at the college and high school levels, the emphasis was teaching the language "in context". Instead of making our students memorize lists of vocabulary, we were encouraged to create real life situations in which the students learned the language. This is a huge encouragement for parents wanting to teach their little ones a language at home. Why? Think about it...how do your kiddos learn English? When you go to the park, you say "We are going to the park." They learn that it is the park because you call it the park...and then they experience what a "park" is. It's the same way with a second language. Instead of buying a set of Russian flashcards for your children, speak the words to them in context, and find as many opportunities as you can for repetition. Below are some specific ways that you can do this very thing. They are meant for parents of newborns, toddlers and preschoolers who desire to encourage the learning of a second language. They are also meant to promote life-long learning.

• Go for it. It's never too early or too late to start. Just go for it! Babies and todders are sponges, as you know!
• Speak it. Start with what you know. Did you take 2 years of French in high school and know how to introduce yourself? Can you still count to 20 in German? Can you name a few animals in Spanish? Start there. While talking with your children, use the words from your "other" or "target" language. Say the word or phrase in English, or point to the object, and then say the word in the target language. They may laugh or giggle at first, or even tell you "No German!", but keep doing it, and they will accept it. I've found that after many times of repetition, my girls will start to say the words I say as if it is totally normal to them.
• Read it. Find children's books in your second language and read them over and over with your children. You don't have to know what all of the words mean...just sound them out and look them up in an online dictionary. Some online dictionaries will pronounce the word for you. We have a series of board books about a little bear named Bobo in German that the girls love. If your child asks another family member to read a book in the target language, encourage them to avoid saying "I can't read this", and instead have them talk to the children about the pictures or make up a story. You want the kiddos to have a positive view of the language. One way to find these books: go to amazon.com and type in "Eric Carle in Spanish", for example.

 Phoebe matching a puzzle piece of "das Pferd" to a German book (you just learned a German word!), and Joanna "reading" the same book at 11 months.


• Listen to it. Find audio versions of the same books. This is a great way for your children to hear the story read by a native speaker of the language.
• Sing it. Find a CD of children's songs in the target language and listen to them over and over until you all know them by heart. Do you remember learning a goofy song in French class? Look it up on youtube and see if there's a video of it.
• Watch it. Think of your child's favorite DVD or TV show. Go to the corresponding website and see if it is translated into your target language and watch the videos posted. For example, at the bottom of the "Thomas and Friends" website, there's an option to select your country, which then translates the site into that country's language. Because of some prior knowledge of German TV channels, I was able to find German children's shows online that the girls love to watch! One evening at dinner, after a few weeks of watching the same 5 minute video, Joanna kept saying "Kaputt! The lion says kaputt!" At first I didn't know what she was saying, but then I realized she was quoting the German video. Youtube is also a good source: type in the character you are looking for and then "in Japanese" or your language.

 The girls watching "Gummi Bummi", their favorite video. Each video is about four minutes long, and they watch the same five or so about three times a week and never tire of them!


• Find people who speak it. The more your kids realize that Spanish is not just something they hear on Dora, but instead is an actual language that real people speak, the better. I love it when I meet someone from Germany and can speak German with them infront of the kids. Contact a local high school foreign language teacher for ideas of where to find resources (again, my German resource post is hopefully coming soon). Contact the World Languages Departments at OSU for ideas (they are listed by language in the College of Arts and Sciences).
•  Have patience with it. Don't always expect the child(ren) to produce words from the language. They will have a "passive" vocabulary before they actually speak the language. They will often not use the language unless they need to. One example: I often ask Phoebe "Wo ist deine Nase?" (Where is your nose?) and all she has to do is point to her nose. She knows what it means, and this encourages her understanding without requiring her to speak. The kiddos will also experiment  with sounds and combine languages. Don't be concerned...learning another language does not hinder their language development...it challenges their brains to work harder and become better at it!
• Learn it yourself. Be willing to learn along with them. Chances are, you did not learn the word for "diaper" or "stroller" in high school Spanish. Be willing to add to your own vocabulary by using an online dictionary or a picture dictionary in your target language. It is so much fun...I never knew Teletubbies in German could be so entertaining!

My short-term goal with our kids right now is to help them accept the German language as a normal part of life. I figure the more they hear it, even if some weeks it's not that much, the more they will accept it...and learn it! But the long-term goal is not so much that they learn German. As a friend reminded me recently, learning a language should be one of the means by which our children realize that there are other people in the world, many of whom do not know the hope that can be found in turning to and trusting in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins. You have little missionaries in training!

Mark 16:15 And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."