Foreign language for the little ones

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-02 02:31

How great it would be if all people from birth spoke several languages! Well, at least the most popular ones in the world. There would be no need to waste time and money on training. In fact, such people exist among us, we simply do not pay attention to them. Children who immediately begin to speak two languages are called bilinguals.

Bilinguals are those who grew up in a bilingual system. When a child in a family hears one language, and in the yard, in a kindergarten, on the street - another (for example, in the former Soviet republics). There are also known cases of bilingualism in artificially created conditions, when the father spoke to his son only in English, starting from his birth, and by the age of five the child was equally good at both Russian and English. The "governess's method" is also based on this.

The "method of the governess" (when the nanny speaks to the child only in a foreign language) involves many hours of daily communication between the nanny and the child.

To be successful in the modern world, you need to know three or even four languages. How to ensure that the kid knows at least two at once? Here you should decide what you really want and why do you need it. If your goal is to send your child to a prestigious school like Harvard or to go to live abroad, it is better to entrust your child to a pro who studies the language with the exact age group your child belongs to. It is desirable that it be a native speaker. And if you just want to make life easier for your child, so as not to waste time looking for a tutor at school, then you can take him to courses for preschoolers. Let's figure out together how best to organize your baby's education.

Bilingual children

Suppose you live in another country, and two languages are a forced necessity. How can this be achieved? Which method should you choose?

Tatyana: "There are 3 languages in our family: Russian, German and English. The child is 16 months old. Dad speaks German to him, I speak Russian, and we speak English among ourselves. The child understands everything. His first words were Russians, so far it's just "give it, mother, nizya."

So, the easiest way to teach a child a foreign language is when you speak your native language, and the father or someone from the family speaks another … But what if you raise him alone? Talk to your baby as you like: some phrases in one language, some in another, read poetry and sing songs. If you enjoy this, then the baby will be happy and will learn the second language without any problems. The kid can speak first in Russian, and when he gets into a different environment, he will remember what he heard in infancy. The main thing is to just communicate without intentionally teaching. Approach your activity like a game, not like a boring rule. Children at this age are very sensitive to their mother's mood. After all, you want to ensure that the baby has just two native languages, and not perfect pronunciation and superknowledge.

Some experts advise to translate simultaneously, that is, to name the same subject in different languages. But be sure to explain that wardrobe and "wardrobe" are words from two different languages that mean the same thing.

When to start learning a second language

If you want your baby to just know a second language so that his abilities develop from childhood, this is a completely different matter. But then another question arises - when to start? Psychologists and educators have been arguing on this topic for several years.

At the Institute of Philadelphia, under the guidance of renowned physician Glenn Doman, they proved that the most effective learning occurs during the period of brain growth. So it's much easier to teach a two- and three-year-old child. Moreover, studies have shown that those kids who were taught a foreign language from an early age learn their native language better. After all, it is at the age of three that the child is able to absorb, imitate, follow, perceive.

But some experts believe that it is better to start teaching children no earlier than 4 years old … Larisa, the mother of a 4-year-old son, when she asked at a special school of English whether to send her child to courses, was answered like this:

"In no case do not give your child anywhere. It is better to start going to our preparatory courses a year before school. It's just always easier to teach than to retrain."

The author of the tutorial "How to teach children to speak English" I. L. Sholpo believes that it is best to start at the age of five. With four-year-olds, in her opinion, this is possible, but unproductive.

However, in 1994 in Syktyvkar, an experiment was carried out, as a result of which it was proved that three-year-olds can be quite successfully taught a foreign language. And learning is easier due to the fact that children at this age are inquisitive, inquisitive, they are characterized by an inexhaustible need for new impressions, a thirst for research. The foundations of a human being are laid at an early age, and this should be borne in mind.

It is clear that at 3 years old it is unrealistic to teach a child grammar and correct pronunciation, but you can create the prerequisites for learning the language in the future.

Where and how to teach your baby

There are several options.

1. Send to foreign language courses for kids. There are many such training centers. In particular, in Moscow prices range from 300 to 1000 rubles per lesson. If you try, you can find cheaper, but then the quality, as a rule, will leave much to be desired.

Kids are taught the language in a playful way. In the classroom, they learn songs, poems, counting rhymes, sing lullabies, act out scenes from their favorite fairy tales, and draw. There must be a program developed in advance. As a rule, it includes the study of letters, numbers, animals, the main topics of the child's daily life in the form of a game.

Many courses also have hands-on sessions. Children draw, sculpt, make applications, paint, commenting on their actions in a foreign language.

Minus courses: in order for the kid to master the acquired knowledge well, he must be taken to classes at least 3 times a week and not be missed. There should be as few children as possible in the group. The optimal number is no more than five so that the teacher can pay enough attention to each child.

The courses are useful, but it is advisable to add constant practice at home and communication with native speakers to them. Therefore, you can go on another vacation with your baby.

2. Hire a private teacher. Of course, the courses will not replace a good teacher who will deal with your child one-on-one.

The cost of this pleasure in Moscow is from 1000 rubles for 45 minutes and more, and when you go home, accordingly, even more.

Cons: Finding a good teacher is not easy. After all, it is important that he not only knows how to competently teach children of this age, but also finds a common language with your little one, as well as with you. Since at first the baby may not want to communicate with a stranger.

3. Get a nanny who is a native speaker. Or a nanny who will take care of the child for some kind of benefits. But the benefits are different. Some people like some of them (in particular, Valentina Skulte's textbook "English for Children" is very popular), some like others, so it is best to consult with experts or study this issue yourself and choose the best option for your baby.

Cons: It is difficult for a nanny to track exactly how she performs her duties. It is rare that a nanny and a good language teacher are in one person.

4. Garden with native speakers. It's good if you can find such a kindergarten in your city, but not the fact that you will be able to arrange a child there.

Cons: you are unlikely to find such a kindergarten near your home, and taking your child to the other end of the city is not the most pleasant pastime.

5. Teach the child the language itself. There are many interactive games with which you can learn a foreign language, as well as all kinds of computer programs. With their help, the child will comprehend the basics of a new language. The latest innovations in this area: "My first English alphabet", "Learning English", "English for children. The world around us", "Me and my family", "English: From A to Z" and so on.

So that the kid does not spend a lot of time at the computer, a timer is built into the games of the new generation, and often also funny physical exercises, audio fairy tales, music from cartoons, counters that collect statistics of the child's success.

Just remember that babies' attention fades in 25 minutes!

Cons: in order to teach a kid a foreign language, it is advisable to know this language yourself and have a good pronunciation. In addition, you need to have good self-organization and perseverance.

We create the prerequisites for learning a language

If the child is still very young, how to captivate him with unfamiliar words and not frighten him?

1. Train your child's ear to hear the difference between the two languages. Buy cartoons in English. It will be better if he has already watched them in Russian. Before watching, be sure to explain that there are other languages and words mean the same thing, but sound different.
2. More often be among those who speak this language and can speak it with the baby. Watch films in a foreign language with your child. Learn rhymes, by the way, you can find many poems on the Preskolnik website.
3. When the child knows some words and pronounce them, try filming it with a video camera and then show it to him. Children look at themselves with pleasure, and this will help the child to understand how and what he is saying.
4. Buy his favorite songs in a foreign language. Turn them on periodically, but do not overdo it, otherwise the child may have a rejection of the language. You can sing children's songs in English yourself. And you can also find many sayings, tongue twisters, counting rhymes, riddles, comics, puzzles, games for the little ones, and even learn how to draw on the site for bilinguals.
5. It is too early for him to buy books, coloring books, pictures with inscriptions. But you can quite buy them in order to remember yourself what and what is called.
6. When you play with your baby, name the toys in both foreign and Russian. The best thing for 3-4 years is learning words and expressions on different topics. Therefore, you just need to take certain sections (fruits, animals, colors, etc.), pick up games for them (and there are a lot of them), songs, pictures and coloring pages (there are a lot of this on foreign sites).
7. When you teach a child words, take into account this feature of the child's brain: it is easier for them to establish a connection between the sound image of the word and the visual, than to correlate two different sound images. In other words, a child will remember more easily if you show him a dog running down the street or a corresponding picture and say: "It's a dog" - than if you say: "A" dog "in English means a dog."
8. The play form helps the kid learn words faster. For example, you go to bed. Comment on all your sleep activities, first in two languages. Petya wants to sleep - Pete is sleepy, we are brushing our teeth - we're cleaning the teeth. Then comment on the baby's actions only in a foreign language, when, for example, you wash your face. This will make it easier for him to memorize words.

Each family has its own experience, depending on the child's abilities and the teaching method.

Marina from Moscow: "My brother has been living abroad for a long time. His son was born in the States, then they moved to Canada, then to Great Britain. All the way around was only an English-speaking environment. My brother did not join any" Russian "communities. But at home spoke only Russian Result: Nikita spoke fluent English as soon as he was sent to kindergarten (in Canada). Literally a week was enough, although before that he did not speak at all. Probably saved up my vocabulary. At home, my brother tried to teach him Japanese on his own. Nick now speaks Japanese quickly and without hesitation (as far as I can judge, not knowing this language), and even writes in hieroglyphs. He speaks Russian without an accent. Of course, I have an assumption that the child is simply capable of learning foreign languages."

Time will tell what will turn out as a result of training. In any case, it is better to have at least some experience than not to have it at all. And it will be useful and interesting for the kid to learn something new.