4 Ways to Help Your Child Study a Second Language (Even if You Don't Know It)

Is your child learning a new language at school? Here are four fun ways you can help him or her study this new language at home. These tips are useful to parents of all school-aged children, regardless of grade level, and it doesn't even matter whether you know the language yourself!

1. Encourage your child to watch little video shorts in the new language by watching with him or her. Visit YouTube and search for the language and a subject that is very interesting to your child (ex. "Soccer in Spanish"). It is not necessary to understand every word. No translation needed. No quiz about subject matter. A child will watch repeatedly until it makes sense. Many times, sporting events are good because the narration matches the action.

2. If your child has made and studied flashcards, show him or her the foreign language word and ask for him or her to give you the English word. Always be encouraging. “Try again” is much preferable to “wrong” or the raspberry noise! After several tries, put the flashcard in the stack for "needs extra work." Have a separate stack for "mastered/knows well." Over time, the mastered stack will be full. Watching the stack grow is a sufficient reward. Remember, this is a process. 

3. If your child is not intimidated by technology, have him or her load words into a Quizlet. (Or you can do this if your child doesn’t type well yet). In Quizlet, there is a button to hear each word pronounced by a native speaker. Record your child repeating the pronunciations (or have your child record him or herself). Listening together and helping your child hear when the pronunciation matches (focus on the positive, let the other go) is a great help. Keep it short!

4. Show an interest in the culture. Research the food together. Prepare it or go to a restaurant specializing in that cuisine. Be willing to be open to new languages and cultures yourself, and your good example will do worlds of good for your child.

Above all, be willing to have some fun trying to understand the new language yourself as you work with your child in these four ways!