5 Methods to Make Learning a Language Fun

Everyone talks about the importance of knowing a second language. Regardless of whether you speak another one yourself or want to encourage your children to learn one, there are many different, fun ways to go about it. Just as with teaching them Here are some tips and tricks to help your kids take the time and learn a language at home.

Everyday tasks

Here is an easy way to teach a little vocabulary in whatever language you want your children to learn. Whatever your routine may be, you can add a little language learning into it. Je me brosse les dents when brushing your teeth in the morning, tengo hambre if they’re wanting a snack. Hund, spielplatz, and eis (“dog”, “playground”, and “ice cream”) when you’re taking a walk, and leggere, dormire, and buona notte (“read”, “sleep”, and “good night”) when they are going to bed.

A little friendly competition

Get creative with your teaching methods! Try a website that combines language learning with play time, www.mindsnacks.com. Or maybe, if your kids and their friends thrive on competing against one another, why not have a race to see who is fastest to show they know their new words? Shout out mesa and they will run scattering across the room to touch the table. Call out fenêtre and you will likely get a few handprints on your window glass—if that happens, you might want to also teach them the word nettoyer, or “clean”.

Making time for language

It doesn’t have to be complicated. There are language tutoring services that you can hire in-home or online like www.listenandlearn.org. Your kids can benefit from using a native Spanish tutor for language instruction. Also set aside 15 minutes a day – even if just 15 – to practice Spanish together; read books aloud together or have conversations about school days in Spanish. Even just a little time spent every evening dedicated to speaking in another language will do wonders for languages skills. It could be before starting homework, asking about days, or even talking about tomorrow. Even just a few minutes of speaking practice will improve pronunciation, expand vocabulary, and more importantly, make your children confident in the words they are saying.

Planning some fun

Is it a rainy day where it’s too gloomy to do anything and everyone is a little stir crazy for being trapped inside? Why not imagine a day trip or your next holiday in another language? Je veux aller au zoo (“I want to go to the zoo”) as one of a number of destinations, avión, autobús, and barco (“plane”, “bus”, and “boat”) if you are talking about the different ways to travel. It is so easy to drop a little language practice into any of these 25 rainy day activities!

A last resort

If your children are constantly glued to their tablets playing games, why not use that to your advantage? Download Duolingo or other language learning apps and spend some time practising together. There are thousands of possibilities out there to play interactive language games which are educational. Learn the words for fruits and vegetables in French, practise numbers in Spanish, or get to know all the names of the animals on a farm. With technology, you have an endless number of tools at your disposal!

Put it into practice

If you are taking your children abroad this year, preparing them for their holiday with some knowledge of a language will not only build their excitement in preparation for travel, but will also make the trip more enjoyable, too. If they know the basic words for food and drinks, menus will seem less daunting, and if they can understand a few words in train stations, airports, and bus terminals, recognising them can be turned into a game too! Remember, getting your kids to learn a language need not be a battle. What language would you like for your little ones to learn?