Learning a new language is a
fascinating experience. Instilling the love of learning languages in our
children makes the whole experience even stronger. But how and when do we
actually do it? As parents, we both work full-time and raise 2 children. And
like all parents we are busy and our plates are full. In the evening, we are
tired and a lot is going on during week-ends.
This is why we believe that it all starts with 10 minutes. Having our children learn a new language starts with a commitment: making 10 minutes count! We can take advantage of what we do every day to make it a language learning opportunity. Some days we only have 10 minutes. Some other days we might be able to squeeze in 2 or 3 different 10-minute activities together.
Here are 8 things we use. Not more
than 10 minutes at a time.
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Tip #1: Breakfast with
Spiderman
Our son loves superheroes, and
Spiderman stories are his favorite. So we read them in French while having
breakfast together on week-ends.
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Tip #2: Play “Veo Veo”
"Veo, Veo",
"Que ves?", "Una cosita", "Y que cosita es?" is
the Spanish version of "I spy with my little eye". Our kids love it,
at the kitchen table, in the car, at the doctor's. Great way to build
vocabulary in Spanish.
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Tip #3: Bottle Song With both Elena and Pablo, before they
turned 1, we used to give the last bottle of the day around 11pm. I made it a
habit to sing every time in French, both to relax them and myself, and get them
to sleep.
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Tip #4: YouTube routine
Asterix et Obelix, Zorro, Oui-Oui are all cartoons in French on
YouTube, that are split in 10 minute episodes. We made watching one a night a routine,
right after brushing teeth.
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Tip #5: Aperitif en
francais Our kids are more motivated to do a page of their French
homework book with some baby carrots and a few almonds. So when I come back
from work, we sit-down for 10 minutes with a light snack and we do a page of
French.
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Tip#6: iPad stories
We allow our children to listen to 2 short stories on iPad on
week-ends, in either French or Spanish. During that time we can pay our bills
or do some chores, and still feel that they are developing their comprehension
skills.
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Tip #7: Play soccer
with Messi
Just like his dad, Pablo loves
soccer. We pretend we are Ronaldo and Messi. 5- to 10-minute game. It helps
practice French soccer vocabulary while kicking the ball.
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Tip #8: Take a class
Having our children take a Chinese class once a week has a
forcing function on us. Elena has a total of
about 40/50min of homework to do. Her Chinese teacher does not mince words when
the homework is not done. So we better do it, 10 minutes at a time.
How do you use 10 minutes to help your child learn a new language?
