Learning a language can be one of the most profitable and challenging skills that you can give to your children. The good news about learning a second language is that the younger you start your children on this journey, the easier it will be for them to pick it up. As people get older the challenge of new language learning increases, only because of the amount of time they have spent in one language.
Children have an incredible propensity to learn new knowledge and skill, but they also have an incredible resource of time. As you grow up more and more responsibilities pull at your capacity and it can be hard to balance life and a big challenge like language learning. However, school is not the only place of learning you should be exposing your child to.
While school is a natural, built-in part of their experience, it can only do so much. As a parent, taking the time to help expose your child to other methods of learning will do them good and push them further than their classrooms ever could. While one does not negate the other, using both traditional school settings as well as other resources is the best way to make sure your child is getting the education they need.
If you are teaching your child a second language, like Chinese, it can take a lot of hard work, time, and commitment. Finding ways outside of the schoolroom to help them develop this skill and learn Chinese is important. Here are three ways that you can help your child learn Chinese outside of the classroom that will have rewarding results.
1. Find Private Tutors
Depending on the type of school that you send your child to, having access to one-on-one tutelage may not be the most abundant option. When it comes to language learning, a classroom environment is a great place to cover basics, learn memorization, and progress in your language skill; however, having individualized lessons with private teachers can really help develop your child’s language learning skills.
One-on-one classes give an expert a chance to gauge your child’s weaknesses and strengths and then curtail the curriculum accordingly. This isn’t always the case in a large classroom where the resource of time and attention just doesn’t exist for this possibility. But with private classes, their strengths can be bolstered, and the areas they struggle in can be given special attention.
Thanks to the access that technology has afforded, this doesn’t have to happen in person. Online virtual one-on-one classes can take place all over the globe and open up a whole realm of possibilities. Whether it’s virtual or in person, having private tutors and teachers can really help improve not only your child’s language learning but their confidence as well.
2. Use Fun Apps
One great way that you can easily reinforce certain skills like memorization, is by using language learning apps. These apps are not designed to be comprehensive learning tools, but provide a fun, effective service for helping expose you and your children to new languages.
This could be a great way of making long, boring car rides not so grueling, or you could have your children use the apps for a certain amount of time before playing video games. While a language learning app is no substitute for a classroom or a teacher, it can be a great tool to keep your child familiar with concepts of language outside of the classroom.
3. Take a Trip!
Taking a trip to an area that natively speaks the language your child is learning can be an awesome and helpful experience in their language-learning journey. Immersion into culture is a great way to help your child learn a new language – because it helps train their ears. Not only that, but language is just as much about culture and nuance as it is about anything else.
To become fluent in a language you have to understand how to use that language to describe the daily aspects of life. So seeing, hearing, and experiencing all of this firsthand is an invaluable tool in language learning.
If you are fluent in the language your child is learning, set aside special times throughout the week when you will only use that language in daily conversation. That could be one dinner a week where you make food native to the language’s origins, and you only talk in that language around the dinner table.
Conclusion
Finding ways to help your child become fluent in a new language is a deeply rewarding process. It will require a lot of hard work, and a lot of encouragement to keep your child learning till fluent. By finding creative ways to support their language learning journey outside of the classroom, you can help them achieve this goal faster, and with a greater sense of confidence.
