image credit: yield to children, via flickr

Summer is here and the kiddos are out of school, which for many families means establishing a new routine until school starts up again in the fall. But just because they’re not going to class for a few months doesn’t mean that your kids’ little sponge-like brains aren’t just waiting to absorb all sorts of new information. Summer can be a great time for bilingual families to find creative new ways to expose kids to the minority language and see their language skills grow by leaps and bounds. There are just two golden rules for effective language learning: make it necessary and make it fun. In this two part article, today we’ll be taking a look at ways to let kids know how necessary it is for them to learn another language and tomorrow we’ll be focusing on how to make it a fun.

Making it Necessary: As most of us know, children are often much smarter than we give them credit for. Most young children look for logic in the world around them, as is evidenced by their constant queries as to why things are the way they are. When it comes to learning a minority language at home, kids are naturally going to question why this is necessary when Mommy and Daddy and everyone around them can all speak the majority language. Your job is to show your kids why learning another language is necessary. Here are a few ideas to help you out:

*Sit down with your kids and explain to them that there are many countries in the world that speak many different languages. Let them know that each new language they learn will allow them to communicate with new and interesting people. You’d be surprised how much even the youngest of children can understand if we explain things to them clearly.

*Make it personal. Look for other families in your area that are raising their children bilingually in your minority language and try to set up a playgroup or organize other activities where your children can hear the minority language spoken in a natural context (I realize this may be much easier said than done in some areas). Making friends in the minority language will help your child see how useful speaking that language really is. Note: Please check out the Bilingual Communities section on our website for more options. Those of you who live in Madrid can also check out Kids in Madrid for English speaking activities in Madrid.

*Times are hard but, if you can afford it, traveling to a country where the minority language is spoken is hands down the easiest way to get maximum exposure for your children. A visit to the grandparents, aunts and uncles can be just what the doctor ordered for a child who no longer sees the need to use the minority language. If you aren’t able to travel yourself, a visit from family or friends from abroad can also do the trick. Speaking the minority language in a natural setting also has the added bonus of boosting your child’s confidence in that language, which will make it much more likely for him to keep speaking the language at home.

*Encourage your children to keep up with friends and family abroad by helping them write letters and postcards in the minority language. This is a great way to practice writing skills and has the added benefit of keeping families strong despite the distance. Even if your kids are too young to write, you can let them help you write down what they would like to say. Of course emails also work in the same way, but receiving a real letter or postcard in the mail is a pretty exciting event for a child.

*Be an example for your kids. The more your children hear you speaking the minority language in many different settings, the more they will want to be a part of that. Making the minority language a part of everything you do will make it much easier to convince your kids to actually speak that language. We can’t expect our children to value something that we don’t value ourselves, so be sure to nurture the minority language and use it as often as possible in your home.

That’s it for today, but be sure to tune in tomorrow for creative ideas on how to make learning the minority language fun for you and your kids!