image credit: kindergarten is fun, via flickr

This is the second post in a two part series on finding creative new ways to expose kids to the minority language. Yesterday we talked about the importance of letting your kids know why it’s important for them to learn the minority language you are trying to teach them and gave you a few fun suggestions on how to do this (click here to read yesterday’s post if you missed it). Today we’re going to talk about the other golden rule for effective language learning: make it fun.

Unfortunately not everything parents have to teach their children is a barrel of laughs and, if you have made the decision to speak a minority language to your child, I’m sure you’re aware that there will be times when you will have to scold your child in that language. That said, you’ll also have many, many opportunities to do fun activities with your children in the minority language which will inevitably affect the way they view that language. The more positive your child’s view of the minority language is, the more likely he will be to continue speaking that language as he grows older. Making language learning fun is one of the most important things parents in a bilingual home can do to increase a child’s interest in the minority language. Here are a few fun summer activities to get you inspired:

*Take your kids on a treasure hunt. This requires a bit of planning, but it’s a great interactive way to reinforce vocabulary in the minority language. Make a list of items with their names and photographs, then hide those items around your home or yard. Help your child study the list and go searching for each item one by one. The complexity of the items and their hiding places can increase as your child grows older, but children of all ages love a great treasure hunt. You can include a special prize for the child at the end of the hunt (we suggest a book), although it’s really not necessary.

*Get cooking. It’s amazing how many of the foods we eat are so linked with language and culture. Why not take advantage of this by spending some time with your kids in the kitchen this summer? You can print out a list of ingredients in advance and let your child help you check off every item on the list as you cook. This will reinforce food vocabulary and initiate your child in the art of cooking from a young age. It’s also a great opportunity for your child taste recipes from countries where the minority language is spoken.

*Make the minority language seem like a secret code. Of course, as we discussed yesterday, it’s very important for children to realize that learning another language will allow them to communicate with many people in the world who don’t necessarily speak the majority language. But it can also be fun to let children feel like learning the minority language is part of being in a secret club. If your child responds well to this idea, you could even set up a real club with passwords, membership cards and rules (one of which should be always speaking in the minority language, of course!)

*Read to and with your children. We’ve said it many times before, and we’ll continue to say it until it sinks in. Shared parent-child reading is one of the most important tools you have to help your child’s language development along, not to mention all of the other wonderful skills reading helps to develop. Just this once I’ll spare you the drill on why reading is so very important to focus on the fact that reading out loud to your children can also be a lot of fun. If you choose your books wisely, nightly storytime at your house can be one of the most enjoyable parts of both your days. Click here for a few tips on how to make storytime a more interactive experience.

*Relive childhood memories with your children. Remember all those fun games you played when you were a kid? How many of them had little songs and rhymes to go along with them? It doesn’t matter whether you played Ring Around the Rosy or Al corro de la patata as a child, your kids are going to have a great time either way. And they’ll not only be learning the minority language; they’ll be learning your culture too!

*Keep a summer journal. Help your child create his first bilingual journal, so that he can write about all the fun activities you are doing together every day in both languages. Encourage him to describe these activities in detail. If your children are not old enough to write yet, ask them to describe these things for you to write down. You can even help your child decorate the journal to make it even more special.

Have a blast, and let us know if you have any great ideas of your own!