Monday, September 1, 2008

Ideas for Boosting the Minority Language

10 Tips for Boosting the Minority Language

The truth is as long as you're talking and having fun with your child, you're doing fine. There is some opposition along the lines of 'I really think my child should learn how to play on her own, and not have to be entertained all the time.' Agreed, but if your goal is to provide an enriching learning environment, we need lots of talking. A language can only be learned by continuous input by someone who masters it, you. So, reading the newspaper while she is playing with the dollhouse doesn't work, but an engaging commentary of world events at least provides a compromise.

Lena Sandvik in Boston says 'I'm amazed that my 15 and 11 year olds have grown up to be completely bilingual. My own accent and those silly, grammatical errors I make in English still haven't disappeared, even after 15 years in the country.' As easy as acquiring multiple languages is for small children, the single most important factor in language learning is the quantity of spoken language addressed to the child. So, if you worry that you aren't providing enough, here are a few tricks to boost your superhero's inherent powers. (Read more)

excerpt from the Multilingual Children's Association


1 comment:

Diane said...

Excellent article!

I have an award waiting for you on Foreign Language Fun :-)