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The new generation is not satisfied with one foreign language for communication. Children want to speak at least two. At the same time, there are still two polar opinions regarding bilingualism and early language learning. How to avoid mistakes and what conditions should be created for a polyglot child?
Some experts assure that the sooner you start learning, the better and easier it is to learn a foreign language. Others believe that the mixing of languages slows down development and leads to inhibition of speech activity, including in native speech.
So how do you raise a bilingual if you live in Russia? Here are some important conditions.
What influences language learning
1 Age
One of the most important conditions is the age of the child from which training begins. Three years is considered optimal for introducing a new language in a non-linguistic family, this is the time when the child has already mastered his native language.
This means that the child already understands his native speech, he has an active and passive vocabulary. Only in this case, the second language does not interfere with the natural learning of native speech, and the speech mechanisms of two different languages do not “collide” with each other.
And all further age-related changes and the development of the child will give new impulses to the assimilation of foreign speech.
2. The rule “one person – one language”
Another rule for successful foreign language teaching is to clearly separate teachers. One person, one language. This will allow you to learn two languages in parallel, regardless of the dependence of one language system on the other, and without mixing these systems. If the parents speak two different languages with the child, then it is better that this separation is maintained: the father speaks French, the mother speaks English.
3. Hearing
In the formation of bilingualism from birth, this rule is the main one. Pay attention to the development of hearing in a child, since it is this channel of perception that is of particular importance in the formation of the correct pronunciation.
Pay attention to musical accompaniment, rhyming, listening to songs, including those in a foreign language. Accompany the text with movements denoting its meaning. Emphasize concepts with loudness, rhythmic exercises – this way the language is absorbed more easily.
4. Fine motor skills
The development of motor skills is responsible for any development of speech. Games with small objects, massage, games with sensory materials (kinetic sand, plasticine, clay, etc.) allow you to improve, among other things, speech activity.
Disadvantages of home education
There are a few things to keep in mind about homeschooling:
– the schedule of lessons is confused or often changes,
– parents do not always have the correct pronunciation,
– the child does not perceive the parent as a teacher.
Therefore, one of the most successful options is when a child goes to a language garden or school, and consolidates the material he has learned at home.
How to choose the right training program
- The key point when choosing a program is the training scheme, it should take place in the form of a game or combine educational and game parts.
- It is important to fully immerse yourself in the language environment, when all daily activities are commented on in a foreign language (wash your hands, sit down, stand up, etc.). After all, the most important thing in raising a bilingual in the classical sense of this term is to teach a child to think in two languages, and not translate from one to another. This option is possible only when pronouncing each action, drawing an analogy between the word and the process.
- Group training. Outside the home, such a scheme is more effective than individual lessons. At the age of 3-5 years, communication with peers, building relationships between children, joint play activities stimulate children to rapid development. The ability to play situations, use a second language when building plots with roles allows you to quickly switch to different languages in the future, depending on the interlocutor. Only group communication provides a natural environment for perception. In a kindergarten / school, the learning process occurs most naturally, there is a strict observance of the rule “one person – one language”, complete immersion in the language environment, and even on the condition that there is a native speaker.
Learning a foreign language at an early age provides a basis for further multilingualism. It has also been proven that children who speak foreign languages have greater cognitive activity, developed speech, a broad outlook, they are more active and easier to adapt to new conditions.
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