Teach your children a foreign language in a way that is both fun and memorable.
The world we live in has become a whole lot smaller. As a result, it is all too possible that your next door neighbour speaks a different language than you do.
Who knows, your street may be a virtual United Nations in miniature. It is also highly likely that in your child's classroom, there are children who speak another language.
So, how about teaching your child to speak another language? It will certainly open up new vistas for your young one, as well as being a wonderful gift to the new immigrants in your area. But, hang on, you say, I'm not qualified to teach a foreign language. Before you close your mind to the idea, consider the fact that the easiest way to learn a new language is to converse with native speakers. And with all the talk about how we are becoming too insular and don't even know our neighbours, what better way to impart a new language to your child than to extend hospitality to a foreign neighbour and learn their language from them. I'm sure they'd be delighted to oblige.
By making a friend of your foreign neighbour you will be brightening up many lives. Imagine the isolation and culture shock that these people must be experiencing. Your acts of kindness go a long way to making them feel happy in their new home. You and your neighbour, with the children participating, can identify common objects for one another in each one's language. You can thus become a learn-along teacher of your child. Besides the language, your child will be learning another invaluable lesson: People of different nationality, different skin color and different cultural background are really no different from us - they have the same needs, desires and motivations.
To achieve functional mastery over another language, of course, you will need to know more than a few nouns and verbs. You will need to understand how that language fits together in all of it component parts. You will want to sense which words sound natural and which ones are comical in your new language. Also impart to your child that many words are used to show youthful respect to elders. These should be learnt and used in context.
As you progress in your studies, you will want to look around for a grammar book and/or language tapes. Don't hold back, however, from conversing with your foreign speaking neighbours, also encouraging your child to do so. After all, you learn to speak by speaking. Another great aid is to play language games with your child. Once you learn a foreign alphabet, you can play spelling games. Mastering numbers allows the children to display their skills at arithmetic. Also adding to the vocabulary by categories is a great aid to remembering.
Seek out restaurants and shops with your child where your new language is spoken and encourage them to hold a conversation. You can also, of course, invite your new language friends to your house for a meal. This will provide plenty of opportunity for conversation.
Teaching your child a new language as a learn-along teacher will not only provide new language skills, it will undoubtedly bring the two of you closer together. It will be a project that you can work on together. Together you will learn to appreciate a new culture. And, as mentioned earlier, you will help your child to appreciate the variety of human experience and to understand that, just because their language and culture are predominant in their area, that doesn't make them superior. And that may well be one of the greatest lessons you ever impart to your child.
