Parenting Pointers: Foreign Languages

Have you ever considered exposing your kids to a foreign language early on? I don't mean just the few words they can pick up by watching shows that blend some Spanish like Dora the Explorer or Sesame Street, but really getting them some learning activities? Kids are able to learn languages much more easily than adults, and if you have the opportunity to get them interested in a foreign language early, it will make it much easier for them later on if/when they are required to learn it in high school or college.

There are many ways to increase exposure to a foreign language. In larger cities, you may find conversation groups, or colleges that have language students that would be willing to provide exposure. Sometimes there are also cultural organizations that promote language learning as well, or day or overnight camps.

With technology, it can be easy to find other ways too. If your library system doesn't have foreign language books, it may be part of a greater partnership of ones that do (for example, in Minnesota you don't have to be a resident of St. Paul or Hennepin county to be able to get books from those libraries through Interlibrary Loan).

There are also many companies that have easy and relatively inexpensive language learning software. Obviously Rosetta Stone gets a lot of exposure, but can be pricy. Transparent Language offers products for a wide variety of price ranges for many ages. You can save money by using Transparent Language coupon codes as well. You can also use a discount at Educational Warehouse to purchase language learning software (as well as a variety of other topics).

If your kid shows a real interest in a language, Spanish books are easy to find, but others aren't. However, Amazon.com is a good resource for looking for books in a variety of languages (it just takes a little bit to find sometimes).

As a language teacher, I know how important it is to learn a language - not necessarily for communication, but just for greater awareness of other cultures as well. If you can expose your kids to other languages and culture, they'll be much better global citizens.