“You live a new life for every new language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once.” – a Czech proverb.
Languages are more than just a mode of communication. It is an art of expressing emotions. It is a combination of words which when coupled with a person’s body language can help deliver the intended message to the listener. The vast number of languages spoken across the world represents different cultures, and learning a new language is like gaining access to a whole new world.
In a diverse nation like Singapore, it is common for people to be bilingual. Children often grow up learning at least two languages – their mother tongue as well as English. In this world where cultures are rapidly integrating, learning multiple languages is becoming more of a necessity than an option.
With the stress of the PSLE English Paper today, we need to bear in mind that amidst the stressful examinations, learning a new language has the added benefit of improving cognitive function. But, it is not easy to learn languages, especially for adults. But, in the case of children, we can see that it is much easier for them to learn multiple languages. How is this possible? How can children without fully formed brains learn multiple complex languages when we adults struggle to do so?
Let’s have a deeper discussion about that topic!
- Children start with a clean slate. Everything they learn is new to them. And learning a language is not just a choice for them. It is a necessity. Communicate with the people around them – this pure need is what drives them. So, children try their best to pick up languages. They don’t give up if they fail to memorize a word. But adults often don’t feel such a necessity. So, we give up when we encounter a small hurdle.
- Children form neural connections much faster than adults. The brain of children is dynamic and is rapidly changing with even the tiniest stimulation. Also, the brain plasticity of children is way better than it is in adults. It makes it easier for them to form associations and learn languages better. Children below the age of five can pick up more than three languages at once without much effort.
- Children are not afraid of making mistakes. They repeat what they hear without thinking about their surroundings. It is a very vital characteristic necessary in learning a language. This lack of inhibition helps children make mistakes, correct them and learn new words and phrases. As adults, we refrain from speaking in front of others out of fear of being ridiculed, so why not be more like kids, and dare to say things aloud?
- Children learn languages in an immersive environment. They pick up their mother tongue not by learning the grammar or reading from a book, but by listening to adults. They listen to their parents and other children talking and imitate what they see and hear. This is the best way to learn a language. People who travel to foreign countries and live there find it easier to pick up the language. So, if you want to be good at a language, you can consider the option of traveling and staying in a new country. Well, that isn’t a feasible option, right? What you can do is find some native speakers of the language and let them directly interact with your children frequently.
- For children, picking up a new language is not a tedious process as it doesn’t involve mastering the grammar and phonetics of that specific language. They innocently imitate and emulate. They learn while having fun. Adults who adopt methods that are more creative and fun find it easier to pick up a language.
Key takeaways and tips:
- If you want to pick up languages, try to lose any inhibition and fear of whether people will make fun of you. Try to be like children and repeat words loudly and unabashedly.
- If you want your children to grow up multilingual, create an immersive environment for them to learn. If the parents are bilingual, try to switch up the languages and speak to the child. The parents can also divide the task, and each one can pick a language to communicate with the child. One of you can use the mother tongue to talk to the child, and the other can speak in English or whatever language you want your child to pick up. You can also encourage your children to talk with your friends who speak a different language or let them interact with children who do.
- Don’t overburden your children by forcing them to learn multiple languages. Let them have fun, and learn at their own pace.
Learning a language will help your children to learn about the culture linked to it. In this way, they can better understand the world we live in and develop new perspectives and ideas. It will help them unravel a new world of opportunities. Try to encourage your children to learn new languages and offer them any support they need. And it is never too late for you to pick up a new language either. It might not be as easy, but it is not impossible. You can look at how children learn languages and try to apply it to yourselves too.
With children’s day just a week away, maybe you can plan fun activities that will help them kickstart the process of learning new languages. You can plan to take them for movies, watch a fun Netflix series at home or introduce them to an informative and interesting documentary – but make sure that all the mentioned activities are in a language which they aren’t already familiar with. The best Children’s day gift for your child this time around can be you creating an interest in them to learn a new language.
Hope this article provided you with a lot of interesting tips and ways to help your children become proficient in more than two languages. All the best! 🙂
Exam Smart Tips
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Exam Smart Tip #5 – Beating the Exam Fever!
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Exam Smart Tip #7 – How to Avoid a Meltdown?
Exam Smart Tip #8 – Taking Stress out of Tests
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