Learning an additional language as a child offers so many benefits, whether that’s maintaining a connection to another culture, having more opportunities in the future or developing their brain’s cognitive function.
As parents we want all of these good things for our children, but how can we encourage them without creating another chore – for them and for us?
Here are some ideas that will feel like fun, not like homework. What’s even better is that many of these options do not need to involve screen time, and no subscriptions are required.
Listening to audiobooks in the target language
If your child already has a basic knowledge of another language then listening to stories in that language can be an enjoyable way to build up their listening skills, as they are drawn into the story and motivated to hear more.
Stories are often clearer than the language you will find in other contexts and phrases in stories tend to be more memorable, giving your child examples of how specific phrases are used.
You can buy audiobooks in other languages, record stories yourself (if you know the language) or ask a native speaker to do this.
A screen free option for this is the Toniebox (affiliate link below), which was originally developed in Germany so has a great range of German language stories, as well as English and some paid and free resources in other languages such as Spanish and French.
It’s a player which works with little figurines (Tonies) which contain the audio files. You can buy Tonies pre-loaded with stories or “Creative Tonies” that you can load with your own content.
My daughter grew up speaking German from the ages of 1-3, so we like to give her some exposure to German through German stories on Tonies.
We’ve also enjoyed trying out the free version of Beelingua app, which you can use to read and listen to children’s stories in 14 languages including English, Chinese and Spanish.
With the free version you get access to a limited amount of free stories but have less flexibility over changing languages.
Using the target language as a medium to learn something else
Both adults and children learn best when they are hearing languages in context, so a great way to pick up a new language in an effortless way is to use it as a medium to learn something else.
One way to do this is to look for a local in-person activity that is conducted in another language. For example, in Edinburgh in the UK where I live there used to be a kids sports club called “Sports in Spanish” where children can play a range of sports and the instructors speak to them in a mix of English and Spanish.
If you don’t have anything similar in-person, you can find online classes and tutorials in other languages on YouTube as well as on language learning platforms like Lingopie. For example, my daughter and I have enjoyed doing drawing tutorials in Spanish on Lingopie, something she already likes to do in English.
Playing games in the target language
Some games that are designed for your native language could work equally well in the target language.
For example, my mum gave my kids My First Bananagrams (see affiliate link below) for Christmas this year, which could work equally well for other languages sharing the same alphabet.
Other options, that don’t involve buying anything, include:
- Hangman, where the mystery word is in the target language
- I spy (with letters or colours)
- What’s the Time Mr Wolf? (for practising telling the time and counting)
Songs
Every night my kids brush their teeth in front of song videos on YouTube and our favourite channel is the Hooray Kids Songs one, as well as its versions in other languages like German (Hurrah Kinderlieder) and Japanese.
The songs are catchy and the fact that they have videos of the same songs in different languages makes it easier to understand the songs in the target language if you already know it in your native language.
Printables
I don’t know about you but printables were a lifeline for us during lockdown and we still always reach for a printable on a rainy day.
The kids language learning app Gus on the Go has a nice range of free colourful printables in 23 different languages, including a fortune teller design and number cards.
If you’d like your children to learn names for common household objects you can use these free labels which contain graphics and words for items in Spanish, French and German. You can also download a blank version if your child is learning another language. This is a fun one to do if the adults are learning the language too.
Final thoughts on ways to make language learning fun for kids
While there are many apps and courses out there for language learning, I’ve focussed here on ideas that you can sprinkle into your life, without committing to an expensive subscription.
The more you can include games that match your child’s existing interests, the more fun they will have as they build up their language skills, and the more likely they will be to continue.
Learning languages tends to come more easily to children, so it’s an ideal time to create extra opportunities for learning, without taking away from their time to play and relax.
I’d love to hear what resources and games your children are enjoying, so please do comment below.
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