3 Ways To Support Your Child's Language Learning At Home If You Don't Speak The Language

Sending your child to a bilingual preschool has many benefits including allowing your child to learn a second language during their peak language learning years. It is common for many parents to feel worried about supporting their child's learning at home in order to help their child develop language skills and maintain their close parental bond with their child. You will be happy to know that there is not much you have to do at home if your child goes to a bilingual preschool. Your child will naturally begin to use their second language at school and their primary language at home. However, if you want to be involved in their language learning, here are some helpful things you can do. 

Let Them Teach You the Language

One of the best ways for a child to learn is to teach what they have learned to someone else. At home, you can ask what objects are called in your child's second language and let them teach you how to say certain words. This will help boost their confidence in the language and make it a fun, interesting game. At the same time, it will reinforce the language skills they are learning because they will have to think about what items are called or how to say phrases without the assistance of their teachers. 

Ask About Their Day 

If your child is in an immersion program, simply asking about their day will help them process the language. They will have to remember the things they have learned in their second language, such as games or songs, and then translate it into your home language. This act of translating in their head will help them begin to separate the two languages and understand the grammar of each language more clearly. 

If you ask about their day and they answer in their second language, you can simply say that you don't understand and ask them to tell you in your native language. You may have to help them the first few times, but after awhile, they will get used to processing their day in both languages. 

Take a Trip With Them

If your child is confident with their language skills, you may want to consider going on a little trip with them where they can meet more native speakers. This does not have to be a big trip, but see if you can find a community event where native speakers will be gathering and take your child to practice their skills. For more information, contact local professionals like Lango—Foreign Languages for Kids.