Homeschoolmom3 Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I am trying to find ways to have my little one who is 4 learn another living language. Unfortunately, my husband and I took French and do not remember much! :confused1: Thinking of having him learn German and have been using some muzzy tapes, little prim, etc. and I am trying to learn some vocabulary with him but it's hard when I am working with Latin on my older boys and of course they are wanting their second language to be Chinese and Arabic (not a good choice for a little one. :-/) Any other ways for him to learn or ideas to help him learn this language? What am I missing? Would love some ideas...thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercury449 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 A lot of the Disney DVDs have different language options in the menu. I don't know if you want him watching that or not, but just a thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschoolmom3 Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 Thanks, will keep that in mind! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 How about using the Usborne First Thousand Words book as a bedtime story? YouTube has myriad kids short video options if you have time to screen. Do you have children's music for the car? If you are totally set on German for him stop reading here. Of course, obviously many young children DO learn Chinese or Arabic. Rather than add another language to your juggling act, maybe he could tag along with both of those for a year or two and then choose one. Or, reconsider French. If you and dh have taken classes in the past you could probably handle reading kids' books. Plus, many dvds offer that as a language option. Thirdly, it seems like there may be more curricula-type options available here for French than German. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschoolmom3 Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 No, I am not totally sold on German. My oldest did a year and so my little one tagged along a bit but now he has decided to jump ship and focus on Chinese. Uhhh! Thanks for the suggestions, would like to learn along with the kids but don't want to teach them wrong or mispronounce. I wish their were immersion classes where we live or if I could meet up with others who are learning another language or were bilingual. Wouldn't that be great! Wish I could find that in VA!!! We have terrible internet due to being in the boonies so youtube is out for us. But music in the car is a good idea, we do that with Latin now. Books on tape in another language would be good too. Spanish would be the easiest obviously but was hoping not to go that route but maybe I will. It is the easiest! :) Any other ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I don't know how you can really do immersion unless you are all on board speaking only that language at home, all the time. But, you CAN prepare him for immersion someday. This is what we did with our children, although we didn't really start until they are about 10/11. We started with songs because those stay with you forever! Then basic vocabulary after that. It wasn't until 8th/9th grade that we got more serious about it, and they took typical language courses for four years. Two of my kids wanted to really become fluent, and they spent their summers (between those high school years) listening to French or Spanish (whichever their language was) radio, watching movies in that language, reading books in that language (books that they had read before in English). They also spent one year after high school immersing themselves in a country with that language, before college. (Like a gap year.) That's when they were in true immersion and was the start of them really becoming fluent. By the time they both went to college a year later, they were able to pass out of all levels of their language and jump right to the literature and writing courses. They also did semester abroads in that language. They are both completely fluent now. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3 ladybugs Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 I have a "baby learns Chinese" coarse that I am willing to part with. I don't know your budget but I know the German schools around here have classes for children that young. However I would recommend you pick one language (not including Latin) and have your whole family learn that. You can always learn another language later when you feel confident in another language. My 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Echoing previous posters... You cannot *do* immersion unless the child is actually immersed in the foreign language by going to a foreign language school or living in a country that speaks that language, having a nanny that speaks that language only with the child, etc. But that does not mean you cannot learn a language. Before choosing a language, look at what options are available to you locally. Can you get a ________ speaking mother's aide or nanny or tutor? Can your child attend a language immersion pre-school? If not, then just pick a language and dabble in it until the kid is old enough to do book work. It'll be fine. :-) You don't need to start at 4 in order to be fluent as an adult! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschoolmom3 Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 Thanks for your posts! No preschool immersion program here, maybe I should start one. :) Good thoughts and I will think on them, thanks! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 I play CDs in the car, little pim at home, we read little books. This is not immersion, obviously. We learn little phrases here and there. I really want dd4 to learn German but I speak all of 20 words in it. French is easier bc DS is already learning french and I have all the resources, so french it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah0000 Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Well, its not really immersion since we don't speak it fluently, but I'm doing the best I can at home with my preschooler. I started with German but could not find enough resources, so I switched to Spanish and its going well. I took a few years if Spanish between high school and college. We started with Song School Spanish and baby picture dictionaries. I read aloud bilingual books, mostly fairy tales because he likes to tell these himself after he learns them. We listen to Spanish children's songs, authentic native Spanish music and bilingual songs designed for vocabulary memorization. I would not really consider any of this immersive but after a bit I started speaking Spanish to him during meal times, asking him questions in Spanish. He understands, so I do think its possible to learn a little bit in a partial immersion method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah0000 Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 I should add that he has watched foreign language learning videos like Little Pim and Whistlefritz but not a thing sticks unless I use the vocabulary with him. I play the same games and sing the same songs I did when he was a baby/toddler except I use the Spanish vocabulary when appropriate and then he truly learns it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momling Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Realistically though... Unless your child is actually living in the foreign country, or is in an immersion program at school communicating constantly with native speakers, or speaking the target language exclusively with fluent parents and siblings, no amount of videos or songs or stories will make your child anywhere near fluent. A lot of the companies who produce these sorts of programs are preying on eager parents who want to believe they can give their kids a leg up in language learning. It's a hopeless endeavor and by the time the kids are school-age, they will have long forgotten the words from the toddler Spanish videos their parents had them watch. If you are serious about raising a bilingual child, your best bet is to move to the country where the target language is spoken and enroll the child in school there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homeschoolmom3 Posted August 8, 2015 Author Share Posted August 8, 2015 Realistically though... Unless your child is actually living in the foreign country, or is in an immersion program at school communicating constantly with native speakers, or speaking the target language exclusively with fluent parents and siblings, no amount of videos or songs or stories will make your child anywhere near fluent. A lot of the companies who produce these sorts of programs are preying on eager parents who want to believe they can give their kids a leg up in language learning. It's a hopeless endeavor and by the time the kids are school-age, they will have long forgotten the words from the toddler Spanish videos their parents had them watch. If you are serious about raising a bilingual child, your best bet is to move to the country where the target language is spoken and enroll the child in school there. Well, yes.....wouldn't that be nice?! Too bad not option for the majority! :( It is amazing how fast my little one can memorize and learn things and was hoping to take advantage of it! Thanks for all of your suggestions and ideas. I guess some exposure is better than none! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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