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Q&A for How to Teach Your Children a Second Language
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QuestionI am a teacher of English and have taught all ages for the past 31 years. I have been struggling with a 7-year-old student, Konstadinos, who does not stop moving around during our lesson. Do you have any advice?Catherine Palomino is a former Childcare Center Director in New York. She received her MS in Elementary Education from CUNY Brooklyn College in 2010.It’s wonderful that you are teaching Konstadinos a second language! It sounds like Konstadinos is a kinesthetic learner and likes to move a lot. You can use his affinity for movement to try to get him more engaged with learning the new language by playing a game using verbs in the second language. The games “Simon says” or “charades” are great ways to begin playing with words in a new language. Be sure to incorporate a lot of movement into your lessons, such as singing songs with movement, perhaps rolling a ball to knock down paper towel ‘bowling pins’ with words written on them, or any other game that you two create together that involves the secondary language. Be sure to avoid long periods of sitting, listening, reading or writing to best keep Konstadinos interested in the new material.
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QuestionIs 30 to 40 minutes too long to expect to have a child's attention in a foreign language lesson, two times a week?Community AnswerNo. That is fairly standard and a good amount of time.
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QuestionIf I am not a native speaker and speak to the child in both my native and foreign language, will that confuse the child? How will he learn to switch between languages and not mix the two in one phrase or sentence?Community AnswerSpeak in your native language at certain times of the day and the other language at different times. Using a routine will make it clear which language is appropriate.
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QuestionI'm starting a Spanish language class for my 7-year-old girl. Our first language is Hindi and second language is English. It's going to be a proper class. Should start with learning alphabet, or small phrases?TessterCommunity AnswerAlphabet, It will be easier in the long run and will be a good start for the child.
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QuestionWe have a native speaker in our family. Unfortunately their time for the children is limited to an hour a day. What kind of activities would be the most effective in this situation?PreuxFoxTop AnswererThe biggest advantage of having a native speaker is that they can make conversation with the children in the target language, helping the children to exercise their skills and naturally absorb rules like grammar and word usage in the same way they do in their first language. The best use of time in this situation would be to have the children study new vocabulary on their own or with someone other than the native speaker, and then spend the time with the native speaker actually speaking the language out loud - having conversation, reading picture books together in the target language, etc.
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