How to Teach a Little Child a Foreign Language? A Mother’s Experience

Our friend has been teaching her daughter English (for her English was a second language, so it could also be any other language) almost since her birth. Until the child turned one year old, Vera had been speaking to Bazhena in English, approximately for an hour, – about the  things she spoke to her about in her native language . When her daughter was 12 months old, such monologues became rather difficult because the little one understood the native language already and English seemed not understandable to her – she did not want to listen to it. Moreover, Vera’s English referred more to technical things than to everyday life. So, to tell the daughter about the household (and about what else?!) was a bit problematic. But still, the foreign language was being installed into everyday life. As a result, Bazhena remembered the names of the household things.

At about the same time, Vera played the tape with the “Songs of Mother Goose” for Bazhena from time to time. She also sang these songs to the little one herself during the day. For the songs not to be just a background, our friend dramatized them. For example, they are eating soup and she is singing a song to her daughter about it at the same time showing: spoon, soup. Without any translation into the native language!

Since she turned 18 months, the girl started watching cartoons for some, not much, time a day and with the help of her mother she also made tasks to them.

After Bazhena had turned 24 months, together with her mum they started studying by the book Pingu. There are only pictures in the book and the songs and stories accompanying them are dubbed by children’s voices. The child loves it because he/she hears the voices of kids and the pictures are rather funny. There are also cartoons with Pingu.

At the same time Vera began to sing songs with numbers for her daughter. In such a way, they learnt numbers from 0 to 10 in English.

When Bazhena had turned 4, her mother began to read her short stories in English showing her the meanings of the words in colourful pictures.

But such “lessons” were not regular. Vera believes that it is not right to make the child listen to something in English. She always suggests, “Let’s listen to ‘Pingu’”, but it is Bazhena who decides whether to do it or not. If she refuses from “Pingu”, they can read a book in English. And it often happens that after a 10-minute reading the daughter asks to listen to the tape with “Pingu” . Vera does not teach Bazhena to read in English – the child is too little for that so far, in her opinion.

Now when Bazhena is 4,5, she does not speak English but understands much. And according to Vera, “she masters the language without any difficulty”.

This article is Russian can be viewed here.

Next time we will share with you an idea of how to stop the crying of a 12-month-old baby.