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Encouraging your children to learn a new language can be a fun-filled experience for both kids and parents.

Learning a new language is not just about being able to communicate with locals or navigate the area when they’re lost because they can read maps or ask others where to go; it is more about cultural awareness and being able to be involved with others’  beliefs and ideologies and be more open to different cultures evidently raising global children who are sensitive to world belief and values.

However, this may be a difficult tasks for many parents and guardians to motivate their kids to learn a new language on top of having to study for school. Many kids may find these tedious and “extra work” and end up making it difficult for you to encourage learning a new language. You may try using Luisita series book collection to creatively teach children new languages.

Raising Global Children By Teaching Children Multiple Languages Successfully

Get Started Early

Children learn languages faster when they are younger. This means that they will be able to learn vocabulary and apply it faster at younger ages compared to when they are already adults. Because of this, they start teaching new languages as early as possible, especially in their formative years.

According to studies, the brain’s flexibility throughout early development makes young children particularly skilled at acquiring languages. Since the brain is most responsive to linguistic input before the age of seven, it is advisable to start raising global children by teaching a second or third language before then.

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Maintain Consistency

The secret to teaching children multiple languages successfully is consistency. Each language should ideally be connected to certain situations or individuals to prevent confusion.

One technique would also be the “one parent, one language” strategy, in which each parent continuously speaks a distinct language to the child, is effective for many families when teaching new languages and raising global children. This is effective in helping children differentiate the language they are learning from the one they already know and to prevent problems like grammar or pronunciation in the future because they can compartmentalize the languages better.

Have Patience

Each child learns differently. Some may experience silence periods or mix languages at first. This is a typical and natural component of learning. It takes time to learn more than one language, and it’s common for kids to mix languages occasionally.

It is normal for language to “code-switch” throughout development. They will eventually be able to differentiate between the contexts in which each language is employed. Avoid pressuring your youngster to be “fluent” at an early age; patience is the key.

Compliment Progress

Give your child praise and incentives to help them on their language learning path. Acknowledging advancement, even minor turning points can inspire kids to keep studying. Positive reinforcement, whether in the form of stickers, certificates, or words of encouragement, makes kids feel pleased with their accomplishments as parents begin raising global children.

Establish a Multilingual Environment

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The languages you want your child to learn should be all around them. Books, music, TV series, and films in those languages might all fall under this category.

Aside from that, engaging with native speakers exposes one to the language in a genuine way. They are able to learn new expressions or phrases used by locals which they may not necessarily learn from books or movies. This also allows them to practice what they are learning in a real-life scenario of a conversation, and as we know, experience is the best teacher.

Make It Enjoyable

Kids learn best when they are actively involved and enjoying themselves. Make learning a language fun by using games, music, and activities. On the road to raising global children, lessons can become an adventure with the help of interactive language learning applications, memory games, or flashcards. Learning becomes more organic and immersive when songs are sung, and books are read in the target language. Learning a language should be fun. Engage your child in the target languages via interactive activities, games, and music.

Read Aloud Together

One of the best ways to improve vocabulary and understanding is to read books written in several languages. Reading aloud to kids in several languages fosters their comprehension, listening, and vocabulary growth.

Make sure to have entertaining, age-appropriate publications available in both languages. To assist children in making word connections, think of bilingual books that present the same story in both languages side by side. Interested in buying a book like this? Grab a copy of Luisita is Sick/ Luisita está enferma (English and Spanish Edition).