The latest studies on the brain reveal some interesting things for parents of young
children. Most of us know that children acquire a second (and even third) language more
easily if taught at an early age. Adults and older children require years of study in a
non-immersion program before approaching fluency in a foreign language, yet children under
the age of 10 seem to more readily accept and learn these same languages. What is even
more interesting and new about studies on brain development is the revelation that early
exposure to more than one language actually builds a more powerful brain. It also
strengthens a child's mastery and understanding of his first language. Being
bilingual or multilingual has its obvious advantages in a world where communication is
crucial to success.
"Research shows that kids' brains are especially receptive to learning a second language before the age of 10 years.
"
In light of the new research, many parents realize the benefits of
exposing their young children to a second language. For some parents, it's easy -- one or
both parents are bilingual and can easily expose their children to more than one language.
But for parents that don't have these skills, it is not so straightforward. Happily, there
are products that can help.
Babies
You may think it fruitless to expose infants to a foreign language before they can even
talk. Guess again. The ability to distinguish and process sounds or phonemes of foreign
languages is highest in the first year of life, before babies even utter their first word.
Many experts now believe that babies exposed to more than one language during their first
year of life will not only have an easier time learning foreign languages later in life,
but actually improve their listening, problem-solving, and reasoning skills in general.
"The first year of life is an essential time for sounds and phoneme circuitry in the brain.
"
There are a few products that can help expose babies to the sounds of foreign language
at precisely the right time. In the software department, BabyWow!
makes it easy for babies and toddlers to play on the computer, and learn at the same time.
Any random tap on the keyboard or click of the mouse will bring up a new photo or video
sequence. Objects and concepts are labeled in either English or a host of other languages,
at a parent's discretion.
An innovative product comes
in the form of a video or DVD for babies 1-18 months old -- Baby
Einstein. This video streams together visually stimulating objects, toys, and scenes
in a lovely way, with a soundtrack consisting of mothers singing and speaking in their
native tongue (7 languages altogether).
Sound Beginnings is a 3-cassette
program that consists of various traditional instrumentals with spoken phrases in 6
different foreign languages. The idea is to play these cassettes often, thereby exposing
children to the sounds of a number of different foreign languages. We've found that Baby
Einstein is generally more pleasing to listen to for parents, and more accepted by
children (especially toddlers). However, Sound Beginnings is a nice choice because you can
listen to the tapes in the car as well.
Immersion Approach to Learning a Second Language
"An immersion approach to learning a foreign language may seem unnatural to adults but is intuitive and effective for kids.
"
Think about it -- we all learned our very first native language by an immersion
approach (no one translated anything to us because there was simply no language to
translate to). Through lots of repetition, kids learn a language -- any language --
naturally and intuitively simply by being immersed in it. The quantity and frequency of
words a child is exposed to has a direct influence on how fast that child will learn a
language both on a receptive and expressive level.
It's only natural to use an immersion approach for young kids, even though as adults we
may instinctively opt for an approach that involves translation. As we age, it is harder
to accept an entirely new language without a rather unnatural tendency to want to
translate words to our native language.
Preschoolers
Unfortunately, there are few software programs specifically
designed to help teach foreign languages to preschoolers. However, some precocious
preschoolers will enjoy KidSpeak
6-in-1 Language Learning
-- an exceptional program that is targeted at ages 6 and up but can still be enjoyed by 4
and 5 year olds on the easiest level for many activities. JumpStart Spanish may initially be appealing for kids with its bright graphics and
cheerful characters, but in the long term is not as effective at doing any more than
reinforcing Spanish words.
A pleasing audio series from Teach Me Tapes includes a number of
titles -- Teach Me French, Teach Me More French, and Teach Me Even More French. A wide
range of foreign languages are available with similar formats. Teach Me French is, in my
own experience, the most appealing foreign language audio tape I have encountered to date.
The alphabet song, Head and Shoulders Knees and Toes, Frere Jacques, and more popular
songs are sung in French and English, and in between songs there are short breaks
of children's conversations (in French, of course) as the program journeys through a
typical child's day. This series is available in other languages as well,
including Spanish.
Early Elementary Kids
Kids aged 5-6 to about 10 years old can still start to learn a foreign language and
speak it without an obvious accent. After that time, learning a second language becomes a
more laborious -- and often awkward -- task.
We've looked at a number
of software titles for kids of this age group and by far the most effective program is the
KidSpeak series from Transparent Language. The concept is lovely --
immerse children in a language through engaging games, including some tried and true
favorites like Concentration, Bingo, Connect the Dots, and more. Kids don't feel like they
are learning by rote, because they're not. They are simply listening. They forget they are
learning -- something that is crucial to many children of this age who may be starting to
show signs of resisting learning another language. Lots of gentle repetition and unhurried
games make this program excellent and effective -- learning occurs intuitively and
naturally. This program not only offers more languages than the other titles available,
but each language contains the most words, phrases, and activities. All-in-One
Language Fun is similar in approach but contains 5 languages, one of which is
English, and is less engaging. Syracuse Language also makes a Kids Spanish!,
Kids French! and more titles aimed at kids ages 6-10. Although lacking
animation, there still is some visual appeal to the programs, and they are educationally
sound. Still, our kid testers were not as interested in replaying the games as they were
with Kid Speak 6-in-1 Language Learning. Other titles
we've seen are either targeted at children aged 10 and up, or not as effective. With
JumpStart Spanish, although the multimedia is decent, kids mainly either click
around to hear objects named, or are tested on their knowledge of Spanish. The
instructions and dialogue are too lengthy and can't be "clicked through".
Dinosoft
French and Dinosoft German, although targeted at preschool-aged
kids and up, require reading skills, and in general have made poor use of multimedia and
thus are not hugely engaging.
There also exist some
software titles that help expose kids to foreign languages. These are not meant to
actually teach kids to be bilingual (or multilingual). Travel the World with
Timmy is a very nice title that helps expose kids not only to 3 diverse
foreign languages, but also to their respective cultures. Madeline
software titles contain some French and Spanish vocabulary words. Many of the older
Living
Books interactive storybooks offer stories in multiple languages. For kids who
are learning a second language and want to strengthen their spelling skills, a
surprisingly good title (surprising only because it is not meant at all to be a foreign
language tool) is Boggle CD-ROM by Hasbro Interactive. This word game can
be played in English, Spanish, French, German, or Dutch.
Don't overlook programs designed for native speakers of a foreign language -- for
example, there are many French programs available that are French versions of popular
English titles. Although not meant as foreign language instruction tools, they still can
be very effective as they provide an immersion approach for kids whose native language is
not French. We'll be featuring these programs and more in our upcoming feature on learning
French.
Older children have many more options, and one software line that stands out is
French
for the Real World and Spanish for the Real World by Knowledge
Adventure. These titles do a wonderful job strengthening foreign language skills as kids
grow out of the other titles listed here.
Whether you're interested in simply exposing your children to the sounds of foreign
languages, or looking to supplement foreign language instruction, the recommended products
mentioned above can help.
