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If you have ever thought of learning a foreign language but procrastinated it due to lack of time, now is a good chance to do it. There are a multitude of benefits of learning a new language and it is always better to start early.

When a child learns an additional language, opportunities to form cross-cultural friendships, broader career opportunities and better travelling experiences are opened in front of him. Research proves that people who are multilingual are better at multi-tasking and focusing attention. The exposure also boosts their empathy and become accommodative of different perspectives.

If you are gearing up to learn a new language with your child, here are some tips to help you –

1. Design your own programme

Like any other skill that we wish to master, language learning should be broken down into manageable and achievable goals. The linguistic capability of your child may be different from yours. So in addition to having a common goal, each of you can have a unique goal that is designed in accordance with your need and potential.

Learning strategies should correspond with your motivation. For example, if your motivation is to be able to speak French fluently, your everyday goals should include learning common conversational phrases.

2. Watch and learn

Watching television while under quarantine is not a bad idea if it helps in learning a new language with your child. Authentic TV series and movies are great in bridging the gap between textbook learning and actual speaking. Your child might also enjoy cartoon videos that are available with subtitles. It helps them to absorb the language without feeling bored.

3. Language apps

A few moments a day on language learning apps can acquaint you with basic conversational phrases.  They have customized levels that respond to individual responses and give progress feedback. For children, it may be yet another interesting game which will develop their speaking, listening, reading and writing skills but they will also have someone to play it with.

4. Don’t overload your brain

It may be tempting to learn two or more new languages at a time, the binging is not exactly effective. Instead of spending hours together, slow down the learning into shorter periods per day. Committed learning, even for 15 minutes a day, could retain vocabulary in long term memory.

5. Review sessions

When you become your child’s partner in learning a new language, the best part is that you can revise and review regularly amongst yourselves. Combined study breaks up the monotony of studying alone, stimulates interest and motivates each other. You can quiz each other and brush up on what you have learnt in the previous week.

Carpe diem!

A long period of quarantine could curtail the spread of virus but may take a toll on our emotional wellbeing. Hence learning a new language as a family ensures that you have quality bonding time while acquiring new skills. As they say, good habits start early, it is the responsibility of parents to ensure that good habits are inculcated in children at an early age. If your family is competitive, the desire to outdo each other might even make your child study harder. So, why wait? Turn this family time into fluent time!