Life & Style | Education
Teaching languages to children
If you want to give your child a head start in life, encouraging them to learn a second or third language at a young age may be just the ticket.
- By Sameera Fernandes, Freelance Writer
- Published: 00:07 June 27, 2008
- By eliminating communication barriers, you can prepare your children to cut across boundaries and equip them to be global citizens.
- Image Credit:
By eliminating communication barriers, you can prepare your children to cut across boundaries and equip them to be global citizens. One way to do so is by introducing foreign languages at an early age.
As Dr Farooq Ahmad Wasil, Director Asian Schools, GEMS and Executive Principal of Our Own English High School, Sharjah, notes, "Introducing an additional or secondary language at an early age helps children develop a global attitude. Children become more flexible in their approach to life and have a better understanding of people, culture and the world around them."
Moreover, he adds, "Since children have a higher grasping power, the more languages introduced at an early age, the better for the child. Remember, everything is crystallised at an early stage in a child's development.Such is the repository of the mind."
Most schools in the UAE introduce additional languages by Grade One. "At this stage there is greater learning capacity backed by the power of retention," continues Dr Wasil.
Educational psychologist Ruba Tabari of the Dubai Community Health Care Centre concurs, "Children can be multilingual from birth. A normally-developing child can be exposed to two or three languages, as long as they do not have any learning difficulties."
Iona Gomez is a parent of three children and says, "Children are like a clean slate – able to take in whatever is taught to them. Their minds are geared for learning at this stage. So this is the right time to introduce languages to
the children."
What language should you teach?
"Parents are the main decision makers in determining what languages the child should learn," says Dr Wasil. "At the same time, it is also the responsibility of the school to provide various options to the children. Based on the cultural background of the majority of the kids, the school can initiate the introduction of various languages.
"It's all based on supply and demand," he continues. "If we have concentrated linguistic groups, then the school can take the initiative of introducing a specific language.
However, if parents approach us saying that a specific language needs to be introduced for the benefit of the students, we are willing to find the best resources and start imparting that language to our students. After all, when parents express interest, it is the responsibility of the school to provide more options."
Iona agrees, adding, "Parents are the right decision makers for determining the choice of language. They can make these choices based on their culture, background and different languages spoken at home.
They can also make choices based on the medium of instructions in schools and the requirement of local language knowledge."
"Everyone needs to be involved in deciding what languages are offered to children," says Ruba. "Parents, of course, have the first right of choice. But as far as school and community are concerned, it should be more of a collaborative effort.
A lot of kids in the UAE are not English speakers, yet they join English-speaking schools. The most important thing is to have good role models who can teach the language well, especially when it comes to grammar, syntax, sentence structure, pronunciation and diction."
Gaver Sorabji is a French teacher at Dubai Scholars, where parents are invited to choose from a range of language tuition options for their children. "We have a practice of sending out a circular to all the parents.
In Grade One, options like Hindi, Urdu and French are offered. An important aim of teaching an additional language is to equip students to be able to interact well when they return to their home country and speak in their mother tongue."
Before enrolling your child in any school, check that the languages of your preference are available. "Ideally the school should be equipped to provide private coaching for languages that are not available in class," advises Iona.
Doing it right
When learning to read, many preschool age children recognise letters in alphabets (or characters in non alphabet languages) long before they are able to read. Knowing an additional language can help a child comprehend written language more quickly and possibly help them to learn how to read more easily.
As Gavin explains, "In the first lessons, students learn to write and pronounce the basic alphabet. Once the children have familiarised themselves with the different sounds, they then begin to acquire the rudiments of grammar and syntax.
Vocabulary is introduced thematically, with a view to imparting a basic command of the language being taught for a variety of everyday situations: from introductions and greetings, to talking about family members and social relations or asking and responding to simple questions."
Ruba adds that it's important for children to learn how to speak in full sentences so that the message is clear and precise. "Multilingual speakers have a habit of mixing different languages in one sentence when talking," she says.
"Children learning more than one language should learn to abide by one formal language and not mix it with others. They should be exposed to correct language in a correct form in its entirety."
Language tuition follows a specific design and structure, says Dr Wasil. "Teaching methods have been formulated and carefully researched over the years. The best way for children to be equipped with a new language is to gain an incremental understanding over a period of time."
The advantages
"There is no hindrance to development in any form if children start learning different languages from an early age," says Ruba. "If they can put two words together and blend them, then they can use the same formulae for any other language as well."
Connections have been found between multi-lingualism and creativity, memory, and listening skills.
Children automatically become aware that language and its objects are independent of one another, and that there are many ways to refer to one object. This may also be the reason language learning skills transfer from one language learning experience to another. Knowledge of one language facilitates the study of an additional language.
"In a global context," says Dr Wasil, "children who have been exposed to more than one language have a wider understanding of people and cultures. They are able to have a better reach and become better global citizens. The nuances based on level of understanding – love, respect and tolerance for your fellow beings – are all better understood when children are exposed to various languages at an early start."
Another benefit, says Iona, is that multi-lingual children tend to have more confidence in themselves. "With the advantage of learning about and respecting different cultures, they are apt to be more open minded. Learning additional languages can also be stimulating and fun for the children," she says.
Gaver says that studying another language gives students the 'edge' needed to succeed in later educational levels.
"Everyone knows that professional prospects abound for those with fluency in multiple languages. Apart from having a head-start in school, children can enhance their career potential in the ever-growing arena of international trade and business." There are clearly several benefits to be gained from studying additional languages.
The potential down side
"Multilingual children may, in some instances, speak a little later than their peers," admits Ruba. "If you think about it, it makes sense that a child learning two or more language systems might take more time, since they are actually learning twice as many words."
Research shows that children may not perform as well as their monolingual peers at first. However, beyond that age they do catch up. Ruba adds, "If the role model is not a good role model, then this may be cause for concern.
In the UAE, with both parents working, many children spend a lot of time with maids who may not be able to converse fluently in English or Arabic. This doesn't give the child the opportunity to learn the language well." In this case, some children may end up with language delays when exposed to two or more languages and the whole process slows down.
"After introducing various languages from Grade One itself, we have noticed that children are a lot more confused and find it difficult to cope with the languages being taught," admits Gaver.
"For example, we often find kids confused while learning Arabic and Urdu as they follow an almost similar text but with different writing styles. In light of this, after taking many perspectives into consideration, we plan to reintroduce the subject from Grade Five onwards in the near future."
Having raised three children through their school years, Iona shares the challenges she has come across: "The most obvious disadvantage is that it is a burden on the child to cope with the languages when the school curricula are vast.
Learning additional languages requires a high level of motivation and discipline and sometimes the burden falls on the parents to help cope with the situation… at a time when they themselves have already taken on a lot with their own careers."
Making bilingualism a standard
"In most Asian schools like ours, four languages – namely Hindi, Malayalam, French and Arabic – are introduced from Grade One," says Dr Wasil. "Schools falling under the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus follow a three-language formula where Hindi is compulsory. English is the medium of learning and a mother tongue is introduced as a third language.
"In an international context, it is always better to have more languages as options. The only way forward is to create an assured understanding and create better resources to impart these languages to children."
Apart from attending to her clients, Ruba spends a considerable amount of time working for the betterment of this cause. "We try to work with bilingual schools and try to support the school in meeting the needs of bilingual learners. Speech therapists also help children with language difficulties and advise parents on choosing the best language for that child."
How you can support them
There are several ways for parents to interact with their children that help to foster social and language development at an early age. "Parents should be supportive of the whole learning process right from the start," says Dr Wasil.
"Social interaction brings better understanding of the language and culture of different people. So by extending your reach and network as a parent and by social mixing and interaction, the vast attributes and cultural richness of a language can be better understood."
Iona suggests that parents even go so far as to give their children the opportunity to use new languages by visiting the countries in which they are spoken, while Ruba reiterates, "Parents should ensure that their children are surrounded by good role models. At the same time, if your child is struggling with languages, it may be in their best interests to allow them to focus on strengthening one language before introducing others."
Parents should naturally support any initiative that focuses on helping children to be healthy, self-aware, skilful communicators and confident learners.
Children should learn to communicate with passion, be it written or verbal. "As communication is both an art and a science, a school must have language labs and good linguistic teachers who have the ability to read to children with the right pronunciation and diction," notes Dr Wasil. "It is in these years that a child develops good language habits.
"When people speak a similar language, they can connect. The has come to a stage where there is a need to connect people immediately."
Whatever your decision, remember consistency, maintaining a positive attitude and finally making the interaction pleasant is the key to successfully developing a language in children.
The Dr Noam Chomsky Principle
The most convincing argument for early introduction of students to a foreign language deals with the language acquisition device, widely known linguist Dr Noam Chomsky's theory.
The language acquisition device is best explained as a part of the brain waiting to be triggered in young children. Such a device, linguists argue, is how children acquire a language or languages without actually being taught the rules and grammar of the language. If, however, this acquisition device is not triggered before puberty, the child will not learn languages.
Despite many parents' concerns that trying to make their child bilingual will only cause confusion, proof also exists that their young minds are able to successfully sort out the languages with time.
Thus, it seems there is no logical reason to wait until the teenage years to begin teaching a second language. Teenagers have already surpassed the timeframe for their language acquisition device to be triggered. How much time and frustration could have been saved if these students had been introduced to the language in elementary school?
Frequently asked questions
Fatima Nurani (right), Speech and Language Therapist, Dubai Community Health Centre, answers some frequently asked questions with regard to tracking a child's speech and language development.
How do I teach my child to be bilingual or multilingual?
There are many ways to teach a child to speak more than one language. It is left to the parents to decide if they would like to use two or more languages right from the start. Alternatively, they can use one language at home, and the child can pick up the additional languages when they start school.
Parents should also provide opportunities for the child to hear and practise both languages in everyday situations. Will learning two or more languages cause speech or language problems?
Unless the child has any speech or learning difficulty, there have been no incidences reported where children have had problems learning more than one language from an early start.
What should I expect when my child learns more than one language?
Developing skills in two or more languages requires time and effort from the child as well as the language role model. Children with exposure to more than one language from an early start, usually speak their first words by the time they are one (like "mama" or "dada"). By age two, these children can use two-word phrases (like "my ball" or "no juice").
These are the same language developmental milestones seen in children who learn only one language. A normal part of bilingual or multilingual development is when children mix the rules of grammar, or use words from both languages in
one sentence.
Some children may manifest a common second language acquisition phenomenon called 'The Silent Period'. This happens when they are exposed to a new language and they start listening and focus on understanding the language.
How can I help my child be exposed to additional languages?
Social interaction: by identifying linguistic groups in your surrounding area and exposing your child to interaction with them on a regular basis you will help a child hear, understand and easily grasp the new language.
Books: you can read to your child in both languages. Audiotapes and CDs: Tapes and CDs in other languages can help too. Singing and story telling is a great way to introduce a second language to your child, and it can be lots of fun! Videotapes and DVDs: children's programmes are available in many languages. These programmes often teach children about numbers, letters, colours, and basic vocabulary.
If my child is having trouble communicating, should we use only one language?
If you sense that your child is uncomfortable with the new language acquisition, it is best to talk to your child in the language you're most comfortable with. This is true even if he or she uses a different language at school. But try not to make a sudden change in your child's routine. This can be stressful.
Remember, it's important to observe your child carefully. Should your child have any problems with regards to speech or language skills, an evaluation conducted by a certified speech and language therapist can help determine the nature of your child's difficulties.
What is a speech-language disorder?
A speech disorder refers to a problem with the actual production of sounds, whereas a language disorder refers to a difficulty understanding or putting words together to communicate ideas.
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