Engage the senses – Teach Your Child A Foreign Language
Children learn with senses since birth. Simple words and expressions in the target language lead kids to connect their understanding of the environment from one language to the other. Here are the top key questions you can ask in the target languages on a daily basis.
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What do you hear? (loud sound, soft sound…)
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How does it feel? (hard, soft…)
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What do you see? (big, small, colors…)
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How does it smell? (good, bad, stinky…)
And,
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How does it taste? (sweet, sour,…)
Engage the Senses
Ignite curiosity. Cookbooks with pictures are super-powerful. What do people eat in Spanish-speaking countries? What do Chinese people eat? You and your child can make a dish or bake a dessert together. Reading or listening to bilingual books is another good place to start. You can even use books that your child is already familiar with in a first language. Finally, craft projects provide hands-on fun. Often, they involve many senses, which helps kids stay engaged in the learning process.
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Mandarin Chinese – Read along with “Big and Small”
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Do a craft! See, feel, hear, smell, …how about taste?
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\Multilingual books – The digital library
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Multilingual book resources in public libraries online
Picture books provide a lot of opportunities to explore the senses with your child. Use the household items to engage learning. Ask your child questions about her blanket, pillow, and a few of her plush animals. How does it smell? That would be a lovely start right away.
More in this series:
Start with songs and music
Incorporate Everyday Expressions
Have Fun With Games
Create A Routine
Image by Lubomirkin
