What You Can Do at Home

Learning a foreign language is a long process that requires time spent in class and at home studying and experiencing the foreign language. Here are some simple and fun things that can make a world of difference in your child’s success in foreign languages:

• Ask your child or the teacher the topic/unit they are learning in class and be part of it! If your child is learning about food, it might be a good opportunity to cook a dish from a country where the foreign language is spoken and go over food items in the foreign language with your child!
• Encourage your child to practice with you at home. Let your child read or speak to you in the language and perhaps, let your child teach you some foreign language.
• Do not focus on the pronunciation or getting it right at first ... practice makes perfect! - Be creative and try to come up with a game to learn vocabulary words or to remember a tricky pronunciation.
• Expose your child to people from varied language and cultural backgrounds.
• Speak positively about the value of learning a second language.
• Provide videos, music and books in other languages. Your local library or the internet can be a great and
  free bank of resources.
• Find a pen pal: Once your child is a bit older and knows the basics in a foreign language, finding a pen
  pal is a great way to practice the language and exert some independence. Having a pen pal abroad is a great way to learn about culture in another country and appreciate the differences in lifestyle, e.g. school, food, holidays, hobbies, etc.

Remember: As a parent, you are your child's first and most important teacher. When parents and families are involved in their children's learning of a foreign language, the children do better and have better feelings about their foreign language study.