Yes!
We can absolutely teach our children languages even if we aren’t native speakers. It takes a little extra effort and dedication, but it’s well worth it.
Learn Together
Make learning new words an activity you do together! You can keep a “word of the day” journal or learn new words about a particular topic, like cooking or flowers.
Books and Audiobooks
Reading books to your child in another language will help expand their vocabulary – and possibly yours too!
Audiobooks provide a great opportunity to expose your child to native speakers’ accents.
Time and Place
Create a ritual around speaking in the target language with your child.
Maybe you speak it every evening at bathtime, at lunch, or while you’re making breakfast together on the weekends!
Find a Community – in person or online!
Look for local parent group and children’s playgroups in the target language. You can also find many of these groups online!
Aim for Conversations
Remember that any kind of interactive and conversational exchange is the best way for children to learn languages.
Movies, TV, and apps can be supplemental but should not be the child’s primary form of interaction with the target language.
Utilize Free Resources
You can use the free resources at montessoridigital.org to print classified cards in different languages! Children who are reading can match the labels to the pictures, or match labels in the target language to labels in their native language.
