Thinking about helping your child learn a new language? Picking up a second or third
language is becoming very popular across the world and for the best of reasons. With the
number of benefits it offers, many parents are eager to help their children pick up this
valuable trait. Children that come from multilingual families have the advantage of picking
up a new language from birth. However, there is still a strategy used that can be applied to
anyone who would like to aid their child in learning a new language. Here is some advice
from a girl’s prep school in Buckinghamshire on how to get started.

Do your best to introduce the language early. If you know your child will be studying a new
language for their GCSE’s or you just want to encourage them to learn a new language
alone, giving them as much time as possible will help them gradually yet effectively pick it
up. No one enjoys working under pressure with a small-time frame, it creates stress and can
lead to a messy result. Instead, using their youngest years to familiarise them can be great
for long-term progress.

Start off with the basics. Even if you don’t feel comfortable teaching your child an entire
language independently, you can help lay the foundation. Just hearing the language alone
can help your child pick up tones and phrases. Learning the alphabet, an array of numbers
as well as colours and shapes in the new language will help your child become more
confident when it comes to studying the new language. Listen to music, read books and
watch films or tv shows to help them understand dialogue. You’ll be surprised how much
they pick up by doing this alone.

Take advantage of outside support by enrolling them onto classes. These can be in person or
online. Having a group of people around them in a similar position can be encouraging.
Ensure they have a good study group and support system and watch your child thrive!