Long Live Languages! Education News from Alleyn's | www.alleyns.org.uk
K
ate Goff, Director of Modern Foreign Languages at Alleyn’s School and teacher of French and Spanish for almost 20 years, shares her thoughts on how we can encourage our children to develop in a foreign language outside the classroom. Demonstrating proficiency in a foreign language always garners respect, and there are real benefits for young people developing fluency in another language. In the globalised labour market of the 21st century, a qualification in a modern language is more valuable than ever. Speaking a second language will stimulate your child’s brain, enhance their creativity, and boost their international career opportunities. Universities, too, expect a modern language of at least GCSE standard from applicants for many courses.
Compassion, Contacts & Confidence Speaking a foreign language will foster important qualities in your child, such as compassion, humility and tolerance as they develop their understanding of the countries and communities where that language is spoken. On a personal level, your child’s self-confidence will increase as they experience their own progress, and they will broaden their horizon of opportunities as they forge relationships based on multilingualism and a love of languages. As teachers, we are constantly approached for suggestions of ways in which families can help to encourage and inspire our young language learners at home. In fact…
C’est vraiment tout simple! Even if you do not speak a foreign language yourself, you can still support your child to do so by adopting a few simple and practical strategies. The internet has some fantastic language resources and, if you learn alongside your children, the whole family can benefit. Learn some expressions in another language, perhaps around mealtime rituals, and be in the habit of using these every day, so that your child will begin to view foreign languages as a normal part of life. Encourage your child to listen to foreign music and to watch television programmes and films in the chosen language. It doesn’t matter if 22 | SE21 - July 2022
they don’t understand every word; they will soon tune into the accent and develop their ‘ear’, with the added advantage of a lesson in translation by following the subtitles. Set aside ten minutes a day for your child to explore a popular language app (for example, Duolingo; Busuu; Quizlet; Languagesonline; Vertaal). If you can, read story books in the other language to your child to help them pick up some elementary vocabulary. For older children, explore some short stories in parallel text (e.g., Penguin) to help them expand their repertoire of language. These are available across a range of levels. Encourage your child to complete a daily Wordle in another language. Further down the line encourage them to listen to free podcasts in another language (CoffeeBreak Languages podcast / Notes in Spanish / The Spanish Language Coach, etc.). With a little curiosity and dedication, learning another language can be enjoyable, culturally and personally enriching, as well as offering unimaginable rewards later in life. ¡Disfrutad y buena suerte!
