Key Terms in Language Learning
Learn These Words, Know More About Language Learning
Your child may already be starting to pick up the words of a new language—"bonjour," "gracias," "ni hao." But sometimes, parents trying to do some research into the most effective language learning methods find the terms of the field more perplexing than the language their child is learning!
There are many different approaches and systems for learning new languages. Some of these systems are employed mostly in the classroom. Others are more frequently practised at home, describing the experiences and methods your child may find most useful on her own or with your help.
In either case, the key thing to remember is that the process of learning French or Chinese or any second language affords you a fantastic opportunity to open up new horizons for your child. Each method has its proponents, but experts agree that children find language learning most effective—and most enjoyable!—when they are able to experience their new language in a variety of ways. And some of those ways don't even have names or specific methodologies!
However, it's always important to inform oneself about the terms and strategies experts use, so here are some excellent terms to get started:
Edutainment: The word "edutainment" is a combination of "education" and "entertainment," and as you can gather from these origins, it refers to a television or DVD program that makes use of kid-friendly elements—adventurous storylines, fun characters, brightly-colored games or silly songs—to teach your child new and valuable lessons. This method is particularly effective for teaching children new languages. Kids merely see the lessons as fun, not work, and frequently act out the adventures they see—and the language that comes with them!
Immersion: Children who learn French in an immersion classroom do more than just take "French class"—they may also be taught maths or history or even sport in French too! Immersion also has a number of different levels or versions. In school, immersion refers to a class of students who are all learning French—or any other language—as a second language. Submersion refers to a class comprising mostly native speakers and a few pupils learning the language for the first time.
Immersive environments, however, do not occur merely in the classroom. Immersion also refers to environments or programs which encourage learners not to switch back and forth repeatedly between their first and second languages, "translating" everything literally, word-by-word. Immersion encourages all communications to be given in the new language. And while this may appear daunting to those introduced to languages some other way, one must remember that learning through immersion is a natural and intuitive process for children. After all, each child learnt his or her first language by immersion!
Two-way immersion: A variation on classroom immersion, two-way immersion occurs when a class is almost half speakers of one language, and half of another. Instructors spend half the time teaching in one language, half in the other. Often broken up by subject, pupils may have science in French and history in English. Two-way immersion encourages pupils to look to one another for help and grow together into both languages.
Transitional bilingual education: This method of bilingual education seeks to introduce, in the case of the UK, non-English speakers to English by degrees. Non-Anglophones are taught in their native language until they attain literacy and fluency in that language, then they begin their English lessons.
Blended learning: A method of language education which focuses on the integration of "virtual" teaching methods (such as DVDs) and "physical resources" (such as classroom instruction). Blended learning enables the learner to take in language in multiple ways, reinforcing one learning method with another.
Grammar translation method: We have probably all encountered this method of language education at some point in our lives: the grammar translation method focuses on instruction in the rules (and many exceptions) of the grammar of a foreign language. Added to the grammar lessons is a continuously growing vocabulary list, and pupils learn by dropping vocabulary in to the proper grammatical positions.
Total physical response method: Seeking to repeat the process by which infants first learn language, total physical response method also intends to make this process appealing and effective for toddlers and school-age children. Because they do not speak, infants' first response to language is physical, and their parents and other adults interact with them by emphasizing physical commands and comments along with verbal ones. TPR (as it's abbreviated) therefore encourages toddlers to play games such as "Simon says" in their new language, or to listen to or tell stories with many motions and gestures. Young children, it is believed, respond extremely well to education which involves their whole body because it is the most natural mode of discovery.
Code-switching: Code-switching is not an educational approach to language learning, but is rather a part of the process of doing so. Code-switching occurs commonly among persons learning a second language or among bilingual communities, and especially, in both cases, among children. It occurs when a speaker uses a phrase or a word from either language in the midst of a sentence partly or mostly in the other. Experts on bilingualism have affirmed that this practice is not caused by ineptitude or confusion, but rather is most often a result of sheer playfulness!
One parent-one language (OPOL): Some parents, when setting out to raise a child bilingually, decide to each speak in only one of the languages they hope their child learns, thereby underlining the difference between the two languages. Other parents urge their children to use one language at home and the other in public. Many experts, however, see these divisions as not strictly necessary. Two American experts on bilingualism, Drs Kendall King and Alison Mackey of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, state, "children are very sensitive to the unspoken rules about which language should be spoken to whom and when, and naturally sort this out on their own. Children do this without any explicit help from parents or teachers."
All children have a tremendous talent for adaptation, especially in learning a language—be it their first or third. And although there are numerous methods and ideas about language learning for children, the variety needn't be confusing. The important thing to remember is that young language learners find the whole process—in many of the ways it can be approached—both exciting and enjoyable.
It should also be noted that, with any of the methods listed above or in any of the many others that exist or can be imagined, learning a second language occurs over time. The successful acquisition of a new language results from practice, continued exposure and multi-sensory engagement. However, the results are wondrous. Certainly, some methods are more effective than others; you may find your family or your child adapts to one better than another. Combining methods can sustain your child's attention and interest and provide endless fascination with the learning process and with the new language. In the end, of course, learning a new language can bring your child new opportunities for the future and more confidence and pleasure in the present.
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