How to introduce a new language to a child?

[afm4516]

I have done a mistake. And didn't teach my son my native language - Russian. He is now almost 4, we live in Japan and he can speak English and Japanese. But I want to teach him my language too. What activities did you do if you were in the same situation?

 

[christiangirl2017]

@afm4516 Not everything has to be didacticised, you don't need a worksheet with step by step instructions or activities where everything feels forced. Language learning is so much more intuitive than a lot of people on this sub seem to think, not to mention study after study has proven implicit second language acquisition is so much more effective than explicit SLA, meaning a too formal learning context will have the opposite effect.

They're kids, not university students. Make language learning feel natural instead of like they're preparing for a test. Just talk to them in Russian, read Russian kids' books, watch movies in your native language, etc. Expose to them as much Russian as you can, there's really not much more to it.

 

[afm4516]

@christiangirl2017 Thank you, that's a great advice! Yeah, I am doing some stupid and funny stuff, such as introducing some words which sound funny for him, or playing games, just incorporating Russian words. But sometimes I forget to do this..

 

[aldredian]

@afm4516 https://chalkacademy.com/speak-minority-language-child/

Some good tips in this article around transitioning to a new language at this age.

 

[afm4516]

@aldredian Wow, thank you so much!

 

[violetstarlight]

@afm4516 Google Rosinka Tokyo , who is a russian language educator and curriculum developer who lives in Tokyo and is raising 3 bilingual kids. She has a course for adults (in Russian) called билингвы дошкольники , which has a module for exactly your situation as well (and the rest is super useful and super practical as your son gets more comfortable with the language). I’d start there, and remember it’s always 2 steps forward, 1 step back - you’re doing great, mama!

 

[afm4516]

@violetstarlight Thank you for being so supportive and for the nice recommendation, I will check it out!