Language learning hacks

Learning languages is one of the best ways for children to develop their cognitive capabilities and expand their mind and worldview. Many early learning centres and schools include foreign language teaching in their curriculum. However, many rely on the children simply repeating the words and sentences without long term retention success.

We have a team of specialist language teachers who have developed effective strategies for learning that are both fun and easy. We share some of our favourite language learning hacks and tips below.

Visio-audio mnemonics

We learn by building upon prior knowledge and we remember visual information the best. When teaching new foreign language vocabulary to children, associate the new vocabulary with an English word that they’re already familiar with and has a related meaning. E.g. “agua” (Spanish for “water”) sounds like “aqua”, so use the visual association “aqua coloured water” to remember the meaning of and sound of “agua”. Humour is also a great memory tool. E.g. “绿色“ (lǜ sè, Mandarin for “green”) sounds like “loser”, so use the visual association of the Biggest Loser eating green veggies.

Theme-based learning

Traditionally, foreign language is taught by topics e.g. family members, colours, numbers etc. However this is not a natural way to learn, and is quite dry. A much better approach is learning by themes, which provide rich context and includes a number of related topics e.g. Chinese New Year - learn about the celebration foods, lucky colours, family gatherings, festivities, cultural stories and songs. It’s much more interesting and easier to remember the content because it’s meaningful and related to everyday life.

Immersion approach

The best way to learn a foreign language is to fully immerse in the environment. Centres and schools can simulate this immersive environment by creating a language room / corner and decorating it with cultural items, arts and crafts and student work. You can also label various areas around the centre / school in the target language e.g. toilets, kitchen, staff room etc. If possible, involve all educators / teachers at the centre / school to use the target language e.g. greeting students and parents and saying common phrases in the target language.

Try out these language learning hacks to take your teaching and learning to the next level. When you make it fun, relevant and easy for they children to learn, they naturally become motivated learners. If you are interested in engaging our specialist language teachers to help implement Mandarin / Spanish programs at your centre / school, please feel free to contact us.