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I put foreign in "" because its not foreign to me but would be to most ppl.
As most that know me know I am from Ireland but living in the USA. I recently found some good beginner books that would be suitable for teaching kids (mine) and other beginners the Irish language. How do I approach this with a 5 year old without confusing him ? IE a dog is a dog but also a Madra because it is Irish etc. This is English but in Irish its that ? I also have a 3 year old who I know will be really interested because big brother is learning. Any ideas ?
Right now I am temp (hopefully permanently) in education, albeit adult education so I understand the concept of teaching but teaching to kids, especially a "foreign" language is a whole different ballgame.
well, first you should have just started speaking to the kids earlier. the best way for them to learn it--is to hear it as much as possible. just slip the words into your normal conversation and they will "get it", or they will ask "what did you call that?" and then tell them that it is called dog, but in Irish its also called Madra....
I often play memory-games with children at this age. If there isn't any appropriate one, you need to do it yourself.
e.g.: dog - english - with a picture and then the counterpart madra with a picture. Let your children always speak after you or pronounce the words themselves.
The best way to teach vocab is always a combination of the word and a picture that visualises the word. It is one the main linguistic assumptions that a word always has two sides: the signified (meaning) and the signifier (spelling/pronunciation).
Grammar is a little harder, but start with shorter and easier sentences e.g. I love football.
There you already have a personalpronoun, a verb, and noun, indicative and present. Then you can ask what he likes and loves or enjoys etc. then you can go on: I love football, you like chocolate and he .... In that way you can combine vocab and grammar.
Always a good idea is to sing songs in the target language, hereby the children can internalise vocab and grammar by the help of rhythm- and besides that it is fun.
But the most important thing is that you speak the language.
Btw a 5 year ols is smarter than you think, my nephew was 3 when he started learning English and a bilingual kindergarten is not unusual anymore.
Yeh I know they are smart. They are doing letters and numbers in Spanish and Sign Language in preschool this year. Not sure how much he took in but he liked it. I have been slipping in Irish words here and there, he already knows Bainnes and their names in Irish.
Yeh I know they are smart. They are doing letters and numbers in Spanish and Sign Language in preschool this year. Not sure how much he took in but he liked it. I have been slipping in Irish words here and there, he already knows Bainnes and their names in Irish.
Irish, are you guys for real?
So, I am trying to figure out how to teach my son Swedish the most effective way. I wish it was Irish.
My son will be going to kindergarten in the fall, and his school has a dual language program. About 50 kids are in a drawing for FOUR spots (the other four English-speaking spots are taken by kids whose siblings are already in the program), and we are really hoping our son is chosen. The kindergarteners are five, so I don't think it's too late. The teachers speak Spanish to the kids about 80% of the day, not just a word or two here and there. Instead, picture that day's math lesson taught entirely in Spanish. It takes the kids a couple of weeks to adjust, but then they start picking up the language very well. However, half the class are kids whose primary language is Spanish, and they all help one another. If you did the immersion thing at home, I think you'd have to scale it back a bit, because your children won't have that help.
I think you could do very well with this, since your kids are so young. Just start speaking it to them as much as you can, not just words, but sentences. You'll have to use lots of visual cues. For instance, if you're telling your sons, "Look at that black dog," point to the dog. They already know "madra," so they'll respond to that. The older one might say, "Madra? Oh, that's dog! We know that one!" And you repeat the sentence a few times, maybe repeating the word for black while pointing to black things until they catch on.
I would use it in everyday conversation. Even young kids who come with parents for college, learn English within a month just playing with other kids and hearing it all the time. The more you speak to your kids in Irish, Gaelic, Erse, the more they will understand in a short amount of time.
We have family members who speak Spanish and English in their home. He is from Mexico, she is from here. They have two kids. He speaks nothing but Spanish to the kids, especially the baby (4 years old), and their mother speaks nothing but English. Both kids communicate easily in both languages.
I have a 15 year old tremendously interested in language. She studies French, German, Spanish, Dutch and would be interested in Irish (she has a friend in Ireland). What books did you find for your kids? They would be a good start for my daughter.
I was listening to NPR a few weeks ago and there was this guy from Somalia - i believe his name was K'Naan - who was talking about growing up in Somalia, not speaking a word of English, but knowing every single word to all the American rap songs. His mother was finally able to get him out of Somalia, when he was 15, and he was able to learn the English language very quickly due to learning all those American rap songs. He had all the sounds and could form the English words, but being in the country finally all he had to do then was put the meaning behind them.
I know there are lots of catchy Irish tunes, and kids really dig music (most of them do). Perhaps try listening to as much native Irish music (sung in Irish) and watching Irish films and TV shows and even perhaps subscribing to Irish newspapers and magazines and keeping them around the house... post Irish poems on the walls... write them sweet notes - just one sentence or so - in Irish. Tell them what it means. Leave them Irish notes or phrases in their lunch boxes. Have an "Irish phrase of the week" and every time they use the phrase correctly they get a sticker or some kind of treat.
You can also make labels and place them on things around your home. The Irish word for table on the table, Irish word for chair on the chair, etc. Being in America, they will learn English naturally, so if you want them to learn a different language you will need to use it as much as possible at home and when you are together, and just give them exposure to that language regularly and as often as possible.
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