If you’ve chosen a Spanish immersion program for your child, congratulations! You’re on the right track. At TruFluency Kids, we believe in the power of immersion. It’s the best way to learn a language. There are different ways you can immerse your child in a new language. Some parents opt for a Bilingual preschool or send their kids to live with family members abroad for months at a time. We love online resources like The Cultured Kid with awesome Spanish videos to keep your kids engaged and learning while having fun. Whatever your immersion program entails, we can teach you how to get more out of your Spanish classes for kids.
1. Use Useful Spanish Phrases at Home
Maybe you’re not fluent in Spanish or even barely a beginner but you can still help your kid learn Spanish. You can start off by learning one new phrase a day and incorporating it into your regular life. Let’s say you want to teach the words for please and thank you. When asking your child to pass something, tack on the word “Por favor” to the end of your request. For example, “Michael, pass the salt, por favor”. You can learn phrases for the bathroom, playground, anywhere and everywhere.
We know many parents who want their child to be bilingual may either not be bilingual themselves or aren’t fluent in the child’s target language. On our TruFluency Kids YouTube Page, Micah and Alex teach helpful phrases for you to practice at home.
2. Sing a Song in Spanish with your Kids
It’s definitely okay to have fun while language learning, as a matter of fact, we encourage it. The music, repetition, and rhythm will help your kid learn. YouTube can be your best friend here, you can search a catchy song, bonus points if the child already knows the song in English, and rock out. Your kid definitely won’t care if singing isn’t one of your talents so sing loud and proud. You can also check out a list we did on Spanish songs that kids will love.
3. Enjoy Spanish Shows for Children
There is no reason your kid won’t love the same shows that the kids in the Spanish-speaking countries love. You can search YouTube for clips or try Netflix. Of course, watching a tv show isn’t going to make them fluent. However, shows can definitely provide cultural appreciation and help with pronunciation.
4. Try Spanish Activities
Even though you may be eager for your child to be fluent, you don’t want to overwhelm them. One way to reinforce the target language, keep them interested in the language and have lots of fun is by doing activities in Spanish. We listed a lot of activities in our blog post that we think you’ll love. An example of one of the activities is playing bingo to reinforce numbers. Make it a family game night!
5. Hire a Babysitter Who is a Native Spanish Speaker
Conversations in Spanish are paramount when it comes to being fluent in Spanish. Hiring a babysitter to speak to your child in Spanish is only a couple bucks, but you’re getting a huge return on your investment. You can couple this tip with other children who are fluent in Spanish too.
6. Hire a Language Tutor
Yes, a language tutor is a great investment even if your child is in a Spanish immersion program. The way we do tutoring at TruFluency Kids, it counts as immersion. We focus on conversation. Remember people learn languages in an effort to communicate with others. With us, your kid will have the confidence to speak Spanish and that will also help them to cement fluency. In addition to that, they can get individualized attention. We can help them address their own problem areas which sometimes isn’t possible in a bilingual preschool or other immersion program. Finally, your kid is getting valuable contact hours with the language that will help them become fluent and open up opportunities for them later in life.
The road to fluency isn’t easy but it’s totally worth it. Fluency is easiest when immersion plays a role and that’s why we believe that immersion is the way to go. Enrolling your child in an immersion program, incorporating Spanish at home, and adding a language tutor in the mix is one way to ensure fluency.
We can partner with you doing Spanish immersion classes online starting at $12 per class. Contact us at TruFluency Kids Spanish Immersion Online.
