One of the activities that parents and children can get involved in together is learning Spanish for kids. The process of learning a new language can be an enjoyable one, but in some instances, the process can also be fraught with difficulties or even apathy from the kids. When problems arise, parents should realize that the problem is not in the new language but the teaching style. When these difficulties get overcome, parents can realize the various benefits from teaching Spanish for kids.

Some of these are:

• better scores in exams
• improved ability in retaining language skills

The above are not just the only benefits one gets from mastering a second language. In a more globalized economy and increasingly interconnected world, being fluent in more than one language increases a person’s social and economic opportunities.

When teaching kids a new language, utilizing the wrong approach will yield unwanted consequences wherein the child will give up quickly. When parents don’t use the correct approach, their kids will even resent having to learn another language instead of realizing that it is for their benefit.

Learning A New Language: What Happens in the Brain

New languages are best learned when the brain undergoes immersion. The results of this immersion learning process are most apparent during the ages of 0 to 12. During this immersion process, the brain just subconsciously learns a language when it gets surrounded by people speaking it. In this process, formal language lessons are not necessary.

Not convinced? Just think of how children learn a language starting when they are still babies.

Children don’t receive formal lessons in the language that gets spoken in their homes. But as they grow up into toddlers, they can gradually say words and hold conversations with family members in their language. As kids age, they automatically pick up the language. This is how the immersion process works.

Spanish for Kids: How to Teach Your Child

Using the immersion process to teach Spanish for children is not complicated. You just have to speak Spanish to them. If you don’t know the language yourself, you can start by learning some basic Spanish words and introduce them to your kids. Continue the learning process by learning the language together.

Have everyone else in the household speak Spanish as well. A lot of children grow up bilingual because they are surrounded by people in the family or community who speak another language exclusively to them. For example, if you have a Spanish-speaking relative, have them converse with your child only in Spanish every day. In some families, some kids grow up bilingual because they have babysitters or nannies who only spoke Spanish to them. It is possible for children to learn two languages at the same time – you can alternate between the Spanish and English languages.

With the immersion process, learning Spanish becomes an enjoyable experience for children. It also makes learning a new language easier. In fact, even kindergarteners can learn a new language through this process.

Once your child gets the basics of Spanish through immersion, you can then move on to more complicated aspects of the language through formal techniques. Teaching Spanish for kids or learning another language is easy when you start with this learning method.