Thursday, November 21, 2013

Should I Sleep in English Too?!!

Good Evening Parents,

I'm so sorry for the major gap in posts but my computer was indisposed and I had no motivation to write on another computer. Hopefully this will make up for that!

As some of you may know my bachelors degree was in Speech and Hearing Sciences. I'm currently working on my master's degree for Assessment and Diagnosis in speech and language. So you might be wondering...What does that have to do with KG2?
Well good question and the reality is...a lot! I teach your children the essentials of a new language. I actually chose to be a kindergarten teacher for purposes of studying the development of a new language in children. But the bitter truth is...school is just not enough! Don't get me wrong it goes a looonng way. And I'm sure my parents have noticed how much of a change has happened in your youngsters. When they listen more intently to English, when they say words in English, and when they combine their words together. They've grown so much!

Some people may start to question...well should I do EVERYTHING in English? Well the answer is simply no. That's unreasonable to begin with. Our goal is for your children to be equally established in Arabic as they are in English....so the two must overlap equally. To make this change possible you only need to add a few things to your daily routine. Studies have shown that if a child has about 4-6 hours of exposure to the second language, over a few years they will become equal language users or bilingual. If your child spends 4 hours in school talking in English...then your almost there.

Promoting Language Exposure:
1. Review concepts taken in school. For example if todays topic was shapes...review the shapes with your child. Try to change the context each time. One time use the sentence "I see..." and have your child finish this sentence with a shape they see around them. Example: I see a rectangle (for a door). Next try a different form "I like..." and use the shapes that you like. This increases your child
s awareness for sentence forms. Always, always, always try to review.
2. Increase exposure to music. Youtube is a great website for listening to much nursery rhymes and educational songs that targeting promoting language. A great channel on youtube is The Preschool Learning Station....they have the very famous Five Little Ducks.
3. Increase exposure to English shows and movies. One great thing about English tv shows and movies for children is that they can be very educational. A great show is Curious George which you can find a lot of on Youtube. The magic school bus is also great for kids. Even though your child might not understand everything at first it will become easier with time.
4. Read books. Not only do young children LOVE books...they increase imagination. Language is imagination. We imagine what we want to say...we go to the moon and back with our words. Let your child learn language and explore options...even things that may seem strange and unusual because they open up your child's awareness to things around him/her.
5. Use language everywhere you go. When your in the car..."lets count all the buses we see". "What colors are the cars passing by"...etc. When your in the store..."Which is your favorite fruit"...etc. Use English whenever you can. The more places you use English the more your child's brain will store that information and remember to use it in different times.

I hope this post has been helpful....and I hope you continue to see progress in your child's language. I see great things and I have great expectations. The sky is the limit!
Thanks,
Hanan

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