Will you teach your kids?

[kate23]

Will you teach your kids (either future kids or your current kids) the languages that you're learning or already know?

I think I definitely will when I have kids someday because it's easier for you to learn a language when you're little and it would be cool to converse in multiple languages with your kids and see which languages they prefer, which you end you using most often, etc.

Plus they'd be able to impress their friends and maybe when they grow up they'd be able to put the languages they've learned to good use, perhaps when traveling or for job opportunities.

[Pink Glitter]

If I were to have children I would most definitely teach them to speak all the language I speak. Children have the amazing ability to be able to easily learn several different languages all at once. Giving your children the gift of being multilingual is a wonderful accomplishment. In the end they will be on a level far above some of their peers.

[Lacey]

It is very important to teach children different languages and the earlier the better.  They pick it up so fast the younger they are.  I teach very small children English which is one of the hardest languages to learn and they pick it up so much faster than my older students. 

I speak Spanish to my child at home and she answers back and understands.  I think it is really important and it helps them a great deal to learn another language.  As I was getting my degree, it was said over and over again that it really strengthens your brain so to speak to learn more languages so I am definitely for teaching children new languages.

[Denis Hard]

No I wouldn't teach my kids any languages that I've learned. From experience I know it doesn't work for the best. I was forced to learn three languages as a kid and do you know what happened? I lost my communications skills entirely even though I could speak all the three languages fluently because then, I wasn't sure I could speak as well as the native speakers of the languages I'd learned.

It's best to let the kids decide for themselves when the time is right, if they want to learn other languages.

[Peninha]

I want to teach my kids everything I know and that includes languages. English for example I already explain to them some words they can understand and that they see on the TV or in the computer, slowly they start learning it. 

[basmae]

I would really love for my kids to be multilingual.  I would hope that they end up speaking better Arabic than myself too. 

[fluffyducky]

I think my children would pick it up by listening to me and my spouse speaking the languages we know, at least to the ability to listen and understand, at the minimum level. If they show interest, then maybe I'll teach them more! It really depends on the kids.

[btripp2]

I would teach my kids by speaking the language around them. I think some, if not all, kids form their interests around things they are exposed to. I will expose them to language learning so they are better able to interact with people and even understand them more so than others. I feel like learn languages is a gateway to better understanding and accepting a culture that is different from yours.

[Verba]

Will you teach your kids (either future kids or your current kids) the languages that you're learning or already know?

I think I definitely will when I have kids someday because it's easier for you to learn a language when you're little and it would be cool to converse in multiple languages with your kids and see which languages they prefer, which you end you using most often, etc.

Plus they'd be able to impress their friends and maybe when they grow up they'd be able to put the languages they've learned to good use, perhaps when traveling or for job opportunities.

Yes, that's what I am doing now with my youngest. She does not know our language so I talk to her using our language. She has improved already because she can understand most of what I'm saying and what our families back home tell her. She can also speak some words though the accent is not proper yet. But she's getting there. :-)

I'd like my kids to know as many languages as they can learn. But I hope they can learn each language more fluently rather than jump to the next one. In their school, my youngest learned French for 4 years but due to change in curriculum, she's been learning Spanish since 2 years back. So there's really no mastery of the language, I think.

[Baburra]

I think I'll gravitate naturally towards doing it this way but I wouldn't actively seek it out. I would definitely try to enroll them in some class for learning another language though just for the sake of diversifying their cultural education and also I think it serves as a good tool for work later on in life anyway. It's best to get them started while they are young so they have a lot more time and a lot more curiosity to learn.

[Victor Leigh]

Yes, I would and I did. Myself, I can converse fluently in 7 languages. However, none of my children have got so far yet. They need more than to be able to handle that many languages. After all it took me decades to get to where I am now.

[AExAVF]

No, I don't think I would.  If my kids want to learn the language, they will have to do so on their own, and if they ever want to learn it.  There is no point trying to teach something to kids if they refuse to comprehend or are unwilling to learn.  If ever one of my kids will want to learn any foreign language, I can only teach them the basics.  They will have to formally enroll in a language class and learn the same way I did.  Even if I could teach the language, my skills and knowledge would be insufficient and lacking by then.

[RedRose]

I would try to teach my kids a language (Provided that I ever actually do have children). I wouldn't want to force them to learn a language, but hopefully, schools will encourage children to learn a second language in the near future. I'd let them learn whatever language they want to learn, too. I'd like them to learn Spanish or Mandarin, but ultimately, it's up to them. As the world becomes more in-touch, though, everyone will soon have to know a second language. I definitely wouldn't want my kids to be left behind.

[sammie_bee]

I am trying to do so now and have been trying for a few years. It's hard to get my kids interested in language learning because it's not a big focus in school and I think they have a hard time seeing the value right now in learning another language. When they were really young, I tried language playgroups but they few words they learned there have long been forgotten. I am trying now to practice conversation every day with them and teaching some vocabulary here and there.

[maryannballeras]

I don't have any kids yet but in the future, I'll be more than happy to teach them the languages that I already know. I think learning more than one language makes a child smarter. And of course, who wouldn't want their kids to be smart?

[Asaase]

Certainly. I think it is important to teach my children all of the languages that I know. For one, I think it is important for them to know so that they are able to communicate with other family members. This is especially important when they speak to relatives or we visit relatives in Ethiopia because the only common language between us is Amharic. It's also important because they come in contact with different people every day and even people in our own country do not all speak the same language. It is also important because even more so in today's times than before, there is more contact with people from neighboring countries who only speak French. So, I believe it is important for my children to be multilingual.

[hclpd]

I am not a good teacher. Although, I would like my kids to know as any language as possible, I don't know if  I will ever teach them any languages besides Hindi and English. Teaching is something I don't really like.

[elenamarie]

I would definitely teach my kids other language especially if the ones they can use in the long run and if their friends can’t understand it, I think it’s cool when a person speaks multiple language and more impressive when a kid does that. That way, when they encounter someone who speaks the language and bad mouths them, they will understand and will be able to defend themselves.

[AureliaeLacrimae]

I will certainly do so. I will teach my children all the languages I know. It's as you've said, when you're little you ''pick up'' language subconsciously, so why not? It's effortless and it will be useful to them. If nothing, it will help develop their cognitive skills. One research has shown that children who speak more than one language are better at cognitive field in school and such. What I would really like is teach my child how to speak Latin. I have a teacher who did so. Her son could actually speak Latin. I was amazed when she told me the story, and I found it incredible. It only shows that Latin can be spoken, if it's taught right.

[Melee]

My son and I kind of teach each other.  I try to help him with Spanish words, because he seems to not pick up Spanish words as easily as he takes to Japanese and Chinese.  Currently he's taking Chinese in school, and that language seems very easy for him to learn.  I signed up to take Chinese in one of my local community colleges, but did not follow through with it, so I try to have my son help me learn along with him as he studies.

My son is a teen.  If I would have enrolled him in language classes when he was much younger, he would be fluent in a few languages by now.

Always good to study languages with children.  Children are very intelligent.  I used to work at a day care taking care of babies in diapers, up to 5 years old. Many of those children were already bi-lingual. Fluent, and talking up a storm all day.

[Victor Leigh]

To learn a language is to know the peopl who use that language. A language is the sum total of the history and the culture of the people who use it. So to let our children learn at least one second language is a good way to broaden their view of the world.

A good way to learn a language is to live where the natives speak that language. Myself, I hardly knew any Thai until I moved to Thailand. My son also learned Thai when he lived with me in Thailand.

[leahcim132]

Yes, I will definitely teach my kids a second language, or a language that I am already accustomed to. Probably not he ones I am still struggling with for obvious reasons. I wouldn't want to give my child a hard time too!  :tongue:

[primalclaws1974]

Another word I like is "intuition". Not only is it pleasant to say, them meaning of the word is important. It means that you have an inner-voice that is telling you the right thing to do, even though you might not have experience. Intuition is directly connected to your morals, and would define you as a person. A little boy may want candy, and since he has no money, might be tempted to steal. But his intuition tells him that is mother would be very disappointed in him, so he doesn't steal it.

[Muthoni]

Yes, I would like to teach my kids all the languages I know. I would also make sure to enroll them in a school that gives them the opportunity to learn and master other languages. Maybe it will motivate me to learn alongside them. It is such a wonderful thing to talk to people that we meet in their native language. It has the power to cement great relationships.

[cranberry87]

My father is from India and my mother is Pakistani. They both speak one separate language and one common language. We grew up learning all 3 of these languages plus English. I am really thankful that they had done this. It's great to know these languages and always comes in handy.

I have done the same with my daughters.