All children have the ability to learn a language, and that both a native language and a foreign language. It’s not a question of talent. The way that small children learn a foreign language is very similar to the way that they learn their native language. The outcome of the lesson depends on how the conditions in which the child learns.

Conditions

The experience of families who have moved abroad confirms that ” most normal children under the age of ten begin to communicate normally after 4-6 months of life in an English speaking country. And without any formal language teaching.” (Vale, Feunteun, 1995) How is this possible? Let’s first look at how a child lives in a foreign language setting and in what condition the language is taught. In addition to spending time at home with parents and siblings, the child goes to school, to a playground, plays with neighborhood children, goes to shops, watches television.

On these occasions, he is surrounded by a foreign language, observes and listens to others, plays with other children and shares with them activities at school, imitates friends, teachers, or television characters. The child doesn’t need extra lessons to acquire a foreign language. They learn a language through everyday life, the same way as they learned their native language. In order to understand what helps your child, you need to realize a few things.

  • A great part of the day is exposed to a foreign language and the child absorbs it. The children listen to the same expressions in specific repetitive situations and in the same environment. E.g. Come here, please draw/color. Well done.
  • The child repeats activities and perceives and gradually acquires related expressions.
  • If the child wants to communicate something, they have the opportunity to express themselves by a gesture, by pointing to an object, intonation, activity, and gradually they start using phrases they have heard.
  • A child’s language is used as a tool for communication in situations that are important and interesting to it. E.g. he is hungry or wants to take the toy that he likes.

In such an environment, children learn very quickly, not only because they are learning for many hours a day, they learn what they need and they learn naturally, but also because they are equipped with a host of abilities and instincts that enable them to master any language quickly, if they are exposed to it often and have enough opportunities to use it.

  • Children understand a spoken language without necessarily understanding each word that is spoken. They perceive gestures, mimics, intonation, and the situation in which they speak. It is natural for them to not understand every word that they hear, the same as in their native language.
  • Children have the ability to communicate with limited language resources and treat them very creatively. Even in their mother tongue, they do not know all the words they need and so they will help themselves with the things they already do know. Everyone who has children or often works with them could give countless examples of children’s expressions.
  • Children have the ability to learn indirectly. They are completely encaptured in the game, but they perceive the language around them. How many times have you heard children use the same words and the same intonation that you use in a conversation with someone else? E.g. “Katie, come to dinner!” “I can’t right now, I’m busy.” answeres Katie and continues playing with her toys.
  • Children like to play and enjoy themselves. They try different life roles in the game and experience different life situations. The game teaches them rules, attitudes, values, activities, and language. In the game, they use not only observable gestures, activities, intonation but also the language that they have heard.
  • Children have a natural need to speak and communicate. They ask about everything, and they don’t care that they don’t know the exact words,  that they are making mistakes, and that in pronunciation as well as word choice. They use what they know to share what they need. They will deal with English the same way that they deal with Czech.

All this needs to be learned when teaching a foreign language: to simulate the environment and the situations in which the language is best and naturally learned:

  • to expose a child to a foreign language as often as possible, preferably with a native speaker
  • use gestures and mimics as often as possible to associate words with movement
  • often including songs, theaters, and games during which children can easily rid themselves of the fear of mistakes and the irrational fear of not being able to learn a foreign language. All of these activities promote verbal and non-verbal communication. Language is a means, not a goal. The more activities we engage our children in English, the more opportunity they have to learn the language. Children need language for communication.
  • part of textbooks are stories which children love. Stories create situations in which children can better get acquainted with the language.
  • all activities and related terms are often repeated

Realistic expectations

The majority of children have the ability to learn a language. What is different and what really influences how much the child is acquainted with the language is the environment and the way the language is taught. Unlike the situation where a child lives in an environment where it speaks only English except when at home, children at school are not surrounded by English all day. The common tool for communicating with their friends is Czech, most of their activities are accompanied by Czech phrases. The mother tongue is also mostly used when communicating with their English teachers if the teacher isn’t a native English speaker and the children aren’t forced to communicate in English.

During the process of formulating your expectations, it is necessary to take into account the specific conditions in which children learn:

  • the frequency of teaching
  • learning objectives and its focus
  • the way of teaching and its focus
  • teaching materials and their focus

If you are well aware of the conditions, it will be easier for you to set realistic goals and expectations for learning outcomes. It is also important to keep in consideration that, as it is in their native language, the difference between what children can say and what they understand is enormous.

  • not to be afraid of language and situations in which they don’t understand,
  • not to be afraid to use limited linguistic means to communicate,
  • want to play around with your language and have fun with it.

Remember, that building a good relationship with a foreign language is much more important at this stage of teaching than the number of words, phrases, and poems the child learns and remembers.

What are the outcomes of our teaching?

The answer is not simple and unambiguous. The list of things that can affect that list is very long. Based on what has been said about the objectives, content and the way of teaching, we will try to divide the possible outcomes into three areas – understanding, speaking, and other acquired skills.

What will they understand?

What the children understand depends on what they will be exposed to. The area of understanding can be divided into two larger groups. First, expressions and sentences are often repeated by a teacher in a familiar environment and context. The second group includes expressions and phrases from a range of topics discussed at school that children can associate with a picture, subject, activity, rhythm, melody, or experience.

What will they know how to say?

The list of what they will be able to say on their own is much shorter. As in the case of understanding, it is mainly the phrases that they have heard from their teachers that they will take away. Furthermore, there are phrases from different themes that the children studied throughout the year and which they have learned by hearing them repeated often. They need these phrases as a means of communication, for playing, and for other favorite activities.

Will they learn anything else?

While learning a language children also learn much more. They mostly gain new experiences and attitudes that are important for further language learning. They learn not to be afraid of situations where they do not understand much, not to be afraid to express themselves with very limited linguistic means, but also by other means – non-verbal. They learn to accept the fact that it is possible to speak differently than mom and dad, that not all children do Easter the same way, and that some children go looking for their hidden eggs in the garden. Last, but certainly not least they learn that learning something new can be fun.

What happens at school determines the effectiveness of teaching, but as important as the school atmosphere is, it’s not possible to omit the attitudes of parents and siblings and any other activity with English at home for two reasons. Firstly, for the child, recognition and the interest of parents is one of the greatest motivations for any activity, and second, increasing the number of occasions when the child comes in contact with a foreign language in any way increases the efficiency of learning the language.

Activities with parents

First, you need to realize what is most important to the child. It’s your support and encouragement, even if you feel it’s not going well. Equip yourself with patience. It can take a long time for your child to start actively using what they have learned. There is also a range of activities that you can do as parents with your children at home.

Before anything, you need to realize two things. First, children need your interest, and second, that the language is taught in specific activities, not in language exercises. Find the time to ask your children:

  • What your child has drawn, colored, cut. Children can repeat an activity at home and in time you will surely start to hear words that have been taught at school. In connection with the activity, children can easily remember these words.
  • What story they heard or played, what they remember, what they liked and what they did not. And they can do it in Czech. The fact that they remember something from the content means they understood. Understanding is half the communication.
  • What song they sang, what rhyme they learned and what actions go along with it. If you have a recording that goes with a textbook, you can sing the song together and your child will teach you what actions go along with the song.
  • On the contrary, don’t ask them “What happened at school?” You will surely get an answer of “Nothing,” or “I don’t know” etc. Ask them specific questions.

Additional materials
In addition to repeating school activities, you can also get additional materials and aids that your child will play with a little differently than at school. Sources of aids and sources are inexhaustible, so you can:

A word of advice in conclusion

  • Give your child time. They understand far more than they are able to say, and they are learning by listening. With some children, it may take a long time for them to start talking.
  • Show interest in what’s going on in their English class, and praise them for any attempt at using English. Your interest and praise are a great motivation.
  • Do not force your child to speak English with you. It’s not natural for them, you’re the ones they speak Czech with. English is used to communicate with their teacher or perhaps with a stuffed animal at school. If you speak English, speak to them during a game or a variety of repetitive activities. Children will receive it in time and you will get feedback in English soon enough.
  • Accept and especially appreciate any attempt by your child to use the language. Making mistakes in things we are learning is only natural. A mistake is not a problem. On the contrary, it is a sign that your child is learning. Make sure to praise even a half correct attempt at using the language.
  • Don’t ask your child how to say “I have a big brown bear and a red car” in English. Translation is a language task that is usually not possible for your child to do. They need their language and they use it for communicating.

Everyone then let your children have joy from the things that they do. Forgotten vocabulary is easily learned again when they are needed, but a lost desire to learn something new is hard to regain.