Foreign Languages

By Mali & Mama

Do you or your family speak more than one language? Would you like to? Do you wish you learned one as a child?

Learning languages can be really difficult, especially as an adult. It can be hard to find the time to do it around everything else in life, and sometimes our brains feel so cluttered, we struggle to retain the information as well as we used to.

For some children, they will automatically be raised in a bilingual household, which will make learning far easier. But not everyone has access to this first-hand, native knowledge.

Or, perhaps your partner speaks a different language to you and you would like to learn alongside your child.

Various studies have shown not only how beneficial learning a second language can be, but also how well children take to learning them. Babies and children form neural connections at a rapid pace, meaning their brains absorb so much information and, with enough practice, will remarkably retain this knowledge as well.

But I don’t speak another language, how can I teach my kids one?

While Mali & Mama does not offer extensive language courses, we do stock a fantastic beginner range of languages in a number of our resources. These are offered as both translations to our resources, as well as stand-alone posters.

You don’t have to be a linguist to teach your children a language, you don’t even need to teach them the foreign language in its entirety. However, by teaching the basics, not only do you ignite your child’s interest in languages, but you also challenge their brain in new ways, as well as opening many more pathways for them later in life. This will encourage them to progress in life with the skills and ability to retain foreign languages far more easily if they decide to continue their learning as they grow.

Learning languages is fun, challenging and rewarding. It allows your child to connect in new ways and feel proud of their accomplishments.

Learning a foreign language can help tremendously in future professional opportunities, as well as being an amazing skill to have when travelling or connecting with people from different backgrounds.

We hope that you enjoyed this post. Please feel free to check out our other blog posts for more information. To shop our products, please visit our collections via the Mali & Mama menu.