foreignlanguagefun.com

Photo credit:  http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=67807&

As my “Foreign Language Teacher” screen name implies, I love languages.  So, you can only imagine how much I look forward to the Olympics when they roll around.  Sure, the sporting events are great.  But for me, the real magic is in the flags, the cultures, and especially the languages.

In just a few more weeks, I’ll be glued to the TV humming, “It’s a Small World After All.”  The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympics has arranged for 5,000 translators, mostly Beijing-based university students, to provide 55 language services.  55 languages!  Two of those 55 are official languages of the Olympic Games:  English and French.

Why French?  Well, besides being an influential language spoken worldwide, we have the French to thank for the modern Olympic Games.  Sure, the original games were a Greek invention.  But they had disappeared for over 1000 years until a teacher from France named Baron Pierre de Coubertin had the idea to bring them back.  The first modern Olympic Games were held in Athens, Greece, in 1896.  The first Winter Olympic Games were held in Chamonix, France, in 1924.

In honor of the French contribution to the Olympic Games, see if you can guess the names of some Olympic events en français.  The answers are at the bottom.  Bonne chance! 

1. Athlétisme
2. Base-ball
3. Basket-ball
4. Boxe
5. Canoë-kayak
6. Cyclisme
7. Escrime
8. Football
9. Gymnastique
10. Lutte
11. Natation
12. Sports équestres
13. Tennis de Table
14. Tir à l’arc
15. Volley-ball de plage

1-Track/Athletics, 2-Baseball, 3-Basketball, 4-Boxing, 5-Canoe/Kayak, 6-Cycling, 7-Fencing, 8-Soccer, 9-Gymnastics, 10-Wrestling, 11-Swimming, 12-Equestrian, 13-Table Tennis, 14-Archery, 15-Beach Volleyball

Photo Credit:  Public Domain from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Olympic_rings.svg

Kids Are Foreign Language Sponges

While playing at the park this evening, my five year old surprised me by spontaneously counting the numbers 15-19 in French:  quinze, seize, dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf!  He’s had the numbers 1-10 mastered for quite some time.  Since I always seem to be teaching him along with other children who are French newbies, he hears those basics over and over.  

But 11-20 are brand spankin’ new.  Twice this week, we counted numbers on a calendar.  Just like that, he’s got it!  Then after French at the park, both of my boys piped up with a few words of Swahili for the ride home in the car.  

As a mommy, I must say that my children are brilliant, charming, and cool beyond their years.  But it seems that every day when I step into the daycare where I teach, equally brilliant kids are blurting out French words or phrases.  Parents are telling me stories of the French they are hearing pop up at home.  Am I an incredibly talented and amazing teacher?  Well, maybe . . . but the truth is that children are at a natural stage of language development.

I know this.  I’ve studied this.  I’ve preached this.  One day soon I’ll post fascinating facts and findings about brain research and open windows of readiness.  But still, it’s cool to personally experience just how kids–especially my own kids–are foreign language sponges.  Remember, I’m not raising my children in a bilingual home.  Some days we have long blocks of immersion French, but mostly I’m just having a blast exposing them to as many new sounds, languages, and cultures as I can in a natural, no pressure way.  Every day, I am in awe.

My regular teaching gig at the moment is at a high school.  Adolescents . . . gotta love ‘em.  And I do, and they accomplish wonderful things.  But most of my typical American teenage students are learning a second language for the very first time, and it can be a struggle sometimes.  Sponges?  Not any more.  That window is closed.  They can and will become proficient in foreign languages, but never with the ease of young children.

Some people think I push my children with foreign language “study”.  Nah . . . we’re just having fun by doing what comes naturally.  

Feel free to leave a comment bragging about how your brilliant little sponges are soaking up language and culture, too.  

Photo Credit:  by sideshowmom http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=54667&

Jambo!  Introduce your kids to Swahili with We All Went on Safari:  A Counting Journey Through Tanzania (Barefoot Books, 2003).  This little treasure of a picture book is written by Laurie Krebs and illustrated by Julia Cairns.  If you have a 3 to 8 year old, this book belongs on your bookshelf.  

I must admit, I’m a bit of a picture book snob.  Unlike some of the poorly written and horrendously rhyming children’s books I am compelled to read over and over and over again,  We All Went on Safari is fun to read out loud–even over and over again.  I have a blast pronouncing the African names weaved throughout Kreb’s rich language and rhythm–names like Mwambe and Arusha.  Oh, and my kids like it, too!

We All Went on Safari is a nice springboard for learning Swahili.  Here are the numbers you and your kids will encounter on safari:

moja – one
mbili – two
tatu – three
nne – four
tano – five
sita – six
saba – seven
nane – eight
tisa – nine
kumi – ten 

Krebs’ picture book also includes a nice reference page about some of the Swahili names of animals from Tanzania.  My little guys have mastered simba (lion), twiga (giraffe), and tembo (elephant.)  Go here on the Mwamba Simba website for more animal vocabulary in Swahili.  I don’t know what it is, but Swahili is just so much fun to say!  Go ahead, try some more:  mamba (crocodile), nyoka (snake), and popo (bat.)  After you read We All Went on Safari, play animal and number vocabulary games, color and label animal pictures, and listen to Swahili songs online.

Kwaheri! (Goodbye!)

Acacia Tree in Tanzania

“We all went on safari, Past an old acacia tree.

Nearby giraffes were grazing, So Tumpe counted three.”

(verse by Laurie Krebs, We All Went on Safari)

Photo Credit: by John Storr http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Acacia_At_Dusk.jpg (public domain)

A Beach in Italy

SPIAGGIA – Beach in Italian

sun- sole

sand- sabbia

sandcastle – castello di sabbia

ocean – oceano

A Beach in French Polynesia

PLAGE – Beach in French

sun- soleil

sand- sable

sandcastle – château de sable 

ocean – océan

A Beach in Cozumel, Mexico

PLAYA – Beach in Spanish

sun- sol

sand – arena

sandcastle – castillo de arena 

ocean - océano

Practice a foreign language during your beach excursions this summer.  Or, if the pool is more your style, check out the poolside Spanish learning ideas over at the Spanish Middle School blog.

And please forgive me for this closing, but I can’t resist . . . 

Hit the spiaggia this summer!  Life’s a plage!  Enjoy a playa-party!  Discover language at a beach.

• Photo Credit for Italian Beach: by danielito http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=128212&
• Photo Credit for French Polynesian Beach: by embala http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=39939&
• Photo Credit for Mexican Beach: by Schick http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=187117&

My dinosaur-obsessed little boy has a new favorite show–Dinosaur King.  We were searching YouTube for the first episode, when we stumbled upon the original Japanese version of the cartoon.  My son was just as absorbed by the dinosaur action as if the words were in his native English.  Here’s a clip:

While I don’t advocate watching anime as an effective way to learn Japanese, it is an awfully fun way for kids to hear the sounds of an unfamiliar foreign language.  

So I went in search of a good online site for teaching Japanese to kids and I found a gold mine!  You’ve just got to explore Kids Web Japan.  Go to the green menu on the left of the screen for language lessons.  These are some of the best online children’s lessons I’ve seen in any language:  written text, audio, cute cartoons, simple grammar, alphabet, and exercises.  You’ll also find language learning anime with subtitles and time to repeat useful phrases. 

Here’s what we’ve learned so far:

• Konnichiwa – Good Afternoon
• Arigato - Thank you
• Hai – Yes
• Iie – No
• Sayonara – Goodbye
• Kodai Ōja Kyōryū Kingu - Ancient Ruler Dinosaur King

Hopefully, Dinosaur King in Japanese will be the springboard I need to introduce my little anime fan to a new foreign language.

Colombia, which was discovered by Christopher Columbus, is located in the northern part of South America.  It boasts coastlines along both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, as well as amazing rainforests.

Teach your kids these Spanish colors and use them to learn about Colombia with printable coloring pages.

rojo – red

amarillo - yellow

anaranjado - orange

azul - blue

blanco – white

verde – green

gris - gray

marrón - brown

morado - purple

rosado – pink

negro - black

Colombian Coloring & Cultural Resource Links:

The best resource I found for coloring pages about Colombia are from an adoption website called RainbowKids.com. They have four coloring pages to help children adopted from Colombia learn more about their cultural heritage:  daily life, animals, festivals, and traditional food. These printables are great learning tools for ALL kids!

Children will also enjoy Crayola’s flag of Colombia.  There are three stripes:  yellow, blue, and red.  The blue represents the water of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.  

A wonderful way to practice Spanish colors is to identify them on the plants and animals of the Colombian rainforest.  Check out Mongobay.com’s Rainforest Slide Show.  When you are done, color these Macaws from First-School.com

Young Spanish-learners put language and culture together in this Spanish color-by-number of a mariposa (butterfly) from abc.teach.

Finally, dive into a little cultural music with songs and rhymes from Colombia.  You’ll find lyrics in both English and Spanish from Mama Lisa’s World.

Need more ideas on ways to play with Spanish colors?  Check out the ideas in Foreign Language Color Games.

Celebrate Colombia’s Independence Day!

Photo Credit:  Kevin Rosseel http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=200485&

I’ve got a fun preschool/kindergarten activity that’s perfect for counting in English, French, Spanish, German, and more.

Do you know the classic preschool elephant song?  It goes like this:  

One elephant went out to play

Upon a spider’s web one day,

He had such enormous fun

That he called for another elephant to come.

The second verse has two elephants, the third verse has three elephants, and so on.  You can find foreign language versions of this fun song on the Teach Me CD’s, as well as other sources.  I love the Teach Me CD’s, but for this particular song I just use it as a teacher resource for learning the words.  The verses go back and forth between English and the target language, which throws me just a bit.  

So, here’s how you can turn a cute, catchy elephant song into a fun and effective game.  Gather the children into a close circle and have them hold on to the edges of a small parachute.  (I find a vinyl tablecloth to be a dandy, frugal parachute substitute.)  Ta-da . . . it’s a spider’s web!

Prepare small, laminated paper elephants and number them from 1-10.  Toss Elephant #1 onto the spider’s web and sing the song as the children gently move the parachute up and down.  Kids love to see the elephant jumping up and down and having such enormous fun!  When the verse is done, everyone shouts, “Come!” in the target language.  Add in Elephant #2 and count the elephants.  Sing again.  Call over another elephant.  Count.  Sing.  Get the drill?  Continue the routine until all ten elephants have a turn.  This game is so hands on and repetitive, staying immersed in the target language is a breeze.

I just played this game a few weeks ago with kids ages 2-7.  Then we played it again later in the week.  The kids keep asking me to bring the elephants back to play.  I’m telling you, this game’s a hit with the little ones!

The Teach Me CD’s are available in ten languages:  English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Hebrew, and Russian.

For more counting ideas, check out my article on Foreign Language Number Games.

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