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Help, My 5 Year Old Wants To Learn All The Languages He's Coming Accross

Discussion in 'Toddlers' started by pumpkin01, Aug 16, 2017.

  1. pumpkin01

    pumpkin01 Platinum IL'ite

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    Hi, I really ned some advice, we speak in English at home with him(we were in UK and thought this will help so instead of speaking in our mother tongue we spoke in English to him and we do think it helped him) though me and my husband is speaking in Odia at home. So my son is able to make few sentences. He is learning Hindi in his school.

    Seeing his interest for language I allowed him to learn Kannada (from youtube) , he has learnt writing and speaking also upto some extent. Since we don't know Kannada I feel he might loose all his interest soon as the same happened when he started learning Spanish from youtube.

    He's learnt Telugu scripts also(he can find difference between Kannada and Telugu). The other day there was a sweet packet on which something was written in Bengali, he asked me if he can learn Bengali also.

    The issue is I really get hyper when he pronounces English words differently or spells them differently as I know he used to spell/pronounce them correctly and I feel it's all because of mixing languages spoiling them and if I don't correct him at this stage then the language on which he is strong will be all spoiled.

    Please friends advice is it just a phase or do I need help ? as i don't want to kill the interest he is having to learn the languages. Thanks in advice.
     
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  2. Agniamber11

    Agniamber11 Bronze IL'ite

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    Hi, You are very lucky that your little boy has shown interest in regional Indian languages. Please dont discourage him. If you have spoken classes for regional languages, put him there and see if he his interested in it.

    Children do pick up English as they are in school and from their friends . Even we spoke in our mother tongue before we learnt English. Spelling mistakes and pronunciations have to be taken care. So just tell him softly if he is making any mistaking without creating fear in him. Let him be in this present phase . As he grows big, with pressure of more subjects and study routine, he might drop this hobby. Or who knows, if he is passionate in learning languages, he might enjoy it !
     
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  3. Shanvy

    Shanvy IL Hall of Fame

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    @pumpkin01 you are lucky.maybe he is gifted. being able to handle more languages has a edge. kids can pick up languages easily at 5 and 6. so let him explore as long as it is not falling on to trouble him with other issues.

    he will learn the trick of managing each pronounciation efficiently soon. give him time. observe how he talks with a person who talks to him in kannada or bengali. until a clarity comes it is kind of tricky. we do not know in which language he is actually thinking. all of do that..

    in the mean time read up on polyglots maybe you can help him and guide him.

    Are You a Hyperpolyglot? The Secrets of Language Superlearners | TIME.com

    i read,write and speak 4. talk and undertand a couple more.
     
  4. Srama

    Srama Finest Post Winner

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    @pumpkin01,

    That is so interesting and amazing! How old is your son? As much as it is a gift perhaps it is good to have some sort of an end goal - meaning you might want to answer/understand some questions like why does he like language learning so much, what draws him to that, do you want to get him to learn from a teacher who can school him in the language vs youtube, is his learning limited to only speaking or includes reading and writing (I am assuming the latter), how do you keep him engaged in a language he has learnt (may be do some small story translations for children?) and as a parent the most important question for me personally would be - would he able to transfer that gift and passion to other areas of learning? I do come across many students at elementary level who love learning - you introduce something,anything and they get passionate about it and delve deeper on their own and then there are other kids who are focused on one area. There is no right or wrong way. Having an understanding of that might help you nurture his gift and talent.

    Personally I think teaching him Sanskrit would give him a good grip on many Indian languages and introducing him to Latin should help with many other languages. I think both these languages will also benefit in many other ways -
    Here is an interesting article on studying Latin

    Top 10 Reasons for Studying Latin | Memoria Press

    And a somewhat similar one on Sanskrit

    http://www.acharya.gen.in:8080/sanskrit/why_sans.php

    The only language language I have learnt in a structured manner is Sanskrit (at the age of 9 or so)and I do want to mention that I have a fondness for the language like no other and I tend to be a little partial and can get carried away about it.

    I know you didn't ask about anything I wrote above (I got carried away again!!) I understand that the reason for your post though is this -

    When you say differently, do you see the influence of the latest language? If so, you can put it down to a phase. Continuing to work with him with his strong language is a good idea. I also believe teaching him a couple of languages in a structured way while encouraging him to engage himself with learning of other languages might be a good idea and that is the reason I chose Sanskrit and Latin. I may be wrong but let me tag a couple of otehrs who I think might have a better insight @sokanasanah, @Gauri03, @justanothergirl, @Rihana, @kkrish and I see that @Shanvy is here.
     
  5. Shanvy

    Shanvy IL Hall of Fame

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  6. DDream

    DDream Finest Post Winner

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    Amazing OP, I think it is better to focus on one or two languages than too many at the same time. He will learn English, Hindi for sure and also your mother tongue. He need to learn how to express his mind well in whatever language he is into. At this age reading, communicating and comprehending the content is most important, I guess.

    @Srama I have also learned Sanskrit. It is one of the richest language. As most of the Indian languages originated or linked to Sankrit, it make the journey of a language enthusiast to learn other Indian language easily. It helped me a lot. But my brain is not sensitive to language, only to the content:(. I have seen many people with amazing skills in this area.

    My dd captures songs/words even in various languages, may its just a phase. If its affecting your sons skills, you can limit exposure to many languages and focus on one at a time with good base. See how it going and encourage if he is deeply into it. good luck
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2017
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  7. Gauri03

    Gauri03 Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks @Srama. OP, looks like your son has a genuine aptitude for picking up languages. I second Srama's suggestion to formulate a structured approach to channel his abilities properly. I would suggest doubling down on making him fluent in the mother tongue before tackling other languages. He should have an easy time picking it up considering the immersive environment at home with both parents speaking the same language. The benefits of knowing the mother tongue go beyond simple linguistic skills. They contribute to a child's cultural and familial identity.

    At his age he will occasionally mix up languages but his brain will sort it out as he grows older. Don't worry about his English skills for now. School will reinforce and add to what he already knows. Same with Hindi. When you feel he has a natural command over his mother tongue, you can start introducing him to other languages of his choice. You have a bright little learner on your hands! Good luck!
     
  8. Rihana

    Rihana Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Most likely he is a gifted, curious child and this is a phase. Meaning he is gifted and curious for life and the interest in many languages is a phase. While you read up on the topic and get more fluent in it : ) there are some more basic things you can do:
    - A 5 yr old should not watch youtube videos unaccompanied with an adult unless it is a cartoon or short movie that adult is very familiar with.
    - Screen time (including phone, TV, laptop, tablet, electronic games) should be limited to 2 hours total per day for a 5 yr old
    - Choose two languages (preferably English and mother tongue of mom/dad) and talk a lot with the child in those two languages. At this age, he is discovering the magic of books, ideas and thoughts and how books connect us to the world and to others. His interest in other languages can remain and will not go away.
    - Read with him. Talk about what was read. Alternate endings. Why the character did what he did. What if character from one book met one from another book. Try to increase time spent reading (ebook or print book) over time spent watching videos.
    - Encourage him to write (or you write what he dictates), and maybe even make videos of him narrating a story.

    About the interest in many languages - pay attention to it, and do not discourage it, but do not make a big deal out of it for now. I don't see any big immediate to short term benefit of consciously spending more time on it. So, develop his vocabulary in English and mother tongue, help him read more in English, talk about what is read. If mom or dad can read stories to him from mother tongue, that is great. For now, to appropriately nurture his interest in other languages, see if you can find local people who speak that language and willing to spend some regular time with him speaking those. Skype is also an option. For 5 years, I am very leery of relying too much on youtube videos.

    I don't want to put a damper or anything, but I have seen my own kids and those of close friends who had an amazing gift or aptitude, and that later turned out to be a passing phase. In the sense, child's interest in it did not remain that intense. Good Luck. And this is a beautiful parenting issue to have. : ) Enjoy.
     
  9. Viswamitra

    Viswamitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Only handful of children have a strong aptitude to learn more languages and it is very rare. While such aptitude needs to be encouraged, anything that is done without a structure is futile and will be of no value for the child's future. I have to agree with most here that the priority has to be the mother tongue besides English. Your child has a lot of time in life to learn a lot of languages. Teach mother tongue at home not only how to speak but read and write as well. Drifting away to other languages be a fun activity for now unless the child picks serious interest in other Indian languages.

    Viswa
     
  10. justanothergirl

    justanothergirl IL Hall of Fame

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    Thanks for the tag . @Srama . OP ur child seems to be fascinated by languages and has a flair for it. Nurture this passion.
    My oldest was that way since he was 3. He speaks both my mother tongue and DHs fluently. He can also read Tamil (something even I cannot) and devanagari. Both he learnt on his own online. He is also now learning telugu (he can already read it) just so he can appreciate many of the krithis better. He is also learning Spanish at school and loves it.
    It could be a phase for ur child or a life long passion. Only time will tell. Whatever it is..enjoy it with him.
    I see no reason to limit his exposure to a couple. Let him drive . I do however second @Srama @Gauri03 and @Rihana ideas of providing a structure. I did ok without it but looking back that wasn't the brightest thing to do.
     
    Last edited: Aug 16, 2017

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