Tips for Teaching a Second Language to Your Child

Studies have shown that children can learn a second language and retain the information much quicker and more efficiently than adults. That’s why you’d be doing your child a great service by teaching them at least one other language while they’re still young. Here are some things you can do to ensure that your child is excited about learning that new language and will remember it throughout the rest of their life.
· Find a language that’s easy to learn. Spanish is a great choice because it’s one of the easier foreign languages and it’s the second-most dominant language spoken in the United States.
· Visit your local library or bookstore and find beginner’s guides to that specific language. You might be able to find age-specific guides to make it easier. But if you can’t, any beginner’s guide will do. Start at the beginning and study each lesson yourself before trying to teach it to your child.
· Purchase, rent or borrow some audiotapes where the speaker uses the foreign language. Depending on your child’s age, they can either follow along with the written materials or simply listen to the language and absorb it.
· Say the words slowly and enunciate well. This way, your child knows exactly how it sounds when they try to say it.
· Start slow. Begin by introducing a couple words at a time into your daily vocabulary with your child. Make sure it’s words that you would use every day, such as clothing items or food dishes, just to name a few.
· Make it fun. Children learn and retain new information best when they can associate it with something fun.
· Ask others in your life to learn some of these words so your child can speak with them in the foreign language, too.
· Use visual aids. Not only do children learn better when the material is fun, they also learn better when they can associate the material with something they see and hear rather than material they just hear.
Following these simple steps is a great way to helping your child learn a second language.

Four Benefits for Teaching a Second Language to Children

Everybody knows the benefits of learning a second language as an adult. With increased earning potential and the chance to impress your friends, knowing another language can be both fun and advantageous. But did you know that children can benefit from expanding their second-language skills as well? Here are four benefits that you can give your child just by teaching him or her another language.
· Respecting Cultures
All too often, children grow up without experiencing cultures other than their own. By learning another language, children get a glimpse of how other cultures live. This not only expands their knowledge, it might help them appreciate their own culture even more.
· Job Opportunities
It’s often difficult for an adult to learn to speak another language fluently. Children, however, can learn at least one other language while they’re young and expand their career opportunities later in life.
· Studying Abroad
If your child learns a second language, they might have an opportunity in high school or college to study in a country that speaks that language. It’s a great chance to meet new friends and learn how people in other parts of the world live.
· Fitting In
Whether you like it or not, the nation is quickly becoming a bilingual nation. As such, children who can speak English and Spanish (or another language) have an advantage over their classmates and friends. Being bilingual gives them a sense of accomplishment and allows them to communicate more effectively in an ever-changing world.
With all of these benefits, it’s easy to see why you’d want to help your child learn a second language. Since younger children can learn a language quicker than older kids, it’s ideal to start them as young as possible. Do your children a favor by taking the steps necessary to ensure that they learn how to speak at least one other language fluently.

Five Tips for Learning a New Language

Learning a new language is a great way to learn more about your own language. Not only that, but becoming “bilingual” gives you a sense of pride and satisfaction for learning something as new and exciting as a second language. You might even open up your earning potential by knowing how to speak more than one or two languages. Following are some tips to help you learn a new language effectively.

-Learn the Vocabulary First
The vocabulary is the essential part of any language. The more words you learn and memorize, the more effectively you can communicate with others in your desired language. Flash cards are a great way to learn vocabulary. Simply put a word on one side of the card and then its foreign counterpart on the other side. Practice your vocabulary by mixing the cards up and looking on one side while translating it into the other language in your mind. You can even color-code the cards by putting the masculine nouns on blue cards and the feminine nouns on pink cards.

-Do Your Homework
If you’re taking a foreign language class, the homework is vital to helping you learn the language. This usually involves a mixture of listening to recordings of the new language in addition to memorizing vocabulary and other rules. Getting a classmate or several classmates together to practice is the ideal way because you can talk to each other using the language you’re studying. You’d be surprised how much of an impact group studying can have on learning a new language.

-Look for Ways to Use the Language
Try to act as though you’re living in the native land where your language is spoken. If you live in the United States and you’re studying Spanish, this is easy to do. Many services give you the choice of using English or Spanish, such as ATMs and telephone services. Choose Spanish and try to immerse yourself into the language as much as possible. You can even borrow books or magazines written in the new language from your local library. They might not be readable, but you can learn a great deal about context with this method. It might also be fun to watch the Spanish channel on television for awhile and get a feel for the affectations and other nuances of the language.

-Try Thinking in Your New Language
This might be hard to do at first, but the more you think about the language, the better you’ll be able to speak it. Think of how you would say certain phrases in the new language. When you see objects and you know the vocabulary for them, think about them in terms of the new language, too.

Careers for Translators and Interpreters

In a world where global communications are increasingly becoming the norm rather than the exception, there is a growing need for translators. Every country can use bilingual people no matter what their second language is. There is always a need for people who have learned a second language in order to help others communicate. If you’re considering a career as a translator or interpreter, here are some of the more popular settings in which your talents and education will be of great use.
· Literary Translator – People in this field adapt works of literature or other written pieces into another language for a variety of reasons. Another writer might need it translated or a company might even be working on publishing a number of works in different languages. Many times, translators in this field work with original authors to help maintain the tone and meaning of the work.
· Localization Translators – This is a rapidly-growing field that involves adapting a certain product or group of products for use by different cultures. Software is a great example of this position, but websites and manufacturing industries are in greater need of these services as the nation becomes more multicultural. The ultimate goal of a translator doing this type of work is to make the product sound like it was manufactured in the country where it’s going to be marketed and sold.
· Guide Interpreters – These professionals accompany guests around to new areas while they are visiting from another nation. This type of position is unique in that the translator needs to be skilled in interpreting during informal moments while maintaining the utmost professionalism during the more business-related moments. Many students entering a career in translation enjoy this type of job because of the travel associated with the position.
· Court Translator or Interpreter – The courts are always in need of people who can translate for them when a non-native speaker comes to court. Court translators are typically knowledgeable about legal terms and the judicial system in general as well as legal systems in other countries. In this position, you can work in different settings, including conferences between clients and lawyers, depositions, arraignments and actual trials. Sometimes, they are even called upon to translate documents and read them aloud for the entire court to hear.
· Freelancers – If you’re unsure about the type of field you want to enter after school, there is always the option of doing freelance translating. Simply advertise your services at places that can use them. By doing this, you have the opportunity to set your own rates and hours and you can be your own boss. You’ll need patience and a source of income before you start getting actual jobs, though. Many times, freelance translators make more money than the ones in a professional and traditional setting.
Translating and interpreting are two very useful professions. Graduates in these fields also have access to a wide variety of jobs and opportunities in several different settings. In our ever-changing world, this profession will be in demand for many years to come.