10 Language Hacks to Keep Skills Sharp During Summer Break

For families studying in a multilingual school, one of the unique challenges of an extended break such as the summer holiday is a possible decline in practise or use of a child’s foreign or second language skills.

Practising a foreign language, especially when there’s no genuine reason or a confident speaker to practise it with, is a challenge for any individual at any age, let alone a young child. Add to this the freedom from academic expectations that one comes to expect during an extended break which may make children resistant to studying. 

So try this alternative instead; use this “study time” as an opportunity to bond.

Emily Laws, DUCKS’ EAL (English as an Additional Language) Coordinator, explains that the best way to motivate children to learn is for parents to be good role models themselves and by showing interest in their child’s learning and development. “Parents are the main influence in their children’s lives, so being involved and interested in their children’s learning and development can help build firm foundations. By demonstrating to our young children how they as parents would read and learn languages, parents not only serve as good role models but also encourage children to foster independence and build social and emotional skills such as resilience and confidence.”

During the school year, our DUCKS team regularly organises Parent Academies to share more about our teaching pedagogy and provide suggestions to our parents. Here are some tips that have been shared during those sessions to help students keep their second language skills sharp this summer and have fun at it:

1

 Try to extend your child’s words and phrases.

Encourage your child to expand their vocabulary and language skills by building upon their spoken words and phrases. The funnier it is, the more memorable it becomes! Don’t worry too much about their mistakes; the goal is to build your child’s confidence. 

2

Use of songs and audiobooks.

Incorporating music and audio-based materials can help enhance children’s language development and get them more engaged. Supplement songs with a dance or audiobooks with some actions to help young children be even better engaged. For your more artistic children, encourage them to draw illustrations as they listen to the stories or audiobooks. 

3

Read for pleasure.

Use this as an opportunity to spend quality time with your child by cuddling up with a book. Not only will your child enjoy reading, but they will also cherish the comfort of their parent’s affection. 

4

Reread the same book.

Repeatedly reading a children’s book helps reinforce comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency. If you read it often enough, your child may even end up memorising the words. You can also encourage them to tell whole stories using story maps, or pictures and symbols with arrows.  

5

Use discussion prompts.

Engaging children in topics they are interested in using the target language may motivate them to speak it with you. If your child does not respond in the target language, don’t worry; simply seeing their parents trying to speak the target language may encourage them to follow suit. If you throw in a few very obviously incorrect words, your child may even try to correct you and say the sentences themselves!

6

Play games including board games. 

Who doesn’t love a good game? Some interactive games such as Guess Who and even a memory game using cards in the target language can also be used for language practice. Shared Ms Laws, “The social conventions of turn-taking and eye contact can be practised in a more natural way through playing games. Here at DCB, we often play games to start lessons to help children feel at ease and confident to join in.”  

7

Arrange playdates.

Organising a social gathering with other children can help facilitate language development through play and interaction. 

8

Play ‘dress up’ and role play.

Encourage imaginative play and storytelling through dressing up and assuming different roles. This can help aid in language development and creativity.

9

Write a diary. 

Encouraging children to write about their daily experiences and thoughts in a diary can help enhance their written expression and reflection. According to Ms Laws, recounting what they have done is one of the easiest and most accessible genres for children. For older learners, this is a natural opportunity to see which past tense verbs they can recall.   

10

Review Seesaw, the Home Learning projects and Unit of Investigation newsletters.

Looking for more ideas on what to do? Do take a walk down memory lane by scrolling through your child's Seesaw with your child and encouraging them to choose the next project you can work on together. For our DUCKS families, do review our Word and Phrase of the Week videos in our Home Learning projects prepared by our EAL team. The children can choose a word or phrase to do with their holiday and then even make their own videos! 

Enjoy the remainder of your summer holiday, and we look forward to seeing you all in the new school year!

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对于在多语言学校学习的家庭来说，暑假这种长假期会给语言学习带来一些独特的挑战，那就是孩子使用外语或锻炼第二语言技能的机会变少了。

学习语言的过程中，如果身边没有说该语言的人，或者缺乏很强的推动力，对任何年龄的人来说都是一个挑战，更不用说年幼的孩子了。与此同时，在长假中，孩子们可能存在摆脱学业的期望，这会让孩子们抗拒学习。因此，我们建议用替代方案，将“学习时间”作为建立亲子联系的机会。

北京德威学前部EAL（English as an Additional Language）协调员Emily Laws解释说，激励孩子学习的最佳方式是父母做出好的榜样，并对孩子的学习和发展表现出兴趣。“父母是孩子生活中的主要影响者，父母参与孩子的学习、并对孩子的学习和发展感兴趣，可以有助于为孩子奠定坚实的基础。父母表现出自己对阅读和语言学习的参与，可以为我们年幼的孩子做出好的榜样，还可以鼓励孩子培养独立学习的习惯，培养社交和情感技能比如韧性和信心。”

在学年期间，我们的学前部教职员工定期组织家长研讨会，介绍和分享我们的教学法，并为家长提供建议。在这些研讨会中，我们与家长分享了一些技巧，可以帮助学生在暑假期间用比较有趣的方式，继续锻炼语言技能：

1

试着扩展孩子的单词和词组

鼓励孩子在现有口语单词和词组的基础上，发展词汇量和语言技能。词语越有趣，就越令人难忘！不要太担心孩子说的过程种出现错误，目标是建立孩子的信心。

2

利用歌曲和有声读物

将音乐和音频材料结合起来使用，有助于提高儿童的语言发展，让他们更加愿意参与学习。用舞蹈或有声读物加上歌曲，帮助年幼的孩子更好地参与进来。对于那些艺术兴趣强的孩子，鼓励他们在听故事或有声读物时画出插图。

3

阅读的乐趣

利用暑假的机会，好好读一本书，与孩子共度美好时光。你的孩子不仅会喜欢读书，还会珍惜亲子阅读过程中父母的关爱。

4

反复阅读同一本书

反复阅读某本儿童读物有助于增强孩子的理解力、词汇量和语言流利。如果你经常读一本书，你的孩子甚至可能会记住里面的单词。你也可以鼓励他们使用故事地图或带有箭头的图片和符号讲述整个故事。

5

使用语言进行讨论

使用目标语言让孩子们参与他们感兴趣的话题，可能会激励他们更多的交谈。如果你的孩子没有用目标语言回应，不要担心；仅仅是看到他们的父母试图说该语言，就可能鼓励他们去效仿。如果你加了几个明显不正确的单词，你的孩子甚至可能会试图纠正你并自己说出这些句子！

6

玩游戏，包括棋盘游戏的乐趣

哪个孩子不喜欢玩游戏呢？一些互动游戏，如Guess Who，或者使用目标语言卡片的记忆游戏，也可以用于语言练习。Emily Laws女士分享道：“在游戏过程中孩子自然而然地锻炼了轮流等候和眼神交流这样的社会技能。在北京德威，我们经常用玩游戏地方式开始上课，帮助孩子们放松和建立自信。”

7

与小伙伴相约

组织与其他孩子的社交聚会有助于通过游戏和互动促进语言发展。

8

角色扮演

通过扮演不同的角色来鼓励孩子参与富有想象力的游戏和讲故事，这有助于语言的发展和创造力的锻炼。

9

写日记

鼓励孩子在日记中写下他们的日常经历和想法有助于增强他们的书面表达和反思能力。根据Emily Laws女士的说法，讲述自身的经历是最容易被孩子们接受的表达类型之一。对于年龄较大的学生来说，这是一个自然的学习机会，比如可以看看他们能回忆起哪些过去时动词。

10

复习Seesaw的家庭学习项目

和调查单元通讯。

还想找到更多灵感吗？和你的孩子一起回顾Seesaw里的内容，鼓励孩子来选择下一个可以一起做的项目，这样你就可以在记忆中漫步了。在学前部家庭学习项目中，一定要复习我们的EAL团队准备的每周单词和词组视频。孩子们可以选择一个与自己假期相关的单词或词组，甚至可以制作自己的视频！

祝您暑假愉快，

我们期待着在新学年里与您见面！

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