Family Resources

How Can I Support My Child When I Don't Speak the Target Language?

Often parents worry about how they will be able to help their children learn how to speak the target language when they themselves don’t speak it. Don’t worry! You don’t have to speak any of it for your children to succeed.

You should provide your children with time to practice the target language during the school week. Just as skills like Reading, English, and Math need to be reinforced at home, so do the language skills your child is learning. This does not need to be incredibly time-consuming. Fifteen to thirty minutes of language time each school night can give your child the reinforcement he or she needs. The following are suggestions of how non-target language-speaking parents can help create this language time for their children.

 CHINESE

• Parents help at home
  
• http://www.mandarintools.com (On-line Chinese Tools)
• http://www.languageguide.org/mandarin/vocabulary/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-_P_H9gMmo (Four Tones of Mandarin)
• http://mandarin.about.com/od/writingmandarin/a/writebyhand.html (Learning to Write Chinese Characters)
• Dictionaries
  • http://linedictionary.naver.com/dict.html#/cnen/ (includes stroke order animation)
  • http://www.mandarintools.com/worddict.html (Mandarin Tools Chinese/English Dictionary
  • http://www.zhongwen.com (ZhongWen Characters Etymologies)
• Vocabulary
  • http://www.semanda.com/pdf/flashcards_animals.pdf (Free Mandarin Chinese Flashcards)
  • http://www.semanda.com/wordlists_select.aspx?activityID=11 
  • http://www.semanda.com/wordlists_select.aspx?activityID=14
• Other Sites:
  • http://readchinese.nflc.org/?page=home  (Read Chinese!)

SPANISH

• Check out TV show websites that feature Spanish activities:
  • Maya Y Miguel
  • Dora the Explorer
  • Sesame Street Spanish Word of the Day Game
• Games in Spanish
  • Literacy Center Education Network
  • Reading is Fundamental
  • Games to Practice Spanish
• Other Sites:
  • Little Explorers Spanish/English Picture Dictionary
  • Links to Spanish resources & games
• Get help with math homework with these helpful terms:
  • Common Math Directions in English and Spanish

FRENCH

•  World Book Student Encyclopedia in French
• http://www.isfrench.com/beginners2.html

PORTUGUESE  

http://utahportuguesedli.org

Learn the Portuguese Alphabet  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix_ougC1TNQ

10 Important Reasons Why Learn Portuguese   https://www.fluentu.com/blog/portuguese/why-learn-portuguese/

Guide to Portuguese  http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/portuguese/guide/

Talk Portuguese   http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/portuguese/talk/

Learn Portuguese Vocabulary and Phrases https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSdEhOEJ9Oc

Learn Portuguese (Kids Video)   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfD4zLFTbSM