Tips for Parents

1.  Encourage your child to practice the new language every night – listening, speaking, reading and writing it.

2.  Allow your child to put labels on household objects to remind him or her of the foreign word for that object.

3.  Suggest your child make flashcards.

4.  Encourage your child to make friends with students who are studying the language or who already speak the language.

5.  Introduce your child to co-workers or others who are native speakers of the language and are willing to use it in basic conversation with your child.

6.  Go to the library or websites and look at foreign language magazines, newspapers and books.

7.  Check out CDs, computer programs and foreign language videos/DVDs your child can use for home study.

8.  If your child has access to the Internet, let him or her visit, under supervision, a chat room for foreign language students.

9.  If you are fluent in the language, don’t be overly critical of your child’s efforts.  Focus on what he or she does right.