How a Bilingual Nanny can teach your child a Foreign Language
With the amount of recent research on the benefits of children speaking more than one language, many parents are deciding to raise their children to be bilingual. The question that they are faced with though is how to raise a bilingual child when you don’t speak a second language yourself. A common option is hiring a Bilingual Nanny. Find below how a bilingual nanny can help teach kids a foreign language or improve the language they are learning at home.
1. Full Immersion in a foreign language
One of the most effective ways to have your child learn a second language is to have someone around speaking the language constantly to your child. Having a Nanny who speaks the target language and immersing your child in a natural environment effectively takes the pressure off learning, and instead it becomes a part of daily life.
There is less emphasis on actual teaching methods, and more on learning through culture, music and play. Children learn better through play and every day interaction, rather than lessons, so it makes sense that just as you as parents are passing on your language to your child, that a nanny spending time with them will do the same.
Recommended Reading:
Introducing a third language to bilingual kids
2. Exposing your child to another culture
Learning another language isn’t just about words, it is also about learning about another culture, another way of life. A bilingual nanny can give your child the chance to learn about other parts of the world, therefore helping you raise a more open minded child.
3. Cutting costs
Rather than pay for language lessons and tuition, hiring a bilingual nanny is a cost effective way to have your children learn a foreign language, while having the added bonus of childcare at your fingertips.
Instead of paying for a day care or nursery, and then paying for language lessons afterwards, hiring a nanny who speaks a foreign language will provide you with both in one.
4. You can start the language learning earlier
There is no reason to wait until your child is older just because language lessons start at a certain age. Research shows that children can be bilingual from birth. Young babies can discriminate sounds from just a few weeks old, so if you would like your child to learn another language, you can hire a nanny from birth.
Children are able to learn two or even three languages simultaneously, in fact in many families where each parent has a different mother tongue, it is a normal way of life and the children don’t seem to have any issues.
Language learning is like any other skill, it needs practice and hiring a bilingual nanny while your child is still young will give them constant exposure and practice from early on and the best chance at becoming fluent in the language.
Recommended Reading:
Bilingual Babies, Introduce languages early
Give your child the greatest gift
A bilingual nanny is one of the best ways for your child to learn a language. Another option is a bilingual Aupair. Bilingualism has shown to have many benefits for children including the ability to focus, multitask, and problem solve, and with a world progressing as it is, knowing another language can give your child more career opportunities later on. Languages are one of the greatest gifts in the world and your child will no doubt be thankful in the future.
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Denise
How do you get your Spanish-speaking nanny to speak/talk MORE? Our nanny knows very little English but doesn’t speak enough conversationally, or describing things, for our son to pick up on it. He’s already very bilingual because of another part-time nanny that we have, but she is pregnant and will be left with just this other nanny that doesn’t talk as much, and she often will revert to saying little things in the broken English that she knows (like “good boy” or “good job”). It’s like pulling teeth getting her to just speak 100% in Spanish, and to converse more with him so that he’s hearing the language more often!
Chontelle Bonfiglio - Bilingualkidspot
I would talk to her and ask her to speak like she would with her own children, to be natural and speak her native language. Provide lots of Spanish materials, books especially for her to read out loud. Activity books, flashcards, games, anything that is only in Spanish. Create a Spanish environment.
I asked our Spanish speaker to only ever speak Spanish with our kids. As I don’t speak Spanish, we don’t speak at all in front of them either, I try to speak with her in private.
Unfortunately it comes down to the person you have chosen. Talking and conversing is important. I think just sit down with her and really let her know your language goals, and how important it is for her only to speak Spanish.
Good luck!
The Gifted Gabber
I am with you 100% on this. I am a Spanish and ESL teacher and half-Hispanic. I am in very flailing attempts to raise my own children to speak a second language myself. It’s been a while since I’ve blogged about it, but it is something I am passionate about spreading the word about, too. I always tell friends that they should look into hiring a bilingual nanny or babysitter for language exposure. – Amy @ http://thegiftedgabber.com/
Bilingual Kidspot
It is definitely one of the best ways for your child to get the most exposure, although there are so many others. Make sure you take a look at my other posts, in particular How to raise a bilingual child if you don’t speak a second language:
https://bilingualkidspot.com/2016/06/05/raise-bilingual-children-dont-speak-second-language/
Good luck with it 🙂
caseyp1110
Very good argument for a bilingual nanny…great post!