How can we teach our kids a second language if we don't speak it?
Parents who are not fluent in a second language and lack nearby friends or family who speak it find it nearly impossible to provide natural interaction or teaching at home. Without access to native speakers or community resources, children miss out on conversational practice, leading to hesitation, fear of making mistakes, and difficulty making friends in immersion schools.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1Using foreign language song books and music
- 2Switching children's TV shows to foreign language audio tracks
- 3Searching for local community groups or libraries
- 4Enrolling children in early language classes
- 5Trying to find extracurricular activities in French like sports or art classes
- 6Speaking and practicing French at home and making it playful
- 7Seeking out friends or playdates who are strictly francophone
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Our son, 9 yo, first attended a Catalan school, and last year we moved him to a French school. He’s now in his second year, with almost all subjects taught in French.”source ↗
“He understands quite a lot, but he’s very hesitant to speak and afraid of making mistakes.”source ↗
“I was unable to find any nannies who speak these languages who I also wanted as a nanny, unfortunately. I don't have access to anyone for her to interact with.”source ↗
“We found it near impossible to teach our child my wifes 2nd language when I dont speak it and my wife is terrible at it so also uses English withh him.”source ↗
“he does not have french friends (( I think because of the language level, and he is an introvert((”source ↗
“The problem is we both are fairly shoddy at a second language we barely know and have no family or friends nearby who can speak a foreign language.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 7How to raise a trilingual child when one language is rusty
- 2Native English speaker stuck in an ESL class
- 4Why isn't my one-year-old talking yet?
- 2What to do when you can't understand a student's speech impediment
- 7Why does everything I learned with my first baby fail on the second?
- 3What does my child actually need to know before starting school?