Little Linguists: Say ‘Bonjour’, ‘Guten Tag’ and ‘Nǐ hǎo’ – Heathrow identifies the languages children should learn for future success
How to get your kids to say ‘Bonjour’, ‘Guten Tag’ and ‘Nǐ hǎo’ to their future
As technology makes the world a smaller place, language learning is becoming an ever more important priority to get our kids set up for their futures. To inspire children to try out new languages this Easter, Heathrow has announced
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its Little Linguists initiative which aims to get kids excited about the language learning process.
As part of the project, the airport worked with economists and consumer researchers to study the role that languages currently play in children’s lives as well as identifying the languages children should learn to set them up for maximum opportunities in ten years’ time. Interestingly, the findings revealed French, German and Mandarin as the top three languages, with language skills expected to add up to a huge £500 billion to the economy by
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2027.
With nearly half (45%) of us admitting our children can’t speak a second language, it seems that kids up and down the country aren’t making the most of the opportunities languages present them with. Nearly one in five children (19%) say they are not interested in learning new languages while one in ten (10%) say they find it too difficult, so it’s essential for parents to take an active role in helping our kids get confident trying out new languages.
In partnership with the founder of Bilingualism Matters and Professor of Developmental
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Linguistics at Edinburgh University, Antonella Sorace, Heathrow has created packs of Mr Adventure themed flashcards which feature a series of simple phrases to introduce kids to French, German and Mandarin during the school break. Professor Sorace has also shared her 5 top tips on language learning:
1. Teach through repetition to help your kids become familiar with the way the new words sound
Hearing words and phrases repeated in different ways helps children to remember them better and figure out how the language works.
2. Play games in the
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foreign language to keep learning fun (e.g. Pictionary, I Spy)
Games can help to get them more engaged with the new language.
3. The more input from native speakers, the better so holidays are the perfect time to practice
Helps children to better learn the grammar and the pronunciation of words and phrases.
4. Encourage kids to watch TV shows and listen to pop music from the country of the language they are learning
Listening to music lyrics teaches children how the language is constructed and helps them sound more like a native speaker.
5.
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Be positive! Support and encourage your child when they are learning a new language
Why not hold dedicated language learning nights where you practice speaking the language all together over dinner?
As well as the Little Linguists initiative, the airport has several family-friendly offers during the Easter holidays, including ‘kids eat free’ at restaurants, soft play areas and appearances by Mr Adventure himself.
To download the flashcards for your kids and to find out more about Heathrow’s family-friendly initiatives, visit
Little Linguists: Say ‘Bonjour’, ‘Guten Tag’ and ‘Nǐ hǎo’ – Heathrow identifies the languages children should learn for future success
How to get your kids to say ‘Bonjour’, ‘Guten Tag’ and ‘Nǐ hǎo’ to their future
As technology makes the world a smaller place, language learning is becoming an ever more important priority to get our kids set up for their futures. To inspire children to try out new languages this Easter, Heathrow has announced its Little Linguists initiative which aims to get kids excited about the language learning process.
As part of the project, the airport worked with economists and consumer researchers to study the role that languages currently play in children’s lives as well as identifying the languages children should learn to set them up for maximum opportunities in ten years’ time. Interestingly, the findings revealed French, German and Mandarin as the top three languages, with language skills expected to add up to a huge £500 billion to the economy by 2027.
With nearly half (45%) of us admitting our children can’t speak a second language, it seems that kids up and down the country aren’t making the most of the opportunities languages present them with. Nearly one in five children (19%) say they are not interested in learning new languages while one in ten (10%) say they find it too difficult, so it’s essential for parents to take an active role in helping our kids get confident trying out new languages.
In partnership with the founder of Bilingualism Matters and Professor of Developmental Linguistics at Edinburgh University, Antonella Sorace, Heathrow has created packs of Mr Adventure themed flashcards which feature a series of simple phrases to introduce kids to French, German and Mandarin during the school break. Professor Sorace has also shared her 5 top tips on language learning:
1. Teach through repetition to help your kids become familiar with the way the new words sound
Hearing words and phrases repeated in different ways helps children to remember them better and figure out how the language works.
2. Play games in the foreign language to keep learning fun (e.g. Pictionary, I Spy)
Games can help to get them more engaged with the new language.
3. The more input from native speakers, the better so holidays are the perfect time to practice
Helps children to better learn the grammar and the pronunciation of words and phrases.
4. Encourage kids to watch TV shows and listen to pop music from the country of the language they are learning
Listening to music lyrics teaches children how the language is constructed and helps them sound more like a native speaker.
5. Be positive! Support and encourage your child when they are learning a new language
Why not hold dedicated language learning nights where you practice speaking the language all together over dinner?
As well as the Little Linguists initiative, the airport has several family-friendly offers during the Easter holidays, including ‘kids eat free’ at restaurants, soft play areas and appearances by Mr Adventure himself.
To download the flashcards for your kids and to find out more about Heathrow’s family-friendly initiatives, visit http://www.heathrow.com/family.
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