The many cognitive, academic and social benefits of learning foreign languages ​​have encouraged parents around the world to raise bilingual children. To take advantage of this unique stage in life, parents interested in bilingualism have to make a conscious effort to help their children learn.

Here we describe five methods for raising bilingual children.

1. One parent, one language

In families where each parent has a different language, a popular technique is “One parent, one language” (also called “One person, one language” or OPOL). As the name suggests, parents who practice OPOL only speak their native language to their children, both at home and abroad. For example, a Greek mother speaks Greek and a English father speaks English. We must take into account the case in which the family lives in a country whose language is not one of their languages ​​(for example, Spain). In this case, that language becomes the majority language and logically the children will use it in a more habitual way and will dominate it more quickly. It will be helpful to stock up on resources, such as books and movies, and to interact regularly with other minority language speakers (including family members, friends or a babysitter).

2. Minority language at home

Another option is the technique “minority language at home” or ML @ H. This can work when the two parents are comfortable in one of the two languages ​​spoken by the couple or in more native languages. For example, an Greek mother raises her children in America with her American husband, who also speaks Greek. In this case, the whole family speaks Greek at home, but outside the home they speak English. This approach can avoid the feeling that many parents have that they are “excluding” others from the interaction with their family when they are away from home. It also provides a clear framework for children, the home becomes the “switch” to change language.

3. Living in another Country

In this case, a family moves to a foreign country and speaks the mother tongue of the parents at home (or languages), while the children learn and speak the language of their adopted country at school or with their friends. A great advantage of this option is that children will progress thanks to a foreign school system, which will make them know effectively what it is to study abroad before reaching college age. Once they become adults, these children – sometimes called “Children of the Third Culture” – find the idea of ​​going to study or work abroad less intimidating.

4. Linguistic Immersion Programs

If moving abroad is not an option, parents may wish to look for foreign language schools in their own country, where students are provided with a language immersion in which all classes are taught in a foreign language. Parents can use these schools to strengthen a minority language while living abroad or to instill a second language for their children while living in their own country. The possibility of studying modules abroad, in addition to the linguistic immersion provided, can expand the later options for higher studies or careers.

5. Learning a language at home and abroad

For monolingual parents who do not have the possibility of moving abroad, one way for their children to learn another language is to look for options to interact in another language. Although children are often referred to as “sponges”, it is important to remember that although it is much easier for young minds to learn foreign languages, they still need a lot of practical (and varied) hours. You can attack the problem from a number of angles; targeting children to language classes, summer schools and study trips abroad.  You can even find cartoons and kids’ shows in several languages on YouTube. Cartoons and TV shows allow bilingual children to hear different tones and accents, and even different expressions in the second language they are learning. Their vocabulary and comprehension will also be greatly enhanced by hearing different characters play out stories in the kids’ second language.

Adults, unlike children, return to school when changes in their way of life require it. A promotion, the need to have a better salary, change of work, and even update your knowledge; These are the things that make adults go back to school.

The key ingredients to succeed in adult education is skill, prior knowledge and motivation.

Skill

Skill is the ability with which each of us was born and that allows us to acquire new knowledge. The ability varies among individuals, some have abilities for some thing and others for another. Then, the learning ability is the intellectual capacity that each one of us possesses and that greatly influences our possibilities of learning something.

Prior knowledge
The skill or fitness is intimately linked to what we already know and this in turn has a great relationship with the success of any teaching-learning process.

Motivation
The motivation seems to be affected by three ingredients: courage, confidence and state of mind. The more value we assign something the more motivated we feel to learn more of that. If we value  that we are seen as knowledgeable about music then obviously we are going to try to learn as much as we can about music.  The more we value something the higher is our motivation to learn about that.

Henry Ford once said “if you think you can or if you think you can not, you’re right”.  All of us are aware of our abilities but having confidence can help us to achieve higher goals, confidence is greatly affected by your state of mind/mood.

Learning new skills in the right environment will help with your confidence levels and mood.

The benefits of teaching abroad are numerous and often very personal, you get the opportunity to immerse yourselves in different cultures, learn new languages, get paid to travel, exchange ideas between cultures and experience professional success. Teachers working overseas can find themselves working to help the communities where they live and teach. Most people who teach abroad will teach English as this a subject that is in high demand in other countries. Countries that have compulsory English education for children are especially eager to hire native English speakers to teach in their schools.There are almost no limits to where a person can teach English abroad.

Almost all countries that do not speak English have schools that hire teachers from abroad to teach children and adults. This can be an experience of humility and gratification. People who are teaching abroad have a wide range of careers to choose from. There are several types of teaching jobs abroad — teaching English to children, teaching students who need to learn English for college, teaching business English and teaching adults.

One thing to keep in mind is that it could take several months for all the paperwork to go through, including work and accommodation visas. For this reason, it is important to plan ahead when looking for teaching jobs abroad. Each country and each school has its own requirements to be a teacher. Many countries require a teaching certificate to teach English abroad. Some examples of certificates to teach English abroad are the Cambridge, TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), TESOL (Teaching English for Speakers of Other Languages).

Some schools offer benefits in addition to salary, including free language classes, transportation, medical insurance and advance payment for airline tickets and visas. Other schools offer the minimum — just enough money to live, plus an apartment.

You will be travelling the world whilst teaching ….. the adventures is yours to pursue. Our 4 t0 5 weeks intensive TEFL/TESOL course will provide you with the necessary certificates.

The learning of second languages ​​is perceived as a necessity by adults. An uneasiness that is reflected, in particular, in the case of the English language. In this way in the Spanish context, in a study carried out on the continuous training of workers, languages ​​are demanded by almost 30%, emphasizing English. In fact, citizens increasingly experience different problems in the “digital society” linked to work, communication or the search for information as a result of the lack or deficient command of the English language. This means that, although there is currently a greater amount of resources available, especially those associated with information and communication technologies, it continues to be complex for teachers to teach a foreign language and for students to develop skills.

Learning English as a foreign language is difficult and often produces anxiety. However, adult students recognize that their acquisition offers the advantage of providing many professional opportunities. Possibly, as a consequence of the aforementioned benefit, the classes most demanded by both young and adult students are computer and English classes.

In general, in the learning of a foreign language, the fundamental obstacles encountered by the students derive from the teaching style and the didactic method. Despite the existence of a great diversity, the use of innovative methodologies or that are attractive to students is not frequent.

Among the best known methods for the development of the teaching-learning process of a foreign language are the following ones

Grammar-translation or traditional method, pay special attention to the instruction of grammar rules. The explanations of the teaching staff are based on the mother tongue or the official language.

Direct method, is based on the direct connection of the foreign word with the reality it represents. Encourages oral expression and memorization of vocabulary.

Audio-oral method, prioritizes the use of spoken language (oral expression and hearing) from reproduction or repetition.

Audiovisual method is based on the use of visual and auditory resources to develop the ability to listen and understand spoken language through interaction.

Communicative approach, enhances the learning of the language from the communication in the foreign language, although initially contaminating it with the vehicular language.

Project-based learning, privileges the use of strategies focused on students through active participation, the development of motivation and group work.

Which do you think are the most spoken languages ​​in the world?

Of these almost 7000 languages, in Europe there are only 230 spoken, while in Asia there are more than 2,000 spoken. In Papua New Guinea, a small country in Oceania with approximately 3.9 million inhabitants, you can find the impressive amount of more of 830 different languages.

We will not comment on the 6900 languages. For now, we are going to focus on the five most important and most talked about in the world, which will probably never be in danger of extinction.

5. Arabic, more than 50 million native speakers

Arabic has a large number of dialects that are not comprehensible to each other. Classical Arabic is also the sacred language of Islam and the Koran is only recited in Arabic during prayer.

4. Hindi, one of the most spoken languages ​​in the world with more than 310 million speakers

Hindi is spoken mainly in India and Nepal, and is part of the Hindi language family; More than one hundred million people speak a language related to Hindi.

3. English more than 360 million native speakers

Although it only occupies the third place, English is still the most important language in the world (so, the glass is half full in this case) and is the one that most people speak as second, third or fourth language.

2. Spanish, undoubtedly one of the most spoken languages ​​in the world with 405 million native speakers

The silver medal is for Spanish and the thirty countries in which it is spoken. Olé!

1. Mandarin, more than 955 million native speakers

Mandarin is part of the Chinese language family and is spoken by a large number of people, mainly in China, Taiwan and Singapore and is undoubtedly one of the most spoken languages ​​in the world.

These big numbers are hard to understand. Even if I add my four hundred Facebook friends, and all my friends offline, I can imagine how almost a billion native Mandarin speakers can sound! This wonderful infographic ingeniously breaks down the most spoken languages ​​in the world.

Colloquial English: the essential idioms to speak English like a native

Idioms are colloquial expressions in English, which although often do not mean exactly what they seem and their understanding is a bit complicated for foreign students, they are very common in the colloquial English language. Knowing them guarantees an increase in the richness and depth of the vocabulary and is the essential step to pass from a basic English level to a more advanced one. There are many but in this post we will show you what for us are the essential languages ​​to speak English like a native.

Colloquial expressions are common in any language, can you imagine a Spaniard talking to a friend without saying a phrase? “It has been a piece of cake” or “Better a bird in the hand than a hundred flying”; because in English it is exactly the same, there is an idiom for each situation and knowing some of them facilitates fluent communication and understanding of real English, which is spoken by the natives.

10 idioms to expand your English vocabulary

We could be expanding this list continuously, but so that you do not get overwhelmed with so much new knowledge, we will highlight 10 idioms with a clear equivalence in Spanish to help you express some common ideas and feel comfortable if you are starting in English. Of course, there are many more and if you know someone curious do not hesitate to share it with us in comments.

1. Ball is in your court
Meaning: It is up to oneself to make the decision about a specific issue
2.Do not judge a book by its cover
Meaning: Do not judge something or someone by their appearance
3.Don’t put all your eggs in the basket
Meaning: play everything, without taking into account the risk
4.To miss the boat
Meaning: Missing an opportunity
5.Give the benefit of the doubt
Meaning: Trust a person, give him a chance
6.A penny for your thoughts
Meaning: A way to ask someone about what they are thinking
7.A chip off the old block
Meaning: Great similarity between 2 people of the same family
9.A pig with lipstick is still a pig
Meaning: Is translation needed?
10.Cost an arm and a leg
Meaning: To be very expensive

Quickly advance in the chosen language, either to start in your study or to prepare an official exam.

Intensives, normally, serve to achieve a short-term objective. So, it is a way to achieve personal satisfaction by meeting a specific goal.
They concentrate a short period of time a large number of classes, specifying the most suitable content for the student, leaving aside the most superfluous aspects and focusing on the most important for the purpose marked, in classes perfectly organized and structured to squeeze as much as possible. the four linguistic skills, that is, oral and written comprehension and expression.

• Do an intensive course to improve and consolidate all the contents and concepts learned during the general course.
• Choose an intensive one if I had little time to study something I like.
• To recycle. That is, to remember concepts and incorporate new ones.
• Through an intensive you have the opportunity to get to the point you want and start a new season at the level that suits the appropriate language to get where you want.
• Take advantage of free time and / or holidays to learn and enjoy something that I like and that will allow me to have ample work opportunities.
• It is about assuming notions, revising concepts, acquiring vocabulary or specifying and directing the steps towards the goal marked.

“For many of us ,every classroom we have ever known has 4 walls, rows of desks, a large writing board and a teacher in front of it.

Something like factories ,which produced workers for an industrialized economy. But, should the students be processed through the school system like chicken nuggets on an assembly line?”

We at Plato Institutes in Limassol Cyprus do not believe so. When it comes to our English Summer courses we take the classroom outside and adopt and improvise! Kids love it.

“Twist and shout if you can .One way that schools are letting pupils down is by boring them” A research carried out by the National Training Laboratories in US found out that students can only remember 5% of information taught to them through lecturing .Sitting still and passively receiving instruction is the traditional way pupils are educated ,and yet studies of the brain show that learning is optimised when accompanied by movement :Learning by Doing, TPR (Total Physical Response) and acting. Actually, this philosophy is behind all our Supermind English Learning classes ( www.supermind-kids.com) .
Plato and Socrates had the right idea when they conducted classes by walking and talking with their students in the orchard surrounding the Academy in Athens. Sophocles went one better than his ancient philosopher combrade. He believed in hands-on learning .

“ One must learn by doing the thing ,for though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try” This means that instead of reading about fruit in a book ,we visit a fruit market and through simulations we actually Learn by Doing. We at Plato feel proud about our innovative English Learning

Programmes for kids, teens and adults.

To learn more about Superminds go to : www.suopermind-kids.com or Contact Us Now

For Europeans ,the expression “Summer holidays” is synonymous with the beach and as the Summer holiday time begins they start getting ready to discover the pleasures of the seaside .

Well, this Summer we suggest Limassol in Cyprus  where one can enjoy learning English  with leisure .

Cyprus in general and mainly Limassol  are  the places where tourists, individuals and   families  alike  can combine learning English with accommodation and a rich  activity programme.

Limassol as an emerging English Learning destination offers first quality English courses in the friendly  learning environment of Plato Institute ,licensed by the Cyprus Ministry of Education and   accredited member of  ELSAC.

Cyprus with 10000 years of history and civilization has so much to offer visitors looking for a relaxing holiday on the clean beaches of the island  , found  in Limassol ,Protaras, Pafos, Ayia Napa  ,Latsi, Pomos, Akamas and in all the other coastal cities in Cyprus .

The rich English Learning Programmes offered by English language schools  in Limassol ,including  Plato Institute established in 1972, combined  with an  activity programme and FB accommodation are ideal both for students  and families.

Special English programmes for kids ages 3-4 and 5-6 offered by Superminds ( www.supermin-kids.com)  as well as ESP (English for Special Purposes) on Business, Education, Tourism and Creative Writing    are also offered by Plato  English Institute in Limassol   .

Summer activities include: Swimming, Water Sports, Canoeing, Sailing, Beach Volley, Basket Ball, excursions ,competitions, visits, beach party, disco, village culture and many other events and activities.

So if you are looking for sea, sun and fun combined with a  first class  English course the answer is: Come to Limassol and register at an English school member of ELSAC.

Plato Institute is a full member of ELSAC
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Exam Update

The Cambridge English: Young Learners Exams, Pre A1 Starters,A1 Movers & A2 Flyers are fun, colourful ,activity based and  motivating  children to Learn by Doing. The same methodology  is used by Superminds ( www.supermind-kids.com) English Learning for Kids ages 3-4 & 5-6 in Limassol Cyprus at Plato Educational Services.

As part of the University of Cambridge, Cambridge English  regularly reviews all of the exams  to make sure they are up to date with the latest research in language learning and teaching.

The 2018 updates below refer to the changes to PreA1 Starters,A1 Movers and A2 Flyers:

STARTERS: Listening

The new Starters Listening Part 1 task is now the same task as Cambridge English: Movers and Flyers Part 1 but is targeted at Pre –A1 level. Instead of placing  objects on the picture ,children will need to match names to people.

Speaking: It is now made up of four tasks and the examiner will now ask the child their name. The new Part 1 combines the content from the existing Part 1 & 2.An additional question has been added .Children now need to talk about the picture, rather than point .For example (tell me about ….  ) to Part 2

MOVERS: Listening

Part 3 includes matching a list of illustrated words or names with a set of pictures, instead of matching days of the week. This is now the same task as  Cambridge: English Flyers Part 3 (but is targeted at A1 level)At new Movers Listening Part 5 children no longer have to draw as part of this question as  this task might be stressful for children,  they will now have to write a word.

Reading & Writing  paper: The total number of questions has now been reduced from 40 to 35.The new Part 1 task  has now only 5 questions Part 2 has only 6 questions and Part 3 has now only 7 questions. In Part 6 there is a new Writing task which replaces the existing Part 2.In this task candidates have to complete  sentences, respond to questions and write in full sentences about a picture

Speaking: In the updated exam, the examiner will ask the child their name and age. In Part 2 the story now has a title and the characters have been given names to provide appropriate context and support.

A2 Flyers

Listening: In Part 5 ,candidates no longer have to draw as art of this question. As this task might be stressful for some children, they will now have just to write a word.

Reading & Writing

At Flyers, the task has been changed to bring easier tasks to the beginning of the test. Also there are now 44 questions instead of 50.The current Part 2  has been removed to make room for a new Writing task Part 7,where candidates write a short story based on three picture prompts.

In Part 3 the word options which the children are asked to select from, are now placed before the text

Speaking: In the updated Flyers peaking ,the examiner will now ask the child their name ,family name and age. In Part 3,the story now has a title and the characters have been given names to  provide appropriate context and support

Source: ELT News Magazine

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