5 simple ways to get kids excited about other cultures
September 20, 2020
When I was young, I used to go to Greek School. If I was doing a blog about 5 ways to make your kids NOT excited about another culture, my old greek school would be top of the list! I can remember sitting there in a crowded room, with a grumpy teacher, getting bored out of my brain trying to learn the Greek alphabet.
But spare a thought for my parents: this was before the internet before you could get any book on Amazon… they did the best they could. But now, we’ve got no excuses! But don’t worry, it’s really easy to introduce kids to a new culture. The secret is, as Mary Poppins said, ‘find the fun and -poof- the job’s a game!”
Here are 5 ways to get kids excited about other cultures
1) Go loco for lingo!
A second language opens a child’s mind, broadens their horizons, and enriches their emotional life. Research has shown that the time between a child’s birth and their sixth or seventh birthday is a ‘golden period’ when they are most receptive to new languages. This is because they have an in-built ability to distinguish the sounds they hear and make sense of them.
But more than that, it’s also a wonderful thing to celebrate other cultures, and a second language is a great way to really start to get the feel of another culture.
I don’t know about you, but my kids love word games, and there’s lots of fun to be had with introducing a new language. The best thing is to take it easy and keep it fun. It might be something as simple as telling kids that ‘Yes Yes’ in French is ‘Oui Oui’. All you need to do is plant the seed and then hopefully the kids will want to find out more.
Another favourite language game is to take a song that the kids already know and listen to it in another language. Let it Go from Disney’s Frozen is one of those songs I’m sure you probably know all of the words already, but did you know that there are versions in almost every language under the sun? There are all the usual suspects, like French, Spanish, German but did you know they have a Finnish version? The beauty of this is that it’s not necessarily about learning the language, it’s about getting kids excited about different languages, so the more the merrier! Ask them which language version was the best!
And once you’ve got them started, try some special guests from Sesame street around the world. Teach German to kids via Sesame Street. Or maybe give Sesame Street in Arabic a try.
2) Ready, Set, Read!
Books are a great way to introduce kids to another culture or another language and you’ve got quite a few different options, depending on your child’s preferences.
Stories from around the world. There are so many wonderful lists on this site – check em out! My personal top three are:
Do also consider stories that mix both English and the second language: These kinds of books are great because they mimic the way a child learns in real life – where languages get mixed up together.
One great example is The Fabulous Lost and Found book series which aims to help kids laugh as they learn. It has a really unique approach for kids aged 3+. One character speaks in the new language, and the rest all speak English. The hero is a little mouse who has lost something precious but only speaks French (or Spanish, Polish, Welsh, Chinese, Tagalog, or any one of the 30 other languages depending on the version!). She goes into the Lost and Found office and charming Mr. and Mrs. Frog have to figure out what she has lost. As the story unfolds, the kids work together with the Frogs and before long, they’ve learned 50 words in another language. On Amazon in paperback and ebook: Mark Pallis
3) Go big!
This one is my fave. It’s a day, afternoon, or evening where you go all out and really celebrate another country’s culture. If you or someone in your family is from another country, this could be a national day or even timed to coincide with when a relative comes to visit. Or, you could just have one day a month where you celebrate another language and culture.
Things that you can do:
Food – learn about food with the kids and pick a dish that you can make together.
Craft – painting the flag of the country, drawing some of its famous landmarks or building them out of Legos. Or even trying on or making some of the national dress.
Dance – You can listen to some songs on youtube – you can search for ‘Traditional songs’ from that country, or you can get versions of songs like Frozen in that language. Why not try some traditional dancing.
Learn – Even something as simple as the Wikipedia entry for the country will have lots of funky facts that kids love, whether it’s something about the history, exports, or indigenous animals, everything is up for grabs!
Language – You can try speaking a few phrases in the language too. If the day is taking place later in the week, you can disguise some vocab learning as ‘practice’ for the big day!
4) Follow their passion
This is a fun way to mix up learning about a new culture with a deepening of a kids’ natural passions. Almost all kids have one or more interests or, let’s be honest, obsessions! Whether it’s dogs, horses, soccer, archaeology you can use that as a way into another culture. Say they love animals, for example, you can research native animals from a particular country, and then you can build on that by broadening out to issues of conservation. Or maybe it’s soccer. Most international sports are played all over the world and you can learn about the leagues in different countries, their most famous players. It’s all about finding the touchpoints that can allow kids to connect, then you just build out and can start to explore the differences.
5) Old skool
Here’s a throwback. Did you ever have a penpal? I did, some dude called Geoff in Canada when I was about 7. We didn’t stay in touch, but I can still remember getting excited about his letters, and wondering what the stamps would look like. With email and video so easy, we can tend to overlook the value of letter writing, but it’s a great way not only to get kids to practice their handwriting but to end up with something you can actually hold in your hand. There are a few options, you can write to a relative in another country and try to encourage your child to write part or all of the letters in a different language. Or, you can write to a public figure and see if you get a response. During lockdown, my kids wrote to a Professor of Archaeology in another country and were so excited when they got a reply. You could try the same thing, but in a way that works for you.
Maybe there is someone that you come across when doing the ‘follow their passion’ exercise above, you can follow up with a nice letter. Again, this could be a way to practice writing in another language, or simply a way of asking a particular question about an issue relating to that country.
I hope some of these are helpful. If you have any other ideas, please share them in the comments below.
Mark Pallis is the author of the fun and heartwarming ‘The Fabulous Lost and Found‘ book series which introduces kids aged three+ to 50 words in a new language without them realising. Now available in over 30 languages! He has been a lawyer, an anti-corruption investigator, TV producer, and ad agency creative director. He now also coaches a small number of clients to identify and pursue their passion projects.