The Story behind our first project.
after my husband and I moved overseas. Starting when we arrived and for the whole first
year, we acquired our own second language through daily classes available within our
community. Several other families with children were also taking these classes. Like us, the
parents in these families received the benefit of being submerged in a language-learning
environment with an understanding native speaker. It was an ideal safe zone for committing
cultural faux pas and asking questions.
As great as these classes were, the difficulty of managing family life, language classes,
and culture shock left most of these parents exhausted day after day. Meanwhile, during
classes, their children had to be looked after by a nanny or a spouse. The parents did not
have a mechanism by which their kids could learn language and culture. The few
opportunities these kids had to participate in the new language were frequently confusing and
uncomfortable. The children had no idea what to do or how to interact with the locals. When a
child needed the parent while the parent was in class or speaking the foreign language, the
child was often put on hold, and told to be quiet and wait. This created hostility in the child
towards the local language, because the main emotions felt were anxiety (from confusing
cultural expectations and an inability to understand people) and abandonment. These
negative associations created a barrier against the new world they lived in.
I wondered what could be done for these children. If they did not have a safe place to
learn culture and ask questions, or get a chance to start learning language in a fun,
expectation-free environment, how would they ever feel at home in their new culture?
Armed with my own recent language acquisition experience and fueled by the desire to
invite these children into the world I was welcomed into so warmly, I began to seek answers.
Christine Lewis, mother of three children under age 6, was also looking for a language
learning solution for her own family and enthusiastically led the charge into the unknown.
Together we organized a class for English speaking kids in our community.
We got parents on board to bring their little ones for short half hour sessions where the
goal was not repeating words in the new language, but becoming comfortable playing,
hearing, and interacting in another language. We had a second class for kids ages five and
up, and started experimenting with them to see what kinds of activities inspired them to
embrace the new language and culture. We had a friendly, soft-spoken and non-intimidating
local girl be their language “mother”, and together we started experimenting with different
methods to introduce vocabulary and phrases to these kids.
Christine’s mother-in-law, Rebecca Lewis, who has 20 years of curriculum
development experience, encouraged us to not just fix the problem for ourselves, but solve it
for others too. Together we created this list of principles to be the basis of all of our classes
and lessons, so our program can be used in any language context.
• A child should learn his second language similar to how he learned his first language.
He first learned to speak from hours of interaction with a nurturing mother. To make this
element part of our curriculum, we want to avoid strict correction or shaming and
instead use lots of repetition and positive reinforcement.
• When tested, put on the spot or singled out, children become anxious. This shuts down
their ability to learn. Instead, we want them to feel at ease and therefore do not use
any single child turn-taking during activities.
• How we present the language needs to appeal to all five senses and be offered in
more than one learning style so every child can have a strong learning experience. We
offer repetition of the same content in multiple ways to reach each type of learner.
• Our language lessons need to be reproducible and use local resources. They must be
able to teach any language to speakers of any other language. They need to flexible
enough to be used in any cultural setting and with mixed age groups.
From these principles, and many hours of children’s classes filled with laughter and “aha!”
moments, this 20-lesson curriculum came together.
We dedicate this curriculum to the man who once said, “Let the little children come to me, and
do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
About Us.
Christine Lewis – B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and Linguistics, mother of three, eight years curriculum development experience, 2 years TESOL experience in India.
Alyssa Johnson – 10 years classroom management experience, mother of two, 3 years curriculum development experience, 3 years running TESOL programs in India.
Elaine Theissen (Advisor) – B.A. in Humanities, English Lit and Philosophy, M.A. in Speech Language Pathology, TEFL certified, 3 years speech pathology experience, 7 years experience running language center in North Africa.
Why we do what we do.
DEVELOPMENTALLY APPROPRIATE. The tools we use and word groups we choose are not outside of the child’s developmental limits. We have used the research related to Bloom and Lahey’s Taxonomy of Language to inform our choice and sequence of phrases we expect a child to speak. Here is a chart of the Bloom & Lahey Model: Normal Developmental Sequence of Expressive Language we found informative.
We include learning chore routines in the Language Mama book, but we recommend choosing chores appropriate for the age-range of your students. Use this chore list which originated from Maria Montessori as a guide.
LINGUISTICALLY SOUND. Our curricula all utilize the Total Physical Response approach to “leveling up” a child’s recognition and understanding of new words. Listening to a native speaker’s natural accent is critical to proper pronunciation.
First language is always received from natural relations, specifically mothers, and in all cultures you will find narratives (simple stories) and songs (nursery rhymes) are the vehicles by which mothers build a vibrant base for their child’s language.
CULTURALLY RELEVANT. All languages exist within culture and cannot be effectively removed from their original cultural contexts. By incorporating cultural routines and using them as a structure upon which to introduce language, we can help children learn a language AND its patterns and procedures within a practical context. These contexts usually include chores, daily routines of work and play, holidays, and any cultural framework that determines “when” you hear or speak specific phrases.
This concept exists in several language learning methods, but we have done most of our research into the Charlotte Mason and her recommended language method, created by Francois Gouin.
The Art of Teaching and Studying Languages free Google Ebook
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RELATIONALLY PRACTICAL. Every acquired language only sticks if you use it. You will only use it if you have a natural positive relationship with another speaker of that language. Like all friendships, they will grow naturally on their own as time spent together doing things, playing, and participating actively in conversation create the atmosphere for growth.
For children, this relationship must be a positive one with peer age group children or a playful, loving relationship with the adult language helper. Our curricula attempts to build this relationship by providing a framework for: 1) regular frequent interaction with language helper, 2) playful learning games and activities to create positive associations with language and the native speaker, 3) learning popular games and practicing “pretend” in the new language which will b e a springboard for natural play with other peer-aged children who also speak that language.