Motivation Motivation Motivation
It’s extremely important that kids have motivation to learn Swedish. How to increase their motivation is not as difficult as you might think.You can simply do the following
-Rewards
Offer them rewards for learning extra words or phrases (e.g. , a chocolate bar from Sweden, a trip to a Swedish restaurant, or his/her favorite place, such as an amusement park)
-Surprises
Especially for small children, including infants and toddlers, surprises are proven to increase motivation. If you play games like peekaboo (for babies) your child will be able to keep paying attention to the program.
-Fun
Playing games like hide and seek by counting in Swedish or a cardboard game will do the trick.
Keep it short and simple
Not only adults but also children automatically lose interest if what they are asked to do is difficult. When you ask them to learn only a few Swedish words at a time, they will find the task more enjoyable and increase their confidence in learning Swedish.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Practice makes it perfect the old saying goes. If your child has no opportunity to practice what he/she learned, you can make sure that all the efforts are in vain.
-Test & quiz
You can speak to your child in Swedish if you know how to speak Swedish. If you don’t know how to speak Swedish, you can still ask questions like “what is “this” in Swedish?” by showing an object. If you know a few words in Swedish, you can show him/her 2 objects and ask “which one is “…”?” Kids love drawing things, you can also play with your children and ask them to draw objects by calling object names in Swedish, e.g. “can you draw me a ….?”
-Talking with native speakers.
Another way of practicing Swedish is giving your child opportunities to interact with native speakers of Swedish. It would also be a fun family activity to visit a place where Swedish is spoken such as a Swedish restaurant, Swedish supermarket, Swedish culture center, Swedish temple, Swedish school, Swedish community center etc.
-Flash cards
Flash cards might sound like an old school method but they are effective. Similar to Dino Lingo motion images, how flash cards work is very simple: they create object-sign associations in your childs brain after a short period of exposure. You can use Dino Lingo Swedish Flash cards or make your own and practice with your child. If you are wondering about how to use Swedish flash cards you can check out our blog post about Glenn Doman.
-Songs & Cartoons
Dino Lingo Polish is a perfect combination of songs and cartoons. You can also find tons of Swedish songs and cartoons available online. It is also not a bad idea to buy some Swedish children’s song cd and play it in the car or at home as background music. Studies have shown that even background TV can increase children’s vocabulary.
-Children’s Stories
If your child knows some Swedish, you can purchase Swedish story books on the internet. If he/she doesn’t know how to speak Swedish, you can read fairy tales by replacing some words with Swedish words.
Summary:
Let them watch Dino Lingo Swedish videos regularly and play Dino Lingo Swedish language online games.Visit places where Swedish is spoken such as Swedish restaurants, Swedish supermarkets, Swedish culture centers, Swedish temples, Swedish schools, Swedish community centers.Play with fun educational stuff like Swedish jigsaw puzzles and Swedish toys. Don’t forget the posters (Swedish alphabet, sight words, Swedish flag).Interact with other kids who can speak Swedish or studying together with someone with whom they can practice Swedish.