No More Decision Fatigue: Daily Language Practice Hack Tailored for You (and Your Family, Too!)
I was noodling around on reddit recently, reading threads about bilingualism, multilingual parenting and so on (because I am a language nerd), and came across a post I just had to reply to. The writer’s question is below and after that is my reply, which I hope is helpful to this Mum, and maybe our “little publishing house that could” will be helpful to her too.
After I finished my answer I started to think about how on some days, as you’ll see I alluded to in my answer’s final sentence, she might feel some struggle and pressure to provide her growing child with some pristinely educational upbringing when it comes to acquiring multiple languages. She might be feeling like, “If I start and I can’t keep it up, then what?” This got me thinking that something we just implemented into the graphic design of our first ever nursery rhymes book (and will be present in other materials set to launch in 2024) would be such a great tool for parents to fend off these kinds of worries and doubts.
Have a look at this excerpt of the thread, then join me again after to find out how you can implement this latest feature of our books (whether you own any of our books or not) to help you improve your desired level of language learning/use consistency in your household.
The post
Mandarin learning resources
Our son is 2 months old and I’m trying to teach him Chinese. It’s very awkward to talk in Chinese right now (my husband speaks English but understands some Chinese) but I’m trying a bit everyday. I usually say something very simple and sometimes describe what I’m doing. I also have a few books that I read to him. I found books are super helpful because it gives me some material to work with, so I can also chat with him using the pictures in the book.
I want to get more books, but I couldn’t find many on Amazon (I’m based in the US). I also tried to download apps. But most of them require payment, and they all have the type that read the book and only show one line at a time. Not sure if it’s helpful at all if I simply play the book audio, since I read that interaction is the most important for language acquisition.
Do you have any material that you recommend for Chinese learning? Apps, YouTube, books are all welcome. Also I’d love to hear what you can do with a newborn. I find that there is only very limited time when he’s awake, alert and chill. Should I even bother talking or reading to him while breastfeeding? He’s mostly half asleep.
My answer
When I was taking Mandarin in high school and later university, I knew odds were not in my favour that I'd find a life partner who could speak Mandarin, so if I wanted to "keep" my Mandarin, I'd have to find a way to do so. (I did end up with a hubby who is fantastic, but alas, monolingual.) That put me on a fairly wide search over the years; buying textbooks for myself in China and in Canada as well as Mandarin or bilingual children's books, and so on.
It helped when I became a certified English as a second/additional language teacher (my native language) and taught for over a decade, because that informed how I approached self-study. I found that not a lot of materials out there had the features I wanted - simple changes that could increase my enjoyment of the materials and the pace at which I was learning from them. So I eventually got to the point, years later, where I was able to produce what I had in my mind, not just in terms of storybooks but also study materials and a vocabulary practice method that I love.
Another reason I wanted to create materials with these specific features was that the differences -and similarities- between Mandarin and English were (and are) fascinating to me and I wanted to make Mandarin and English feel more accessible to speakers and students of each language. So when I read that your husband is able to try a little Chinese, maybe my Text Scaffolding feature is exactly what a couple such as you two would love. My bilingual children's books don't have the two languages separated on each page (Text Scaffolding presents the text differently), meaning there is more potential for you to read the same book, at the same time, as a family in such a way that no one gets lost. I have a Youtube video that explains Text Scaffolding, which might be handy to you https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPVqzkniKb8 . That, or my website littlecrabpress.ca (We are on Amazon but it's a jungle out there, lol. Also I don't really understand how Amazon sets its categories especially as they should pertain to children's Mandarin books. It's not like I haven't tried to understand and follow the changes, but the bottom line is I don't think all possible relevant items make it into lots of search results. There isn't even really a proper category for bilingual kids' books. We are forced into more "textbook" type categories. It's a wonder we've ever been found via Amazon search, really.).
Oh! Another option is to go on instagram @littlecrabpress and then follow all the Mandarin book authors I follow...that will get you some advance info on what books are coming out, where, when, by whom and what they are about through a more enjoyable experience (people's fun reels and stories) than scrolling Amazon is anyway!
As for the "should I bother talking or reading to my newborn while he's dozing etc." All I can say is I knew I wasn't going to have the resources to teach my first born Mandarin, but I think, as my high school Mandarin teacher's poster on her wall said, "Monolingualism can be cured." and therefore, I spoke Mandarin at times to him until he was old enough to get into French immersion, which I did have the resources for. I think singing and speaking to him in Mandarin, teaching him to count in a pretty perfect accent for a little kid, helped prepare him to just be open-minded about new languages and new sound information, because he is thriving in his French skills right now. So I say you absolutely cannot go wrong with immersing your child in your voice speaking or singing Mandarin. Even if they grow up to be fluent in....well...anything else instead, you probably are paving the way for them to be "cured of monolingualism"! [The most important thing - allow yourself some grace if you are just not up for it on some days! You are not a robot. :)
That final thought stuck with me after I wrote that answer -
The fact that we parents can feel “just not up for” reaching any given parenting goal on a given day. It’s hard enough to get your kids dressed, fed, and where they need to go on time. Now you have to throw a second (or third…) language into the mix? What if you run out of ideas about how to teach it? How can you pivot if you are experiencing resistance from your child?
Have you heard of the Seven Language Skills?
The Seven Language Skills are, in no particular order:
- Speaking (as in having a conversation or presenting something)
- Pronunciation (practicing how to be understood when speaking)
- Listening
- Reading
- Writing (Handwriting and Composition being two different aspects)
- Grammar
- Vocabulary
How do the Seven Language Skills come into play in raising bi/multilingual children?
A preverbal baby, who obviously isn’t ready to read either, cannot practice all of these skills themselves. Their focus will be on listening, of course. So why do I think this longer list of skills would be helpful to point out in this context? I think they can make it easier for you to approach immersing your child in their additional language(s).
Speaking to your child is so important (regardless of whether they are being exposed to one, two, or multiple languages). The more a child hears your voice, the more connections they have the opportunity to form in their brains. So if you are raising a bi/multilingual child, the the quite literal, physical connections in their brains (synaptic connections) they are making are being made via communication that is happening often using more than one language, which can either enable them to speak using words from both languages when they become verbal, or at the very least to be open to the sounds of additional languages (much in the way I mentioned above that I see my son’s proficiency in French having at least partly been impacted by my speaking and singing to him in Mandarin). When a child grows up hearing more than one language we are creating an environment where they know pursuit of additional languages is encouraged and supported. The best chance I can give my kids is to share my second language, at whatever level my ability is sitting at, whenever they want to know more about it, and hopefully fan the flames of curiosity (and ability!) in this area.
When you read to your child you are activating their listening skills in a different way. The brain recognises that there is some kind of structure around your words and if they are also looking at pictures, they begin to form connections between words and their meaning in a different way.
When you narrate what you are doing in day to day life, (“I’m taking laundry out of the washing machine and moving it into the dryer. When I close the doors they make a ‘click’ sound, and when I push these buttons some beeping noises happen. The dryer makes a big noise!”) you are teaching them vocabulary - even though they don’t realise they are learning.
All of this is to say that any amount of exposure to an additional language that you are providing is teaching your child something. You’re exposing them to different sounds than they are otherwise immersed in. You’re broadening the scope of their experience. So as much as it can feel like there is little point in making the effort from the start, you actually are tipping the scales toward your child being, at the least, more capable of recognising a wider variety of sounds and at best, being primed to navigate their lives comfortably employing their additional language(s).
And as your child grows older and they become capable of practicing more of the Skills, their early exposure will likely make them more open to that practice taking place in more than one language. They will certainly be more prepared to comprehend the other skills in more than one language: They’ll innately know at least some vocabulary, they’ll be familiar with the idea that different languages have different grammar structures, and they may have a leg up on pronunciation. The skills build on each other.
How can the Seven Language Skills benefit our own language study?
Now, most people agree that what matters in language learning is less about the specific content of a lesson you are on and more about maintaining consistency in practice. So, the Seven Language Skills are excellent inspiration for keeping things fresh - for keeping you motivated to stay consistent. If you find it hard to read the same textbook every day and do the same type of exercises every day, one way to keep consistent in studying is to dedicate one day of the week to each skill, respectively. Obviously if you are focused on reading one day and you need to stop to check a vocabulary word and write it down, technically you are covering more than one skill at that moment. However, rather than spending mental energy wondering if you are applying an appropriate and effective amount of attention to any of the skills, knowing that you have instead decided that you only need to emphasise one skill over the others each day can really make studying feel less daunting. In other words, making one of the Seven Skills your top priority for the day means you will know exactly how to move on and find your pathway again if you hit a momentary speed bump. You don’t have to cram every aspect of all seven skills surrounding a new concept into your brain during every single study session, and knowing that means you can avoid going on a mental downward spiral feeling like you are failing at all seven of them at once!
So for example, if you have committed to, say, “Wednesday is reading day” and “Thursday is vocabulary day”, then perhaps on Wednesday you continue on with your reading after you have noted the vocabulary word, and then the next day, rather than moving on to reading the next passage you instead use Thursday to go back and devote your study time to just focusing on your vocabulary list. If we continue this example and say “Friday is speaking day”, then perhaps what you read on Wednesday and studied on Thursday is the topic you will use to record yourself speaking, or chat with a native speaker about what you learned from the content of the reading you did, making a point to use that new vocabulary when you speak, and so on. By putting emphasis on one of the Seven Skills over the others each day, it’s harder to get bored. The next day you will be changing things up while at the same time being unlikely to “lose” what you learned because you are still implementing review.
Alternatively, you may be the kind of language learner who loves being dedicated to one skill for an extended period of time. I would still argue that keeping all Seven Skills in mind is important; of course utilising all of the Skills will result in a more well-rounded language practice. Sure, it is possible to learn to speak a language but not be a keen listener, or, you can learn to read in an additional language without ever learning to speak it. It is even possible - and quite common, actually - to be able to understand a language when you hear it, but not be able to read, write, or speak in that language yourself. But for someone who loves to focus on reading, for example, that person will need to exercise the other skills at some point be it because they may hit a wall in their desire to continue on that one skill alone (boredom), or because they realise that they aren’t truly learning the language this way (like, if you really love dribbling a basketball, that doesn’t mean you’re really good at playing basketball)*. For this type of learner I would recommend maintaining the practice of their favourite skill daily, but layering in an additional skill each day, per the days-of-the-week method outlined above.
*I have made the argument before that full fluency doesn't have to be your goal, and it doesn't. But if you are seeking, as I said, a "well-rounded" understanding of a language, the Seven Language Skills are key to achieving that.
Often what makes us stop learning a new language is the disappointment in realising it’s a long process and we won’t just “know” a language and be proficient in all skills of language overnight. It’s so easy to get excited about finally mastering a certain grammar concept or finally remembering an important word or phrase when we need it, but it’s also easy to mentally jump out of those moments and worry about the future, becoming bogged down and intimidated by “all that we don’t already know”. But language isn’t something we can absorb in one big bite. So, applying this “Seven Skills Daily Study Strategy” also has the potential benefit of fending off negative thinking and the fixed mindset of “I’m not good at this” because it allows you to focus on improving one thing at a time, yet moves you on quickly enough that you won’t be stuck in a holding pattern on that one skill. Also, it has the potential to fend off decision fatigue (which, for that Mum mentioned above, could be very handy considering she has a newborn and is therefore already making 1000x more decisions per minute than she probably ever had to in her previous life!), because you don’t have to wonder how you should be studying - you just need to know what day it is!
We have started listing the Seven Language Skills on our books using these graphics, and we have a guide which lists why a given skill applies to that product. For example, we consider grammar to be a skill that isn’t easily taught or learned using poetry, but poetry is a great tool to inspire other writing, or to practice speaking, and so on. That’s why in our book Vegetables! My First Chinese English Nursery Rhymes Collection - 蔬菜！我的第一本中英文童谣集 we greyed out the decal for grammar, but all the others are a bright, saturated colour to draw your attention to how this resource can be helpful when teaching the six other skills. So, a caregiver who is teaching a child Mandarin or English can see quickly and easily how they could pick up that book and use it with their child for a different reason, six days of the week.
I hope that new Mum I reached out to does persevere and give her child the gift of exposing him to the “sights and sounds” of her native language, whether he grows up to know it fluently or not. And I hope this blog has been inspiring to you to try new things with your language study, keep it interesting, and above all, keep it going. Need some help with that? We made you a free tool to tailor the “Seven Skills Daily Study Strategy” for yourself and plan your goals to keep your little language learning engine on track.
加油! = jiā yóu! = “Add fuel!” / Step on the gas! / Go for it! / Full speed ahead!
Rebecca