Second Language
The word ‘second’ language is that language given less weightage than the first one. The choice for a second language depends on which urban or rural side of the country the student belongs to. Supposedly an English-speaking child going to a posh school in a metropolitan city will keep ‘Hindi’ as their second language. Another child studying in a Hindi medium school will start learning English alphabets from (probably) sixth standard onwards.
Simplicity
A simple human being touches the heart initially; similarly, a simple language spoken in simple sentences implies all and sundry. Unfortunately, due to the overdose of knowledge (thanks to social media), they strive to use fancy words to spoil expression’s simplicity. Hence when we start to learn a new language, our primary focus should be to make short, simple sentences and learn five new words every day.
Consistency
Consistency is the key to success whether you want to achieve six-pack abs or a language. In learning a second language, parents need to guide children into reading books. The ‘old school technique’ of reading, thinking, and speaking has got no substitute. During my childhood, Rabindranath Tagore and his books were a source of unbending knowledge. However, I must admit that my child knows the books of J.K.Rowling but has no clue about the literary jewels of his motherland. To have a great source of ‘laughter and learning’ together, let’s lay our hands-on literary genius like R.K.Narayan and Ruskin Bond.
Listening
‘Music is food for the soul’. In the modern era, we may say that it is the ‘fast food’ for learning (second) language. Unlike Fast Food which leads to obesity, Music transcends all the barriers and makes the language learning-process relatively smooth. All over the world, we have an array of Music starting from Hindustani classical to the imitable Taylor Swift.
Our official entry to Oscars – ‘Gully Boy’ comes as a revelation, where we see the protagonist swinging in the beats of International Music and later transcending the narrow lanes of Dharavi slums and making a solid mark for himself. Hence it is not difficult to fathom- How powerful Music can prove in language-learning platforms.
As per Hindu Mythology, Ganeshji has long, big ears, and his mouth remains hidden under his trunk. The beauty of our scriptures lies in their simplicity. Speaking takes effort; listening doesn’t! Youtube is overflowing with TED talk speakers, right from diet to spirituality-you name the topic, and they have it!
Now one important point we need to keep in mind, when we are listening to a speech, we may not be able to follow word by word, and that should not be our concern at all. Our concern should be even if we are listening for 10 mins we should be able to make a gist out of it. ‘Fear’ is the enemy of learning. Hence choose a happy topic and start listening with a big smile on your face.
‘Second language learning skills’ depend on our persistence and consistency. For children, their most significant strength is their Innocence. An innocent mind is like wet soil, which is receptive and optimum in its learning abilities. The human mind is miraculous, and a regular dose of reading and comprehension is bound to manifest itself.
Learning is fun, and learning a language opens the gate to a few words and letters and an entire gamut of culture left untapped. So let the fear of Grammar and punctuation go away; speak only to express and not to impress!
