Quote:
Originally Posted by West Ender
The way to teach children another language is first to teach them to speak it. The grammar and spelling can come later, just like your English did when you went to school.
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While I was 11 when I started taking French, and we were instructed in the way you suggest, it was not a good method for all kids. They were using the ALM (Audio-Lingual method), where only the spoken word is used exclusively for an extended period of time. I had no idea what was being said or where we were headed until the written text of the French was finally shown to me. Once I was able to connect the sounds with the text, I improved rapidly. Certainly a strong emphasis on the spoken language is important, but I think that a teaching method that takes a more balanced approach is better suited to kids with a variety of learning styles.