Being bilingual has benefits

WE HAD the privilege a couple of weeks ago of joining people from all over our region and wider New Zealand at the Ratana Festival held at the Ratana Pa. We had a wonderful couple of days in the Hauora Tent, alongside other organisations that support whanau, having rich korero with parents and grandparents who visited. A common theme in our conversations was the importance of giving time to our tamariki and keeping alive in our families what is important to us.

In New Zealand we are fortunate to be able to speak and understand two languages, Maori and English, that define who we are as a nation. It is commonly understood that exposing your child to a second language will help him learn about other cultures. Research also shows that bilinguals tend to be more creative thinkers than those who speak one language, and one study suggests that their brain functions may stay sharper as they age.

Learning two languages is something young children are able to do so easily. In Early Childhood and Schools, learning Maori is a core part of our curriculum and our children are teaching us as parents and grandparents new things all the time. If we are already proficient in Maori it is a great start to helping our young ones become so too. If not, here are some tips on how to get your little linguist to begin learning.

-Start now. Two and 3-year-olds are not only increasing their vocabularies, they're starting to recognise the speech patterns they've been hearing since birth. The earlier you introduce a second language, the easier it will be for your child to pick up its unique sounds. The ability to hear different phonetic pronunciations is sharpest before age 3, and we lose the capacity to hear and produce certain sounds if we aren't exposed to them early on. So just hearing a DVD or television show, listening to music, or learning a few words in a second language will give your child essential tools for appreciating it now and learning to speak it later.

-Create a casual learning environment. The best way for a child to learn to understand a second language is for him to hear people speaking it fluently. If he's exposed to conversations, he'll begin to pick up the sounds and the natural accent. Two and 3-year-olds love to mimic what they hear, and soon they'll begin to understand the meanings of short words and phrases.

-Teach a word at a time. If you don't want to do formal lessons, you can introduce bilingual basics by pointing out to your child that objects can have two names - one in each language. As your child learns new words, tell him what they're called in a second language too.

-Have reasonable expectations. Of course, a child won't learn to speak another language fluently from hearing words, watching DVDs, or singing songs. But simply being exposed to a language will help her understand phrases when she hears them.

Whakatipu (SKIP) has developed a new bilingual app for iPhone and iPad. Maui and his First Journey interweaves positive parenting child development and brain development information into the traditional pakiwaitara about Maui growing up.

Voiced by prominent kaumatua Amster Reedy of Ngati Porou, the app has been developed by award-winning developer Flightless and illustrated by Ali Teo. Maui and his First Journey is available online and as a free download from the iTunes store. You can also have a look at it on http://whakatipu.org.nz/maui/

For more information and parenting tips contact Liza and Lynette at SKIP Whanganui; text 027621404 or email skipwhanganui@xtra.co.nz