Natural Foreign Language Acquisition and the Yellow Car Game
“Slug Bug Yellow! Slug Bug Red! Slug Bug Blue!” Remember the classic VW Bug excuse for socking your brother or sister in the arm during long car rides? Well, my boys have invented their own original way to argue in the car. They call it the Yellow Car Game.
Both of my boys’ favorite color is yellow, and they have the wardrobes to prove it. Shortly after the toddler versions of my guys could utter a syllable, they pointed out every yellow vehicle on the road. This summer, it has become the equivalent of an Olympic event. I join in the yellow car fun, too, though I try to avoid the arguments about who called it first, whose side of the car it was on, and if it was a car, van, bus, or truck.
Why it didn’t occur to me sooner, I don’t know, but just the other day I began pointing out les voitures jaunes, or simply acknowledging the kids’ “find” in French. ”Ah, tu as vu un camion jaune? Chouette!” (Ah, you saw a yellow truck? Great!) No formal teaching, no lesson, no planned activity. Yet, light bulbs went off on the way to the grocery store today. Without even realizing it, my boys played their car game in French. I never thought an argument could make this Mommy smile!
In my experience as a teacher, I’ve found that kids are most motivated to learn language for the things they want to say. It takes some careful listening for the phrases that pop up all the time, but when I find one and provide the French equivalent . . . voilà! Natural foreign language acquisition takes hold.
Always be on the lookout for your child’s “yellow car.”
Feel free to comment about the things your kids spontaneously say in another language.
Photo Credit: by sdpkelkar at http://morguefile.com/archive/?display=142460&
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