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Teaching Your Children German in a Playful and Interesting Way

The best and easiest way to learn a new language is in early childhood. Children are able to pick up and learn new words and memorize them easier than adults.

In order to teach your children a new language, you have to know how to start and what kind of information you give to them. The following websites give you an idea on how to teach a foreign language to children by using games, quizzes, memories and rhymes.

And always remember:  The best way to learn a language is when the learning process is not realized.

General:

• There are several different language learning websites on the Internet.  Look through the following website with your child and decide what kind of activities your child is interested in: http://www.teddy-lernt.de/html/deutsch.html

Language Rhymes:

• http://www.kleinkind-online.de/seiten/reime/index.htm
  It is always easier for children to remember something that rhymes. On this website you will find a lot of rhymes for children that are categorized into different fields. Choose one of the subjects on the right side.
• http://presents4kids.de/informationen/kinderreime-gedichte-verse/schoene-gedichte---reime.html
  This website offers a good compilation of children's rhymes and poems. Decide which subject you like and read through it. Most of them are really funny and short; therefore, they are easy to remember for you and your children.

Worksheets:

Colors:

• http://vs-material.wegerer.at/deutsch/pdf_d/lesen/erstlesen/luek/miniluk_farben.pdf
  Children can find the equivalent word for the correct color.

Bingo:

• http://vs-material.wegerer.at/deutsch/pdf_d/lesen/erstlesen/bingo/Lesebingo-Schule.pdf
  This Bingo game contains different words that are found in school. It is dedicated to young language learners and insists on learning German in a playful way.
• http://vs-material.wegerer.at/sachkunde/pdf_su/diverses/logico_einrichtung.pdf
  In this game, you will find the correct word for the picture.
• http://vs-material.wegerer.at/sachkunde/pdf_su/mensch/koerper/do_koerperteile.pdf
  This game provides learning cards for different parts of your body, and the colorful pictures make learning easier.
• http://vs-material.wegerer.at/sachkunde/pdf_su/tiere/haustiere/htdomino.pdf
  This Domino game focuses on pets and animals.

Quizzes:

• http://www.vorname.com/ratgeber/kinderaetsel/kostenlose-kinderraetsel-327/
  Choose from over 50 different quizzes for your children. Some of the quizzes practice German words, while others just require logical skills.
• http://www.raetsel-fuer-kinder.de/
  These quizzes are made for learning simple German words by using the alphabet or trying to write new words. There are several levels for your children, depending on their German language skills.
• http://www.denksport-raetsel.de/R%C3%A4tsel/Kinderr%C3%A4tsel
  Most of the quizzes on this website are for older children who already have a good knowledge of the German language. Children will have to read the instructions and sometimes the questions in German to understand what to do.

Alphabet:

• The German alphabet consists of 26 letters and three additional mutated vowel (ä,ö,ü). The following link contains all the letters, a description of how they are pronounced and an example word starting with the equivalent letter.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/german/tutors/factfiles/alphabet.pdf
• If you would like to print out the alphabet chart and hang it in your child's room, this link might be quite useful: http://vs-material.wegerer.at/deutsch/pdf_d/abc/domino/domino_abc_kl.pdf

Numbers:

• German numbers are really easy to learn. Once you know how to form the first 19 you are able to form endless numbers. Look at this website and get to know the basic rules of the German number formation: http://www.vocabulix.com/grammatik/deutsche-zahlen.shtml

Songs:

• Young children like to listen to songs that have an easy-to-remember melody. The following site offers a great range of nursery rhymes, which are really popular in Germany: http://www.kleinkind-online.de/seiten/kinderlieder/index.htm
  Unfortunately, the website only offers the text of the songs, but if you would like to listen to it as well, you might want to look for it on YouTube.
• These websites offer several of the most famous German children songs that you can listen to online:
  • http://www.sprueche-geburtstag.de/kinderlieder-online.html
  • http://www.kinder.de/Die-schoensten-Kinderlieder-zum-Anhoeren.1523.0.html
  • http://www.spiellieder.de/