9 Factors That Influence Children's Learning

1. Motivation

Is the child being forced to learn, or do they want to learn the language?

• As parents and teachers, it is always important to take into consideration that we need to be patient when it comes to children, especially with language. Eventually they will learn the two languages as long as they have the encouragement from their loved ones.

2. Support at Home

Is another language spoken at the child’s home? What’s their exposure level to different languages?

• It is important to keep a routine when it comes to speaking a language. For example, have the child speak their home language at home, and English in school. Often as a parent you can ask your child, "how would you say that in english?" (speaking your home language).

3. Prior Linguistic Knowledge

Is the language they’re learning their first foreign language?

• Take into consideration of the multiple languages they are speaking and learning both at home, and school. Eventually, children will catch on and be able to understand, speak, and write in more than one language.

4. Learning Environment

How does the child feel in the classroom?

• Make the child feel comfortable in the classroom. As a teacher you should always take into consideration each child's home languages. As parents, teach them the positives of learning another language such as how they are able to speak to others in the same language who can understand them.

5. Teaching Strategies

How is the language taught?

• Be consisent with multiple languages such as only speaking one language at home or, one language with mom and one language with dad. Ask the child to converse in the opposite language such as the parent speaking in the home language while the child responds in english, or vise versa.

6. Comprehensible Input

How attainable does the language feel to the student?

• Let your child know the pros and how important it is to hold their culture which is what makes them their own individual and different from everyone else.

7. Student Personality

Is the student introverted or extroverted?

• A student's personality can affect how they learn a second language To ensure that both personality types succeed, it’s important to create an environment where students understand that mistakes are part of the learning process and it’s more important to speak than to be perfect.

8. Age

How old is a student when they start learning a foreign language?

• It becomes harder for students to learn a new language from the teen years. Some students also find that it’s more difficult to fully acquire a foreign language as they get older.

9. Comfort in their Country of Residence

How happy are students in the country where they are studying a language?

• It is critical that a child feels comfortable and not overwhelmed when studying and learning different languages. Some children's motivation to learn a new language can depend on whether they’re happy to be in a new place or not.