To ask for foreign language teaching resources for a 4 yo who can't read?

[Draineddraineddrained]

My 4yo girl is currently extremely avoidant of anything that smacks of reading and writing - she doesn't even really like drawing. Not sure why this is, she was a very early speaker, uses language confidently and well, loves stories and is generally quite bright (in my obviously biased opinion) - it's not that she tries and fails at literacy, she just absolutely will not try. She even started shunning being read to for a while when I tried to introduce a bit of letter/word recognition into that, so I stopped as I think it's so important for kids to be read to.

I'm not going to push her - Preschool isn't worried, she's only 4, and I know she's got the ability once she gets past whatever is putting her off.

In the meantime, she spends a lot of time playing with figures and dolls and pretend play, which is grand except I can't help but feel it's a bit of a waste of time in terms of developing her and challenging her mind. I'm aware of the incredible learning potential for kids' brains at this age and want her to get the most from rhat (without being a massive hot house parent!)

She has an excellent aural memory, remembers conversations we had months ago word for word and randomly comes out with things from them, remembers lyrics for songs and big chunks of dialogue from films she's watched only once or twice etc. So I was thinking something she might enjoy would be beginning to learn another language.

I have a bit of Spanish and have taught her some basic words but it's not very structured or engaging. I have tried to find a good "game" based language learning resource for her but they all seem (like Duolingo) to require you to be able to read/write the new words rather than just retain and pronounce them - which I know will switch her off immediately.

Something like Lingokids would be great but that seems to be for reaching English as a foreign language - can't find anything similar teaching a different language to English speaking children.

Any ideas??

Maybe you didn't word it well in your OP, because it did sound like you didn't recognise the value of play.
Have you tried trying to incorporate signs or labels into her play? So if it's a vets or whatever, ask her to make a sign saying 'vet' (mark-making is absolutely age appropriate). Make a label/collar for the annals with their names on, etc. Just try to sneak written language into her play. She might not realise you're doing it as it's part of the play rather than a separate, discrete 'literacy' activity?

Old episodes of Sesame Street might be a good place to start. I enjoyed them as a child, found them very useful as a baby sitter and only now realise just how good they are.

I wouldn't bother switching the language, unless there will be a way for her to use the secondary language to ensure the brain fires sufficiently often to lay down strong paths in that language.

That said, SS deals in concepts so that the language is of secondary importance.

Meanwhile, congratulations on raising a child with such strong, self directed learning preferences.

There are plenty of familiar programmes that are dubbed into other languages and available on YouTube. Sometimes it helps the child to comprehend as they might already have seen the episode in English and so already have an understanding of the storyline and characters.

Pat el cartero is Postman Pat en español
Bob El Constructor builds stuff.
Searching "Spanish cartoons" brings up heaps of titles.

My children and grandchildren have grown up in bilingual households. As well as cartoons and books, the second language exposure included "language" theme days - so for one day the food would be country-specific, as would songs, conversation, games such as Bingo, a nature walk treasure hunt (in the second language) and so on.

Dora the explorer is your friend here.
I speak pretty good Spanish and I used to watch Dora with DD when she was little and then we incorporated some of the word she used into every day situations and added more.

She’s 4.... get your head out of your arse and let her be 4.

I used the Duolingo app for Spanish, it was excellent, and free (with in app purchases that were easily avoided)
They also do a Duolingo Kids version which may help. Didn't have need for the kids version so can't speak to that, but well rated in the AppStore.

learning a second language is v hard for a child if they are not embedded in a community that speaks that language. They can't really learn anything from videos. you would have to go to a class with other adults & children who really speak the language.

why not focus on music instead? it is possible to get violin or piano lessons from 4 or 5, and singing is a great way to develop coordination and social skills etc.

and if you are tired of doing pretend play all day, what about craft & cooking? cooking is great for learning maths skills (get the "I can cook" book) and craft is great for everything.

I find I have more patience for pretend playing with my kids when I can link it to something educational. There are lots of idea for fun way to do early reading games here phonicsfamilycom.wordpress.com/ , if you decide not to go down the languages route.

@Hesma

ODFOD

Thanks so much for all the helpful suggestions, I have been having a look today and have some great ideas going forward! Really helpful.

I think Little Pim might be exactly what you are looking for. It has videos aimed at young children. However, bear in mind that it won't turn into a language skill which will have a big impact unless she continues to learn on a regular basis, which is a big commitment!

I bought the Bill and Ted books and persuaded my dc to read just one sentence before I read to them the book of their choice but that was because we were abroad and so it was down to me to do English with them - just one sentence a night was surprisingly effective over time - but in your case I would leave phonics etc to the school unless and until she actually falls behind. But to the pp who says a child cannot learn two languages to a high standard at the same time, that isn't true - but it does take parental input to keep up the English when dc are learning to read abroad.

Another thing she might enjoy is memory games, like my dc used to finish sentences of the books we read - he remembered them off by heart and it would make him smile to finish off sentences!! You may well find your dc knows books you read frequently off by heart.

And other good things for stimulation would be montessori method activities, which you can buy online. Some are amazing.

And musical instruments - in an awakening kind of way, unless of course you wnat to get her enrolled in Suzuki now (half joking)

Cbeebies "the lingo show" does a variety of languages - all oral/aural, but probably doesn't go very far.

Don't worry about the lack of interest in reading/writing - it's just not what she's interested in at the moment - and (until they start school!) that's allowed. Mine learned all the letter sounds and some digraphs, but was resolutely disinterested in blending for months. Then suddenly she said "I want to learn to read", and off we went. She started school still unable to hold a pencil correctly (not for want of trying), and mastered that very quickly - she knew that school was where you learn to write.

(The lingo show has a website, so there are games and things.)

my DC1 actually learned to speak his third language fluently by watching youtube tutorials. So TV is a good idea, but it should be a bit more interactive, where they do need to understand to answer questions and similar. Give Muzzy a try.

@KatharinaRosalie Your dc has learned to speak a third language fluently from youtube? That is amazing. What languages is he fluent in?

We tried Muzzy too but I found the storyline slightly gothic and the words being taught to be less frequently used in common parlance compared to Little Pim - though I have spoken to other English people who loved Muzzy.

You can relax now OP, we have nominated you for Parent of the Year.

Have a look at www.lajolieronde.co.uk to see if they have classes near you, there are hundreds of teachers teaching preschool French and Spanish classes in person and online. You can also buy French books and CDs from them to use at home.