Teaching methods/memory issues

[AtomicFlea]

I’m teaching my DS (5 years old) an extra subject outside of school. He will give me the correct answer but seems to instantly forget the answer when I ask the questions again as a review. I’m looking for advice. Has anyone ever encountered this with their kids? Any suggestions on how to tackle this memory issue? Is this normal for 5 year olds? Do I just wrap up the lesson and try again later? Thanks.

It sounds like he just isn't very engaged with what you are trying to teach him. Kids are often like this at school too, which is why it can take them years to master skills at school which they might whiz through if they had chosen to do it at an age when they are ready and interested. Is it a subject he asked to learn?

Pioneering educator John Holt's "How Children Fail" includes many examples like this of children becoming increasingly detached from adult-directed learning. Once they have too many experiences of failure, they become quite convinced that they can't do it.

Does dc want to learn the new subject? You have to engage them in an aspect that interests. Then it's all about you making it accessible. Just imparting info isn't adequate and will not lay down new learning. It's a complex science and something that needs presented, reinforced and used in different active ways, usually through play. Unless your dc school has flagged a memory issue or said they are building their' working memory' skills as its an area of concern etc you can assume that the way you're going about it might need to change.

Thanks for your replies! I’m teaching him Spanish. I’m a native speaker and have always spoken to him in Spanish. My son is also bilingual and can speak/understand Spanish but I’m now doing more of a structured lesson as I noticed his Spanish is starting to wane and English is becoming more dominant now that he has started school which is understandable. Unfortunately there aren’t any classes available in my area for his age and online lessons didn’t work out so it’s just me, Netflix in Spanish and FaceTiming his grandparents. Thanks for the suggestions! It looks like I need to change up how I teach him.

Keep speaking to him in Spanish and doing fun things where you just speak Spanish. He will pick it up - he is picking it up. Do you have books in Spanish you can read to him? Maybe films which he’d enjoy which are in Spanish. He is quite young and I think it’s important to keep it fun and not too formal. He may not be responding in the way you want but he is taking it in.
I would choose something like cooking or visiting somewhere and have that as a focus of just speaking Spanish.

Are you doing OPOL? It seems to be the most effective way to maintain bilingualism in children.

What is OPOL?

I bought some Spanish workbooks for his age group in Spain and he seems to enjoy those more. It’s got a mix of activities. I’ll keep up with that.

Make learning practical and linked to everyday experiences. He's just too young to sit down and go through workbooks and the like after a full day at school.
Could you try art projects where you give instructions in Spanish, treasure hunts in Spanish, active games where he's doing actions or finding objects again in Spanish.
Also, look at the forgetting curve, it's completely normal that he forgets what you taught him but every time you re-teach that thing he will retain it a bit better. So lots of opportunities to go over old material and practice it again.

The best way to learn Spanish is to use it, not sit down lessons after he is exhausted from school. Is he able to spend a chunk of the summer holidays in Spain / with grandparents?

OPOL is one parent one language. It’s an established as being a very effective way of helping children grow up bilingual where each parent uses one language with the child.

I agree that formal lessons aren’t the way to go. It needs to be fun and ingrained into daily life, not a sit down lesson.

With respect, @AtomicFlea I really suggest doing some research before you carry on. There are some amazing websites and communities concerning raising bilingual children, and the issue of the school language becoming the dominant one is an important one. In my experience ( complicated multilingual family!) formal learning when they are very little is the least effective method. One Parent One Language is the best, particularly if the parent doing the bulk of the childcare speaks the non-school language -this balances it out a bit.

Many thanks for all your replies! It’s been insightful. Just to answer a few questions - I only speak in Spanish to my son so all activities/interactions with me are done in Spanish. My husband speaks to my son in English so I guess we’ve been doing OPOL all this time. I only do the workbooks with him which have a variety of activities such as story telling, coloring, counting and stickers etc that is suitable for 5 year olds and I only take out those workbooks on the weekends cuz I agree with you that he’d be mentally exhausted after a full day of school. Thanks again for the input. You all have definitely given me something to ponder and research about. 😊

He's just not into it

Just talk to him in Spanish without turning it into a boring tedious lesson

He'll soon pick it up

Workbooks are generally awful. Just have fun and chat. You’re doing really well with what you’re doing.