Children’s Songs in Different Languages — Singing Language Learning!

Children’s Songs in Different Languages — Singing Language Learning!

Language Building Games

Being the proud father of two kids and the husband of someone who is very talented musically (sadly I cannot call musicality one of my talents), I have had the pleasure of plenty of children’s songs. Singing is not only fun and can connect your next generation to a vital cultural thread, but singing has been at least anecdotally linked to the development of early language skills in children. But since we happen to live in a monolingual American English household, just about all of the songs we’ve sung to and with our children, have been in English. In the vein of being a hardcore language geek who deeply appreciates language diversity, I thought it’d be fun and enriching to provide you with a compendium of classic children’s songs in a variety of the world’s languages. As you sample the linked song clips, try to identify themes in the tunes, as they compare to the songs you came to love as a child and may also sing to your children. These could be melodic themes, onomatopoeia, alliteration, or content themes. Or, you could simply just enjoy them!

Continue reading

An Interview with Laura Clark – Children’s Librarian

Language Development
Laura Clark in Front of Mural

Courtesy: Pat Raftery

Laura Clark, of the Saratoga Springs Public Library, is a longtime children’s librarian with nearly 40 years of experience leading story groups and parent/child workshops. Today, she’s sharing her expertise with parents on how best to use library resources to encourage children to love books.

Continue reading