Introduction:

Japanese is an East Asian language spoken by about 128 million people, primarily in Japan, where it is the national language. It is a member of the Japonic language family, and its relation to other languages, such as Korean, is debated. 

Young kids between the ages of 2 and 8 learn Japanese as a foreign language much faster than older children. In fact, children under 6 years of age learn a second language as easily as their mother tongue. This is because children at this age are highly motivated and enthusiastic about learning a language. They learn the language through songs, nursery rhymes, engaging games, cartoons, and stories. Children are not worried about wrong grammar or pronunciation. They quickly pick up an accent of another language and their grammatical skills develop subconsciously. Therefore, they acquire another language naturally without any foreign accent or typical foreign mistakes. In addition, learning a second language early in life promotes brain development and general learning skills, boosts self-confidence, and helps kids develop an interest in other cultures.

Learning another language early allows your child to fully enjoy the way it sounds. Children aren’t afraid to play with languages. They are drawn into the magic of rhymes and songs. They hear and experiment with the beat of a song; they enjoy mimicking the pronunciation of new and strange words; and they play with rhyming words through repetition, even inventing their own examples. By doing these things, your child is listening to the sounds of the language, and inadvertently working on rhythm, stress, intonation, and pronunciation.

Studies suggest that children learning an additional language tend to score better on standardized tests because learning languages develops listening, observation, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. These are transferable skills that are of life-long benefit, both personally and professionally. Encouraging in children a love of language at an early age prepares them well for school and for life.

There are plenty of resources available online that you can use to introduce the Japanese language to your child.

• Hear and repeat Japanese Letter Sounds

 Make your child listen to how each letter sounds on its own compared to letter combinations. Listen for differences between English and Japanese letter sounds, and try to repeat it with them. Just like in English, two letters together can sound quite different from either of the two letters by themselves.

• Make them watch cartoons in Japanese

 Once your child is able to understand basic Japanese words, you could be creative with your child’s learning style and play a cartoon they’ve previously seen in Japanese. They could even use English subtitles to make it easier. Once they start enjoying the Japanese cartoons, they’ll feel like they’re really getting a hang of things when they see “Doraemon” in Japanese with some English subtitles and they recognize half the words.

• YouTube Japanese channels for kids

The main aim of these channels is to teach children basic Japanese vocabulary. Lessons are short and focus on teaching individual words from a certain category such as colors, body parts or animals, and simple sentences.  They can recognize many of the songs’ melodies and lyrics as being actually originally English. Therefore, some children will already know the English versions of these songs.

• Interactive Games for Kids Learning Japanese 

Children can play most of the games alone just by clicking on the objects on the screen and listening to the sounds and words. But, in order to read the flashcards, young kids will require assistance from their parents. However, the games are quite self-explanatory and many children will be able to play them with no explanation needed just by hovering a cursor over the images and listening to the words, and then answering yes/no questions with mouse clicks.

• Use mobile apps

The aim is to help kids learn 1,400 Japanese words and simple phrases in an entertaining way. Although these apps are primarily designed for children to develop basic vocabulary and are also suitable for practicing listening comprehension and writing skills. It is needless to say that it works on iPhones, iPads, and androids.

• Online courses

There are many websites, applications, and software that offer online classes in many foreign languages for all age groups and are designed for every level i.e., beginner, intermediate and advanced. Everything is available for a free demo. This platform also offers materials and recommendations for Japanese-language teachers. 

Exposing kids to newer languages makes them aware and understanding of culture and history from a young age. Not only does it give them a special connection to their roots, but they also grow up to be kind and equal. While adults can struggle to adopt a new language, research says 0-3 years is the best time to pick a new language. Infants have flexible brains, which help them learn new skills and languages easier.