A question I came across recently is why don’t more adults use children’s books when learning a second language?
A variety of reasons came up as the answers, many of which we will cover in this post. They range from ‘those books are designed for children’ to ‘they are boring.’
While none of the reasons listed are wrong; there’s more to a resource than just its original intention. These reasons shouldn’t stop you from using a resource if it meets your current needs.
Something to keep in mind when looking for resources is your ‘language age.’ I previously talked about ‘language age’ in this post. One recommendation I made in that post was to consider children’s books as a way to build your vocabulary and early fluency. This is because your language “age“ is younger than your native fluency.
Why don’t adults use children’s books or shows?
There’s a variety of reasons adults refuse to use resources designed for children (books, cartoons, programs).
You don’t have to let these reasons stop you from using these resources if you think they’re going to help you.
Everybody learns differently and needs different support.
Learning another language does not have to be boring and children’s resources can be fun!
Mental Block of Using Picture Books
One reason adults choose to not use children’s resources is the mental block of reading a picture book as a teen or adult.
These picture books are written for children and so it feels beneath you as an adult or teenager to read a book designed for a toddler.
Understandably, the topics are designed for a much younger age group.
While picture books aren’t helpful when it comes to grammar or more adult topics, they’re great for building vocabulary or learning how to pronounce some basic words.
They’re designed for toddlers and preschoolers so the words are often ones we could use like a book about your home or family.
So while the initial thought that a picture book is useless to an adult, that’s not always the case. Yes, a picture book about princesses and dragons and dwarves might not be very useful to an adult, but think of the functional vocabulary many books can provide.
I know a lot of German children’s books actually have longer storylines than children’s books in English.
This makes it difficult for me to read books to my toddlers because their attention span is short, but that means it’s not as boring for an adult!
Simple Vocabulary
Another concern of using children’s materials as an adult is that the vocabulary is not enough.
Children’s shows and books also often focus on one topic at a very shallow depth.
As adults we have a wider range of interests, and we like to go deeper into topics and so the simplicity of a children’s book or children’s show is not enough for our adult curiosity.
Remember how we talked about our language age? Well, when you start learning a new language, you want the simpler vocabulary. Those toddler picture books showing you all the items in your house are perfect for an introduction. Again just as children outgrow books and shows, we as adults learning a second language can outgrow resources too. If a resource is going to meet your needs such as that simple toddler my first words book, don’t be afraid to use it.
Children’s books and shows can be boring or slow
Another reason adults don’t use children’s resources for language learning is that they can be boring or slow.
The themes and storylines of children’s books are simple compared to adult novels.
Children’s books and shows are designed to go at a slower pace in order for the children to keep up with the language.
Adults often struggle with this slower pace because we think faster than children, we’ve been doing it longer.
While children’s shows and books are slower and simpler compared to our adult shows or books they’re still a fantastic introduction. They can be the first resource you start with when learning a new language, but they shouldn’t be your last.
Children eventually outgrow their shows or books and move onto new shows or new books right? So as your ‘language age’ grows up, so can your resources.
Books are for reading not learning to speak
Another complaint about using children’s books (or any literature book to be fair) is there’s no pronunciation support.
This is a totally valid point. If you ever encountered a new word in your native language while reading, you may or may not pronounce it correctly. In a second language, it’s even harder until you know all the rules!
Children’s shows do not have this issue. In fact they often speak slower and with less slang than adult shows.
When learning a new language, books should be one part of your education. You need reading, writing, listening, and speaking practice.
Why adults can and should start with children’s resources
The fact of the matter is children’s books and shows can still be very valuable to you.
You don’t have to only read children’s books for years and years but it’s a wonderful place to start out, especially to build a vocabulary.
The simpler storylines are easy to follow for beginners.
The context is easy to figure out with shorter sentences and supportive pictures.
There’s simple grammar sentences compared to the paragraphs in novels (I’ve even seen one sentence take up a whole page in a book before!).
Often you can find translations of stories that are familiar to you in your target language.
Even consider other resources that are designed for children like courses or workbooks.
For example, my Mit Mir course, while it’s designed to learn through play technically, means it’s interactive and hands on.
I know a lot of novels in German or children’s books in German actually have longer storylines than children’s books in English. I’ve been told it’s similar in other languages. This makes it difficult for me to read books to my toddlers because their attention span is shorter than what the book is.
But this is better for adults who like more than 3 word sentences and one sentence per page.
So with more options at your fingertips what resource would you use first? Book, show, or game?
