Tune in

So, here is a new idea for exposing your child to even more foreign language media - online radio stations for kids. It took me literally 5 seconds to find a Russian radio station, which streams directly from Moscow (there is a down part about this - the shows run on Moscow time, ceasing all children programming around 9 pm) and offers variety of shows for children and parents, including story times, music hour, educational shows and shows on parenting and pediatrics for parents - all in Russian! Obviously, Sasha is a little bit too young to follow what they say on the radio, but this will be a great tool to promote more Russian around the house.

Another great thing about those radio stations is that their websites usually have archives of previous shows, as well as games, resource links, and coloring pages. A couple of quick searches - and I found a some stations in other languages, too. Here are all my finds:

Russian - www.deti.fm

German - www.radioteddy.de

Italian - www.laradiolina.it

French - www.radiojunior.com

I couldn't find anything in Spanish, tough. Maybe Google translator messed up my translation of "online radio for children" into Spanish?

In my opinion, listening to online radio is better than listening to audio classes in the same language, because a bilingual kid does not need a language instruction, he just needs more exposure to various media and people who speak that language. Of course, it wouldn't be right to just stick your child in front of the computer (since this is internet radio) and walk away. Parents should be listening, too, and singing along, playing along, and following up after a story or a show to make sure that the child understood what was going on. It helps to read the programming schedule and show description in advance, so that you are prepared to guide your child through the new information he will be getting from the radio.