Fun Facts for Kids

Fun Facts for Kids About Foreign Countries and Cultures

As the world is becoming a global society, it is necessary that our children learn the skills to communicate early with people of different cultures who speak different languages. A solid foundation in creative thinking and a second language are the keys to child's future success in the world community.

Here at the International Children's Books we seek to become a one-stop resource of children's reading materials for parents, grandparents, care-givers and educators who are interested in teaching a second language to infants,  or expose children to different cultures through a foreign language. 

10 TRIVIA FACTS ABOUT LANGUAGES

      DID   YOU   KNOW?

  • In the United States, there are more than 60 million people, aged 5 and over, speaking a language other than English at home
  • Spanish is the most spoken, with more than 37 million speakers, but French, Chinese, German, and Tagalog are common as well.
  • There are about 7,000 languages in the world
  • 1/4 of the world’s population speaks at least some English
  • 1/8  of the world’s population speaks Mandarin as their first language
  • There are 24 working languages of the EU
  • There are about 2,200 languages in Asia
  • There are 6 official UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, German, French, Russian & Spanish) 
  • Russia (population 148 million) has by far the highest number of languages spoken on its territory from 130 to 200 depending on the  creteria
  • Most European Languages use the Latin alphabet. Some Slavic languages use the Cyrillic alphabet: Greek, Armenian, Georgian and Yiddish  have their own alphabet. 

For children who want to learn more about the different countries of the world and languages spoken there, here is a list of kid friendly websites:

Science kids   http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/countries.html
Fact Monster  http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0769288.html 
Kids. National Geographic http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/
Country Reports  http://www.countryreports.org/country
Kids-world-travel-guids  http://www.kids-world-travel-guide.com/
Geography and history for kids http://www.ducksters.com/geography/europe.php
Around the World-TIME for kids http://www.timeforkids.com/around-the-world
Facts about the spanish language and Spanish speaking countries http://www.speakinglatino.com/13-cool-and-interesting-facts-about-the-spanish-language/
Random facts and interesting trivia for the curious mind http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/07/23_africa.html 
Facts for Kids  http://factsforkids.net/category/countries/ 
True Nomads - interesting country facts http://truenomads.com/interesting-country-facts/
Tooter for kids-Japan  http://www.tooter4kids.com/Japan/interesting_facts.htm
Kid info - Countries around the world   http://kidinfo.com /geography/the_world.html
BBC languages http://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/guide/languages.html
Facts for kids - oocities http://www.oocities.org/teacherkab/countries/ 
Explore & more cultures for kids  http://www.exploreandmore.org/world/default.htm
Omg Facts  http://www.omgfacts.com/lists/830/15-Surprising-Facts-About-Countries
Maps of  World http://www.mapsofworld.com/world-facts-trivia.html
Social Studies for kids  http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/