It happens, we’ve all heard the stories. Bilingualism comes easily to some, and in some situations, and for other families and situations, it’s a struggle. So if you are a few years down your bilingualism road and you feel like you are not getting the “results” you expected with your child, what can you do? In many cases, professionals will tell you to just drop the “extra” languages and be happy with having a monolingual child. I think that is very rarely good advice (see this post: Dropping a language?). If you are dedicated to your languages (and in most cases you should be!) what are your options if things just aren’t working?
Basically, you can look for help in one of three areas.
Firstly, if your child is showing delays in all languages, it would be a good idea to have an evaluation with a Speech Language Therapist (SLP). Ideally, a child should be evaluated in both/all languages, in order to get a clear picture of language development in each. If that is not possible, it’s very important to work with an SLP who understands bilingual development and who will work with the parents to understand the child’s global language development.
A second option is to work with a professional in bilingual development. This is useful if you feel that your child is really only using one language, and isn’t developing the second/other language alongside. A professional with training in bilingual development may be able to help you identify ways and means to adjust your family language plan in order to better work towards your goals. This can be as simple as identifying input needs, or helping to plan for a structured enhanced input for a lesser used language. In all cases, they can help parents understand what elements are within their control in terms of maximizing their children’s potential.
Finally, in more complex cases, an educational psychologist can help parents identify learning issues that may be impacting language use or development. Many children with Autism Spectrum Disorders struggle with different aspects of language development, and other educational challenges also impact language or involve language use. While children who have special educational needs may struggle more, they can certainly, with the help of their parents and a dedicated and knowledgeable professional, successfully learn to use more than one language.
In all cases, I advise parents to reach out for help as soon as they start to have concerns. The right professional can either put your mind at ease, or get your child immediate and accurate help if needed. In either case, parents are saved the stress of worrying “what if”, and of trying to figure things out themselves.
Tag Archives: bilingual families
So this bilingualism thing isn’t really working… now what?
Filed under Introduction
Different Perspectives on OPOL
Since I published this blog, two bloggers that I know and love to read have posted their stories and their take on the OPOL issue, so I thought I’d share them with you.
Stephanie Meade of InCultureParent shares her family’s OPOL experiment here: Why OPOL Doesn’t Always Work.
Annabelle Humanes of the piri-piri lexicon tells of her journey from OPOL researcher to OPOL parent here: From linguist to mum: looking back
I’d love to hear your OPOL stories if you’d like to share them too.
Filed under Introduction
OPOL: Does it always work?
Over the last decade or so, the OPOL method of raising bilingual children has gotten a lot of positive press. It sounds pretty simple – One parent, one language. So I speak French to my kids and my husband speaks English to them, and they will grow up bilingual. Sounds easy, yes? But the reality, as with anything to do with families or children, is not as simple or clear cut.
Just employing the OPOL method can produce bilingual children, but over my years of working with bilingual families, I have seen that it doesn’t guarantee success. Here are what I find to be the most common complications or limitations of OPOL:
1) Lack of minority language development.
Realistically, if a couple in the Netherlands, for example, have one English-speaking and one Dutch-speaking parent, their children are going to grow up hearing *far* more Dutch than English. By the time the kids are in school (or earlier if they are in child care in Dutch) they will be spending the majority of their time in Dutch, even more so if the English speaking parent works full time. Realistically then, one parent speaking English with the kids for an hour or so every day is possibly not going to be enough to produce “bilingual” children.
What can you do? In this situation, the family needs to find more time for English, whether that means English-speaking child care, or both parents using English at home, some or all of the time.
2) The slide towards the majority language….
In many bilingual families, the minority language speaking partner also speaks the majority language. This happens a lot in the English-speaking world (or other immigrant paradigms) where, for example, a Spanish/English speaking American marries an English-speaking American. Often, the Spanish-speaking parent sets out with the bet of intentions, determined to pass on Spanish to the children. But then they use a lot of English too, to be inclusive with friends and family, and to talk to child minders/teachers… and the kids very quickly pick up on the fact that Spanish is not *necessary* to communicate with that parent, or with anyone. They can use English all the time, and be just fine. So the children start speaking to the parent in English, and while the parent makes a valiant effort to keep speaking Spanish, eventually the use of Spanish dwindles… and the children are not bilingual at all, or anymore.
What can you do? From the beginning, if you are the minority speaking parent, know that your job will not be easy, and you will have to work at it. I meet parents all the time who tell me that they thought raising bilingual children with OPOL would be easy. It’s not, for many of us. If you are serious about passing your language on to your children, set your goals (what kind of language do I want them to have, what do I want them to be able to do?) and then make a plan. Activate all the resources in your network or find a new network that provides you, and your children with the language input and support they need to achieve bilingualism.
3) Lack of cohesion and consistency
Sometimes a parent who speaks both languages (and possibly other languages) in an OPOL family can have problems choosing what language to speak. So, they use a little of this, and a little of that. A lot of the OPOL literature stresses consistency, and I believe it to be true that consistency is desirable, primarily in the early years when the language system is being formed. Also, the early years are the time that the parents have the most influence over their children, so if you are passing on a minority language, it’s important to use these years to transmit as much language you can – there will be lots of time for #1 and 2 above to happen… but if you did a great job of building a language foundation before your kids start to only use the majority language, they have a better chance of coming back to the language later. Does it really mess kids up if a parent uses two languages, intermixed? I don’t think we really know the answer to this yet, as there are too many variations in family language use. But I do think that it’s best to be consistent, as much as possible, in the early years, if only to make your children’s task easier. Once the children are older, and have well-developed language systems, you can be more fluid in your language use. I use English, French and Dutch with my kids all in the same day, and sometimes even in the same conversation, and it’s a way of developing their linguistic abilities, and using translanguaging to deepen knowledge.
What can you do? This comes down to what motivates each parent, personally. You can do some reading on how to best use OPOL, or just make a resolution to only use “your” language with your children. It’s helpful for both parents to be on the same page about this, and to see the benefits of consistent language input for young children.
This post was inspired by a question on a Facebook group I belong to – I’ll be back, hopefully next week, with a post about translanguaging, and also one about a seminar I attended with Jim Cummins last week.
Filed under Content
Heritage languages: Fighting a losing battle?
I’ve been thinking about this issue for a while, and was finally motivated to write about it by a post on a parenting board. A Spanish-speaking American mother was considering her language use with her children, and how much Spanish she does or should use with her children. This sparked a discussion with some other children of immigrants, and even from that small sample, the trends of language use in the US came through. Statistically, by the third generation, Americans have lost the language that came to the country with their grandparents. Despite the recent increase in xenophobic panic and “English only” movements, this trend is still firmly in place (Source). First generation immigrants tend to arrive with limited English, so they continue to speak to their children in their own language (Mother Tongue, heritage language, first language, community language…). The second generation grows up bilingual, in their parents’ language and in English, but they raise their own children, the third generation, to be English monolinguals.
Why is this? Is it something we should be worried about? Is there anything that can be done? The answers to the first and last questions are quite clear-cut. The answer to the second one, however, is much more personal.
The reasons for the shift away from bilingualism can’t be described in one short post, but in a nutshell, I think the most important elements are language status and lack of information. You can read more about language status here but basically, home languages in the US are viewed as unnecessary and not worthy of serious effort to sustain. On the flip side, in Canada, where “Heritage Languages” receive government support, in policy and in funding, the results are quite different. Over the last 50 years, the number of immigrants succeeding in transferring their language through three generations has increased greatly (Source. The difference in perceived value and institutional support helps immigrants maintain their language, and pass it on to their children. So, that’s the “why”, in brief (and only for a certain situation).
Now let’s look at what can be done. Firstly, every immigrant, migrant, refugee needs to understand the value of the language and the culture they bring with them. You can be American, or Canadian, and be bilingual, or not speak English perfectly. After all, the first languages of these countries were hugely diverse, and none of them were English. Secondly, there needs to be a better transmission of knowledge about the benefits of bilingualism. There are so many potential cognitive, linguistic and social benefits to bilingualism that people don’t always know about, or understand. There needs to be a better societal and educational understanding of why bilingualism is beneficial, to refute the on-going discussions about bilingualism being a threat. This starts with everyone who works with parents and small children – doctors, nurses, health clinics, social workers, teachers – these people all need a better understanding of why bilingualism should be encouraged, and how to do so.
And now the stickier question – should we be worried? In my opinion, absolutely, but of course I am going to say that. In reality, every family facing the choice of moving to a new monolingual standard after immigration, or keeping bilingualism alive in their family has to make their own choice. For families who arrive in a new language location with young children, the best choice is to maintain bilingualism. The potential risks of “dropping” a language for a child are great – these populations are at risk of not “mastering” any language and therefore suffering academically. But for families who are raising the third generation, parents who can speak English (or the main language of their new home) fluently, is there an imperative to pass on the “old” language and aim for bilingualism? And if this choice is made, is it possible to pass on another language when faced with the juggernaut of English in the US (or Canada, or the UK…)? Yes, it is possible, but it takes dedication and planning. Do some research, and understand first all of the really great things your kids will take away from being bilingual. Consider how hard it will be for them to try and learn another language later, through an imperfect education system. Consider also the benefits that you, yourself, have had from being bilingual- linguistic benefits, but also the contact with your culture and your heritage. If all of these combine to make you sure that you want to pass your language on, then make a plan that will get you there. You need to consistently expose your children to the other language, you need to have resources for reading, and encourage other family members and friends to use the language with your children. You need to bring the language alive for your children, so that they can understand and communicate and feel a part of the people represented by the language.
For more information on Family Language Planning you can read here.
For more information on minority language support you can read this post about creating monolingual situations to support minority language growth, and this post for families where only one parent speaks the minority language.
In my opinion, not only as a specialist, but also as a bilingual who worked very hard as an adult to become bilingual, it’s absolutely worth the effort and planning to pass another language, and a cultural heritage, on to a new generation.
Filed under Content, Introduction
Can one parent pass on two languages?
Every so often, I meet a parent who would like to pass on more than one language to their children. Sometimes they are a single parent, dealing with a home and societal language, sometimes they are a bilingual themselves and want their children to speak both of their languages. So, the question comes up, is it possible for one person to be “in charge” of passing on more than one language?
There is no absolute answer, but I lean strongly towards “not a good idea”. While I understand the reasoning behind the desire, the elements for successful bilingualism are hard to achieve with one person and two languages.
Firstly, in the early years, consistency is important in helping your children’s brains anaylse input and create a fully competent language system. If one parent is attempting to use two languages, it would be very hard to structure the input to be always consistent in language usage. For example, you could try and do one language each day, and alternate, but may find that sometimes you slip into the other language without noticing. While this may not be a problem once in a while, trying to maintain artificial language use patterns may ultimately feel too hard.
Secondly, the amount of input needed to truly acquire a language is substantial, and one person trying to provide input in two languages may have a hard time finding enough waking hours in which to do so. A general benchmark is 20% input is the minimum for successful language acquisition, although I personally find that children need closer to 30% to begin using the language. So, if a child is awake 10 hours a day (when they are young), you would aim for about 3 hours minimum in each language. Of course input doesn’t need to be this rigid, sometimes it comes in chunks on the weekend and is limited during the week (for a working parent), so I encourage parents to look at the pattern of weeks. But realistically, it’s very hard for one person to have enough interaction time to successfully transmit two languages.
Now, that being said, some people do choose to pass on two languages, and work very hard to ensure success. The vast majority of the time though, they need to bring in outside support for one or both, in order to ensure adequate input and consistency.
If you have a story of someone doing this successfully, I’d love to hear it.
Filed under Content
Guest post: The Power of Reading in Raising a Bilingual Child
This amazing post is courtesy of a fellow-blogger and parent of bilingual children. Adam lives and works in Japan, and we have been sharing and comparing ideas for a few months now. Adam’s specialization is reading to promote the minority language, which is a very important topic for many of my readers. He was kind enough to write this blog post for me to share with you. Enjoy, and check Adam’s blog, which is chock full of great tips and activities for every day in the bilingual home.
The Power of reading in Raising a Bilingual Child
by Adam Beck, blogger of Bilingual Monkeys
Raising a bilingual child—particularly when that child attends a majority-language school—requires a whole range of efforts to promote the development of the minority language. In My Best Tips for Raising Bilingual Kids, I offer a lengthy list of ideas to help address this challenge.
In this article, though, my focus is solely on reading, the area that I feel has had the most powerful impact on the language development of my children and the children I have worked with over the years as a teacher of bilingual kids.
Reading aloud
It seems hard to believe that something so simple, so pleasurable, could have as much influence on language development as the practice of reading aloud, and yet all my experience as a parent and teacher—as well as all the research I’ve seen on the subject (see The Read-Aloud Handbook by Jim Trelease and The Power of Reading by Stephen Krashen for persuasive proof)—point to the enormous impact of this humble activity.
It’s honestly hard for me to overstate the importance of reading aloud—for all children—but it’s particularly vital when it comes to nurturing the minority language of a bilingual child. This means reading aloud every day, from day one, with the newborn on her back and the parent cuddled close with a stack of suitable books. You needn’t—and shouldn’t—wait until the child is any older. Begin right from birth and continue reading just as long as you possibly can, even after the child has begun reading on her own.
If you make reading aloud the bedrock of your efforts—at least 15 minutes a day, day in and day out—this routine will not only fuel the growth of the minority language, the child will come to associate books and reading with the warmth and pleasure of your time together. Reading aloud—picture books, poetry, chapter books, novels, and nonfiction, too—has long formed the core of my efforts to promote language development and a love of literacy.
Building a home library
Of course, in order to maintain this regular read-aloud practice, the other challenge—in addition to your firm commitment—involves obtaining a steady supply of suitable children’s books. In my experience, this is the other obstacle that parents of the minority language must make a special effort to overcome.
No matter how tight your budget, building a home library of books in your target language should at least be a small part of it. In the long run, the money you spend on books will be a modest investment with a substantial payoff: your child’s language ability, and interest in reading, will be much stronger. It’s a question of priority, in the same vein as making the time to read each day: if you have to cut back on some other aspect of your current lifestyle in order to free up funds for books, it’s an adjustment worth making, in my opinion.
I also suggest a practice of giving books as gifts for birthdays, Christmas, and other special days. Giving books as gifts—and encouraging others to do the same for your kids—is another way to add to your home library while also elevating books as “special things.”
At the same time you’re building your home library, the public library may be another source of books in the minority language. If such books are available, head there regularly with your child. You could also extend the effort to exchange books with similar families in your area.
It’s vital, as well, that you seek out suitable books for your child’s age and interests. After all, if you find the time, but not the right books, your read-aloud effort won’t be as effective and enjoyable as it should be…and could even peter right out. So you must be willing to invest additional time in searching for books that suit your child, which can easily be done online. (For English, a wealth of recommended titles can also be found in The Read-Aloud Handbook and How to Get Your Child to Love Reading.)
Subscribing to one or more children’s magazines in your target language—magazines your child would regularly look forward to receiving—is another effective way to enrich your home with appropriate material.
Reading with your children
Once your child has begun to read in the minority language, you should read with them daily, taking turns, page by page—this “shared reading” is in addition to your ongoing read-aloud time. Because the child’s listening comprehension will be considerably higher than her reading ability, up until an older age, you’ll now be working with two different kinds of books: easier books for shared reading; harder books for reading aloud.
When your child is about 3 or 4, you can add “chapter books” to your read-aloud routine (while continuing to read picture books and poetry). This is an important development, because chapter books—those that come in a series of 5 or 10 or even 20 or more books and feature familiar characters and plot lines—are a wonderful way to help hook a child on books and literacy. (For a list of such books in English, see How to Get Your Child Hooked on Books.)
For shared reading, the early books will consist of simple picture books, which can then slowly increase in difficulty as proficiency grows. Eventually, when the child is ready, you can “graduate” to suitable chapter books—particularly the chapter book series that you’ve already read aloud. Since the child has heard these stories once before (or even several times—it’s fine to reread favorite books), this should help ease her move into chapter books.
Children reading on their own
Although reading aloud should be maintained throughout childhood (both fiction and nonfiction at increasingly sophisticated levels), over time the amount of shared reading can decrease as the child reads more on her own.
All children are different, of course, and some will eagerly read by themselves. Others, however, are less inclined to pick up a book, particularly when there are already heavy demands on their time in connection with the majority-language school.
In order to increase the odds that your child will read independently, there are several strategies you might try:
1. Make use of captive reading.
What I call “captive reading” is the idea of posting reading material in a location in the home (like the bathroom), where the child’s eyes will be automatically drawn to it. In fact, the use of captive reading can start when the child is just beginning to read by putting a small whiteboard in the bathroom and writing simple messages and riddles on it. As the child’s reading proficiency grows, you can eventually post short fiction and nonfiction texts, and even write your own “serial stories” with the child as the main character. (See Turn Your Kids into Eager Readers with This Fun, Simple Strategy.)
2. Match books with interests.
Whatever interests your child exhibits, or concerns they may express, you can likely match that interest or concern with a suitable book in the minority language. If you’re proactive about this, and locate appealing titles, the child will be far more likely to spend time reading on her own.
3. Use reasonable incentives.
There are various views when it comes to “rewards,” but I’ve found that offering reasonable incentives for reading in the minority language—like a small prize or treat—can help heighten enthusiasm and maintain motivation.
Put reading at the heart of your efforts
Put reading at the very heart of your daily efforts and you’ll not only be more effective at promoting the development of the minority language, you’ll also be establishing an early love for books and literacy that will serve your child well throughout her lifetime.
Adam Beck is the blogger of Bilingual Monkeys, a site of ideas and inspiration for raising bilingual kids (without going bananas). Based in Japan, Adam is a former teacher at Hiroshima International School, and now a freelance writer. He is the father of two children who are bilingual in English and Japanese.
Upcoming Events and Webinars: Raising Bilingual Children: Six steps for success
A brief post to announce the arrival of webinars! In partnership with an online community, I have made two short webinars on raising bilingual children. They are both introductory seminars, and therefore are short and (hopefully) sweet.
The first is “highlights” version of my “Raising Bilingual Children: Six steps to success” seminar. This seminar, and the program it introduces, has been designed and refined over the last nine years of working with bilingual families. The experiences, questions, problems and successes of many hundreds of families have led me to identify six key areas that parents need to know about in order to have the best chances for success. This short webinar introduces the six steps in short format (the full seminar is 120 minutes).
The second seminar is called “Bilingualism for the Global Nomad Family”. It is designed to help families decide whether or not to include a new language into their families, and under what circumstances this can be beneficial to children. This seminar is based on a conference session of the same name that I presented for the 2012 Families in Global Transition conference.
Both webinars can be found at http://www.nomadparents.com/webinars/ and can be “rented” for 5 euros.
If anyone is local to me and interested in seeing the whole “Raising Bilingual Children” seminar, I will be doing a session in Amsterdam on February 7, in cooperation with Amsterdam Mamas. More information about registration, venue etc. will be up on their website shortly.
http://www.amsterdam-mamas.nl/
Upcoming on the blog: A guest post from Adam Beck, author of the Bilingual Monkeys blog. Adam is a teacher and parent to two bilingual children, and has some greats advice about using reading to support bilingual language acquisition, especially for the minority language, and he is going to share it with us here soon! in the meantime, Adam has just published this article: http://www.incultureparent.com/2013/01/29-tips-for-raising-bilingual-kids/ which is definitely worth a read.
Filed under Content
2012: “Year of Talking about Bilingualism: in review
So, at the beginning of 2012 I declared it my personal “Year of Talking about Bilingualism”. At the beginning of 2013 I’d like to take a moment to review how the year went, both in “real life” and in the blogosphere.
“Real Life”
FIVE: Number of countries in which I talked about bilingualism this year (Netherlands, UK, US, Italy and Greece). I didn’t count the planes, trains and automobiles, but I can say that there were a lot!
250 (Approximately): Number of parents I have met and worked with this year. Thank you to each and every one of you for sharing your family experiences with me, and I hope that I have given you useful and applicable information.
FOUR: Number of courses I took at the “Summer School in Bilingualism” – what an amazing opportunity and experience.
25: Number of hours I have spent working on my book (which should be many, many more… resolution for 2013!).
Blogosphere:
103: Number of countries from which people viewed my blog: Thanks! Welcome to all of you, from Argentina to Zimbabwe, and 101 points in between. The largest country represented is Russia and the smallest is probably the Federated States of Micronesia. The most views came from the Netherlands, my home-for-now.I’m absolutely delighted and awed when I view my world map. And if anyone knows someone in Mongolia… I could complete Eastern Europe!
7,100: Number of views overall. The most popular post was “In Defense of the Bilingual Child”.
18: Number of comments from my “top commenters”: expatfrombirth and Olga. I’m always happy to hear from my readers, whether it to share experiences, ask questions or argue with me.
And that’s my year in review. It’s been a great year, and I am looking forward to continuing this year.
And now for something completely different…
Today, December 5, is the eve of St.Nicholas Day. In the Netherlands, this means it is “pakjesavond” – the night Sinterklaas leaves present in children’s shoes. Being of Canadian extraction, this tradition is not part of my holiday rota. However, my children have spent their whole lives here, and so it’s been necessary to integrate the “Sint” into our lives.
Although my professional specialisation is language related, in many ways language and culture are integrally linked. And of course for multilingual children, being multicultural is a part of their world view as well. Last year I spent time researching the “Third Culture Kid” field, and considering its implication in my own work. I also had the honour of meeting Ruth van Reken (http://www.crossculturalkid.org/) at the annual Families in Global Transition conference, where I spend some time with her discussing issues relating to TCKs and language.
I’d like to take the opportunity to share an article I wrote on this subject for a local newspaper (http://www.theunderground.nl). It’s a departure from my normal blog content, but I think it may be applicable to the lives of many of my readers. Enjoy!
Home is where the Sint is.
My field of specialization is language, but in talking about bilingualism, the topic of culture frequently comes up. Given the season, it’s appropriate to talk about an important aspect of culture from an expat child perspective.
Most adult expats have little problem answering the question “Where are you from?” – we identify with the country of our birth. For expat children, who are sometimes not even born in the country of either of their parents, the question is more complex. These children are known as “Third Culture Kids”, or TCKs. Third culture kids are children who have a culture that is specific to being raised abroad – they have some of the culture of their parents’ countries, and some of the culture of the country they are living in at any given time, as well a little bit of culture from everywhere they have lived. In fact, TCKs are the ultimate cultural melting pot.
So what does this mean for parents? Essentially, in the same way that parents need to consider language maintenance when leaving for a new country, they also need to consider “cultural maintenance”. The obvious example for those of us living in the Netherlands is the issue of Sinterklaas. The festive season in the Netherlands is very centred around children – the arrival of the Sint on the boat in harbours around the country, the procession through town, the decorations everywhere with Zwarte Piet and friends. All the schools I have visited pay some homage to the Dutch tradition, whether it is in arts and crafts, story time, or seasonal celebrations. Discussions at the school gates are often focused on whether or not the Zwarte Piets left anything in the shoes last night, and the olieballen vans are everywhere.
So how does this affect families who are not Dutch? While we are here in the Netherlands, most of us choose to participate in Dutch culture to some degree – it is much easier to access culture than to learn the language! When we leave the Netherlands, whether to return home or for the next posting, we need to remember the cultural needs of our children, who are now at least a little bit Dutch as well. Over the years, I’ve sent many a “Sint-package” to friends living in a new place – all the essentials: pepernoten, candy, Zwarte Piet hats, shoes, so they can celebrate the Sinterklaas season with their children in the US, Malaysia, Dubai or wherever they now call home.
For the children, this is an important part of bringing their “old” self into their new place – they cannot shed the trappings of a country they used to call home as easily as adults can. In “Raising Global Nomads”, Robin Pascoe discusses the importance of establishing and maintaining meaningful family traditions that incorporate elements of the different “lives” that your children have lived. By doing this, expat families and third culture kids can feel a sense of belonging in a new place, without needing to leave the old “home” completely behind. So if you are an expat family looking at leaving the Netherlands in the near future, consider what traditions and cultural experiences your children would want to take with them – you can’t take the “plakje kaas?” from the cheese shop, but you can take care to pack the Sinterklaas costumes and some wooden shoes, and arrange for a good friend to send you a “Sinterklaas care package” in the next holiday season, wherever it may find you.
Filed under Content
Whole-family support for (very minor) minority languages
Last night I had the pleasure of spending the evening with a very diverse group of parents. All of them had children who will grow up with two languages, and many had children growing up with three or more languages. A few of the families are lucky enough to have multilingual partners, who speak each other’s languages and can use a variety of bilingual strategies. However, most bilingual families, mine included, have parents who share one common language, but do not master the language of their partner. In a lot of these situations, each parent speaks his/her language to the child, and together they speak English. This dynamic makes it trickier to support a minority language, because it can be used only by one parent.
Last night there were several parents who are transmitting to their children minority languages with small numbers of speakers. The hard task in front of these parents is not only how to provide enough language input for the children to acquire the language, but they also have to try and support the status of the language, so the children will want to speak it. The question then is what tools and techniques can parents use to promote the acquisition and use of a language which seems insignificant in a child’s world. Without visible institutional and community support (TV, school classes, community groups) it can be a daunting task.
One of the most valuable sources of support comes from within families. Having the dominant-language partner involve themselves in the process of supporting the minority language sends a powerful message to the children about language status and language usefulness. For example, if the mother is the only Polish speaker (Hi Olga!), the father may not be able to learn to speak Polish fluently (no time, aptitude, desire or other), but he can certainly enter into the discussion about why Polish is useful and a good thing to learn. He can also learn a few words of Polish – either from his wife or from the children – to engage in some some small way with the minority language. Even if it’s just learning how to say “I love you” and “good night”, it’s a visible and tangible reminder of the place of Polish in family life, and that Polish is valued by both parents.
So, if you are a family with a very minor minority language, consider how your actions may be helping or hindering the place of that language in your children’s eyes and think about what steps you can take to create a home in which all languages are valued and supported.
Filed under Content
