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Education Beyond the Classroom
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Raising
Bilingual Children |
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Methods parents are using to raise mini multilingual
communicators
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| Whether you have made the decision to raise your children
multilingual, or you already have a multilingual home,
congratulations! You are well on the way to giving your children a
great personal and professional Head Start. |
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| The next question most parents ask is ‘What is the best method
to use to raise a multilingual child’? This question is highly
individual, and depends on your family. Is your family multilingual?
Do you and your partner communicate in one of your native languages,
or in a third language? Do you live in a country where the official
language differs from what you speak at home? As you begin your
research, you will see that there are many methods you can use with
great success. Being consistent and understanding with your child,
and choosing a method that best fits your situation are the most
important things to keep in mind as you embark on your multilingual
adventure. |
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| First, let’s take a look at the four most common groups a
potential multilingual family would fall into. |
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A monolingual family living in a same-language
environment who recognize the value of speaking multiple
languages. This could be a family living in an English
speaking country, with both parents speaking only English,
but send their children to French immersion school. |
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A monolingual family living in a different-language
environment. An example of this would be an Italian family
where both parents speak only Italian, but who are moving to
France for work reasons. |
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Bilingual family in same-language environment. This
family would have parents who each speak a different
language, and live in a country where one of these languages
is the majority language outside the home as well. For
example a Spanish mother and English speaking father who
live in England. |
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Multilingual family in different-language environment.
This could be a Mandarin speaking mother and French-speaking
father who are raising their children in Japan. Two
languages are spoken in the home, and a third, different
language is used outside the home. |
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| Each of these situations could use a different method for
raising multilingual children. These methods are sometimes called a
‘Language System.’ Take a look at some of the methods outlined below
and decide what is right for your family. |
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One Parent One Language Approach (OPOL)
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| This is one of the most widely used methods. This method is used
by families that are already multilingual – where each parent speaks
a different language. The parent’s languages do not have to be
native to them – as long as the parent is fluent, and commits to
speaking only in the given language with their child, a non-native
language can successfully be passed on. In fact many parents will
decide to pass on their own second language to their child. Perhaps
because they feel it will be more useful, or because their partner
shares their native language, and they have decided that the partner
will be the one to pass on the native language while they will
communicate in the second language. |
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| Whatever your situation, you must decide what language each
parent will speak with the child, and be very consistent. If you
speak with your child in Spanish, and your husband uses Italian, for
example, it is recommended that you not respond if your child asks
you for something in Italian. Ask them in your language to repeat
what they said, and they will catch on. When each parent speaks to
the child in a different language, the child is able to easily
differentiate between the two, and should pick both up
simultaneously. |
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Minority Language at Home (MLAH), or Community vs. Family
Language
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| With this method, all members of the family speak the same
language together at home, and a different langue is spoken outside
the home. The family language spoken at home does not have to be the
native language of the parents, but they must be consistent and
always use the chosen method! If you decide to use the MLAH system,
your child’s exposure to the outside language will be somewhat
limited until they reach a certain age (usually around 5, when they
can begin daycare or kindergarten). Until this time, you will
probably notice the family language will be stronger (don’t worry!),
but once exposure to the outside language begins, your child should
quickly catch up. As your child grows and begins to make friends and
interact more outside the home, you will need to emphasize the
importance of maintaining the family language. Taking family trips
to the country where your home-language is the native tongue, as
well as having strong family and community ties are two helpful ways
of maintaining your family language. |
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Other Language Systems
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| There are other systems that may work, but they often require a
more concerted effort on the part of the parents. Some families
decide to speak one language during the week, and another on
weekends, or one in the morning, another in the afternoon. These
will also work, but might be hard to stick with. Remember that
teaching your child multiple languages is at least a four year
commitment, with continued maintenance after that. |
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| As your family grows, your situation might change, or you might
change countries, so it is important to pick a system that is going
to be easy to follow and allow for flexibility. Whatever system you
choose, stick with it, and remember that consistency is most
important. Your investment of time and energy will pay off, and the
head start that you are giving your child will benefit them for the
rest of their life! |
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| There are many references on the internet to help you in your
journey to raise multilingual children. Here are some to get you
started: |
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http://multilingualchildren.org |
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http://bilingualbaby.eu |
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http://www.mcgill.ca/sis-students/mcl The McGill Multilingual
Children’s library aims to provide families with books in a variety
of languages to aid children in the Montreal are with learning and
maintaining multiple languages. |
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http://multilingualkids.ca A Toronto-based education center
that offers programs in Spanish, French, Italian and Chinese for
parents interested in providing their children with a multilingual
instruction. |
