Bilingual Education: How to raise bilingual children
Date of publication :2018-10-15 05:55
To raise bilingual children, more and more parents are recognizing that they need to start early. And these days, many parents take initiatives in early language education in order to raise bilingual or even multilingual kids even if they are monolinguals or non-native speakers of the second language they choose for their child.

There’s no one-size-fits-all approach as families and their living situations are different. I understand how much passion and dedication that raising a bilingual kid may demand to parents who are even native or quite comfortable with the second language. Neither is there one single defined strategy for non-native speaker parents. One of the best tools that parents can explore is to send their kids to a dual or full language immersion school. This will pretty much be the road of less resistance and with more guarantees of success.


There are 3 key questions every parent raising a bilingual child would ask:

1. Should I speak to my child in a language I’m not a native of?

This is truly a gateway question that can make or break a parent’s determination of raising a bilingual child. The fear behind this question lies in both the commitment necessary to switch over to speaking in a language which doesn’t flow intuitively, as well as not knowing if the effort will turn out a positive outcome for the child’s fluency in the language. Karen Nemeth, one of the Spanglish Baby experts specializing in language acquisition, declares that “a child can’t develop true bilingual fluency unless they are exposed to rich, varied, interesting language through conversation, books, stories, songs, rhymes, and games.” Research conducted by Dr. Barbara Zurer Pearson, author of Raising a Bilingual Child, shows that this exposure needs to be about 50% of a child’s waking hours; and it’s not enough for them to just hear it, but also to actively participate in that language by conversing, singing, and producing it. Basically, the short answer is yes, you should speak to your child in a language you’re not a native of if you have the determination and will expose him to it as much as possible.

2. How do I build proficiency in my non-native language to help my child become bilingual?

Ellen Stubbe Kester, Ph.D., a bilingual speech-language professional, encourages non-natives to build their level of proficiency as much as possible because the richness of the language you speak to your child does matter. She states that “…if you are using a very limited vocabulary with your daughter in a particular language, your daughter will have a limited vocabulary in that language.” The same rules apply to you as to your child — input drives output. The more of a language you hear and read, the more your vocabulary will grow.

We list 6 methods recommended by Dr. Stubbe Kester to improve your level of language proficiency:

1. Use online programs.

2. Many libraries host conversation programs for people learning English as a second language. Find someone who speaks the language you want to practice and set up exchanges where you speak English one day and then their language another day.

3. If available, check out and read children’s books in your target language from your local library.

4. Write down all of the actions, objects, and descriptors you plan to say during the bonding time with your child. Look them up at night and make vocabulary cards to tape onto objects.

5. Go volunteer in a young bilingual classroom.

6. Immerse yourself in the language by traveling to a country where it’s spoken. (Wouldn’t we all love that!)

3. Will my bilingual child pick up my non-native accent?

Accents are always a huge topic of conversation when it comes to non-natives teaching their children a language. The best response here is that what’s of real importance is not whether the child has an accent or not, but whether they have an opportunity and motivation to use the language. Barbara Zurer Pearson, Ph.D. encourages parents saying that, “As long as you are not the ONLY language model the child ever has, he will be very unlikely to pick up your accent, and he will probably end up eventually correcting your errors.”


Barabara Zurer Pearson goes on to add, “Remember, as a language model for your child, you are not only providing new words and grammar; by speaking another language with him, you are creating an environment where the language is welcome all the time. That gives the child more time to practice and consolidate what he’s learning. And you are demonstrating that this is a language worth learning. This adds to his motivation to learn the language. Those are very big gifts you are giving your child.”

 

And I couldn’t agree more, because bilingualism is one of those precious gifts you can give the child that no one will ever be able to take away from him.

Tags: bilingualism for parents bilingual kids early language development bilingual education early language learning early childhood education
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Les Petits Trilingues is a language school offering trilingual learning for children in Paris,including Chinese, English, Math and Science lessons. The team is composed of trilingual teachers and have rich teaching experience.