New online workshop! Learn how to raise bilingual kids

For years, I’ve been leading in-person workshops for parents on how to raise bilingual children. I’m thrilled to announce that, by popular demand, the workshop How to Raise a Bilingual Child is now available for purchase online! 

This workshop contains tons of useful information for parents and caregivers of young children ages 0-4! In this workshop, we dispel common worries and bust some myths about raising bilingual children, learn the 4 keys to unlocking the bilingual magic in your household, help you set goals for what you hope to accomplish by raising bilingual children, and help you choose a model of bilingualism that’s right for your family. Plus, we’ll go over lots of tips to help you along in everyday life, and give you some great resources to keep up your bilingual momentum! For more information, see this sneak peek video!

Get the course here!


7 must-know facts for parents wondering "When should I worry about my bilingual child's speech?"

A common question I get as a Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist is: “I’m worried about my bilingual (or multilingual) child’s speech. What are the signs that I should get my child’s speech checked out by a professional?”

This is an excellent question! A great first step is to empower yourself with information.

The website of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) is an accurate and professional source of information about speech issues. For example, this document from ASHA on speech and language development in bilingual children sums up important information for any bilingual parent.

Here are 7 things parents of kids who speak multiple languages should know:

  1. If a multilingual child has a speech issue, then that issue will appear in all of the child’s languages. For example, if a child has a stutter, it would appear in all languages.
  2. Given this, skills in all languages must be taken into account when determining if there is a true speech issue.
  3. Sometimes, parents hear the untrue idea that bilingual/multilingual children usually start speaking later. Unfortunately, this misinformation causes some parents who have concerns about their child’s speech to delay getting help. The most recent research shows that bilingualism is not associated with delayed speech, and that bilingual and multilingual children reach their major speech milestones on the same timeline as monolingual children. Examples of speech milestones include age of first word, age of combining two words together, and more.
  4. Given that multilingual kids are expected to reach speech milestones at the same time as monolingual kids, the next step is learning what those milestones are! For example, this resource clearly lays out what speech and language skills are expected of a child age birth to five in English. You can also search for speech and language developmental milestones in the language of your choice, or you can refer to these “universal” milestones, which are applicable to children across different languages. Also, watch out for these signs of speech delay, and see a specialist if you have concerns.
  5. A simple guideline is to get checked out if your child doesn’t have: at least one word (from any of their languages) by age 15 months, or at least 50 words (from all their languages combined) by age 24 months. Of course, there is a wide range of typical development, and there's a lot of individual variation among children's speech, so not meeting a milestone doesn't necessarily mean there is an issue. This is a guideline as to when it may be worth getting your child’s speech checked out by a specialist to rule out potential issues, especially if you also have other concerns about their communication.
  6. Children mixing languages together is typical and expected of children with multiple languages, especially between ages 2-4 years old. Mixing languages is not a sign of confusion. At that age, mixing languages allows children to fill in gaps in their still-developing ability to communicate precisely what they want to say. They are temporarily leaning on their knowledge of one language while working to master the second. After the developmental phase of language mixing, children should be able to switch between speaking each language one at a time without mixing words (that is, code switch.) You can learn more about language mixing in my blog post about aspects of bilingual childhood language development.
  7. Children, especially very young children under age 4, will borrow the grammar rules of their other language(s) due to crosslinguistic influence. Much like language mixing, it is typical and expected. However, if you see this happening frequently, especially with an older child, consider seeking advice from a bilingual speech therapist.

Hopefully, this information is helpful for your decision-making process: after all, knowledge is power!

Having said that, as a professional (and as a mom myself!) my motto is “when in doubt, check it out.” Just as you don't have to be 100% certain that your child has trouble with vision before taking them to the optometrist to have his eyes examined, you don't have to be 100% sure that there is a speech issue in order to seek professional advice. So, if you have concerns about your child’s speech, ask your pediatrician, or find a Speech-Language Pathologist (also known as a speech therapist) with expertise in bilingual issues. It’s particularly important to seek a bilingual specialist, because not all Speech-Language Pathologists have expertise in the area of bilingual language development. Unfortunately, some professionals who do not specialize in this topic still make outdated recommendations on this topic.

Ideally, bring your child to see a Speech-Language Pathologist who speaks your languages, or is familiar with the protocol for using an interpreter to properly evaluate your child’s speech. A visit to a Speech-Language Pathologist knowledgeable in bilingualism is the best way to get specific advice and answers to any concerns you have. One of the following could happen after speech evaluation: either you find out that there is no concern, or your child starts on the path to getting needed language support, and both of those are good outcomes! If a child does need extra language help, the earlier it’s received, the better.

It’s also useful to know that many places have free evaluation services available to parents. For example, many parts of the U.S. have Early Intervention programs that provide free speech evaluation services. If you are seeking information about other locations, asking your child’s pediatrician or teacher if they know of such programs may be a good starting point.

For anyone who has a deep interest on the topic of bilingual children and speech issues and wishes to learn even more, I recommend the book Dual Language Development & Disorders by Paradis, Genesee, and Crago.

If you have any further questions about this topic and you wish to speak with a Bilingual Speech-Language Pathologist, reach out and contact me!

 


You've been told to stop being bilingual - now what?

Short on time? Here’s the bullet point summary of this blog post. Things to know if you're told to switch from two languages to one:

  • Most children, including most children with speech or language disorders, can handle two languages.
  • Modern research reveals many benefits to bilingualism, and debunks old negative myths about bilingualism.
  • Current best practices compel experts to only recommend switching to one language under specific individual circumstances.
  • When a family wants or needs two languages in their lives, specific circumstances where switching to one language would be best for the child are rare.
  • If you encounter a situation where you are told to switch from being bilingual with your child to using one language, yet you want or need to keep two languages in your life: weigh the pros and cons, make sure to speak with an expert with up-to-date knowledge in this field, find good resources such as the ones in this blog post, and when in doubt, seek a second opinion.

One day when my daughter was an infant, she had a substitute physical therapist filling in for our usual PT.

I walked into the therapy room as I usually do, narrating to my daughter in Russian about what we are doing.

“Mama’s taking off her shoes” I said, in Russian, “Then we’re going to play with a nice new --”

“Don’t do that,” the PT said abruptly, referring to my speaking in Russian. “You’ll confuse her!”

Not wanting to spend our limited physical therapy time discussing speech (a topic I could easily talk about for hours), I simply said “I’m a Speech-Language Pathologist, it’s definitely fine.” I said that we only speak Russian to her at home, so that’s the language that she knows.

Over the course of the session, whenever I needed to speak to my daughter, I spoke in Russian, as usual. “Stop speaking Russian to her, you’ll confuse her!” she said numerous more times while we were there. I became more dismayed each time I heard her say it.

I have a Master’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology. I’m a certified teacher with bilingual extensions in Russian, French, and Spanish. I’ve studied bilingual language development extensively, and I even write a blog about raising multilingual kids.

But it still took just one voice to make me feel fear, guilt, and doubt.

Of course, that moment passed very quickly: I remembered everything I’ve learned, everything I know deep in my bones about the benefits of raising a bilingual child. I realized that this PT just wasn’t up to date with current research and best practices. She may have mistakenly held untrue beliefs about bilingualism, like that it confuses kids or causes speech delays, myths that I debunked in this recent video.  If I didn't happen to be a specialist in bilingual parenting, though, I definitely would have felt shaken, especially as a first-time parent.

For any new parent who just wants to do right by their child, a professional opinion carries heavy weight, even if that opinion is outside the professional’s field of expertise. Authority itself is persuasive, but a wise professional knows their own limits. They don’t hesitate to delegate or make referrals, and they act on the fact that experts in other fields may have information that isn’t yet common knowledge.

In this blog post, I’m going to discuss what typically happens in the U.S., with English as the example of the majority language. As recently as a few decades ago, most child-rearing experts in the U.S. viewed bilingualism as an obstacle to overcome. Pediatricians and speech-language pathologists routinely told parents to "drop the non-English language" and use English only in response to any speech/language issue, no matter the individual details.

Fortunately, new evidence has turned the tables on those beliefs. The cognitive, social, and practical benefits of bilingualism are better understood by more and more professionals, and many negative myths about bilingualism have been dispelled by recent research. These days, experts with deep knowledge in this field recognize that the vast majority of kids -- including those with speech or language disorders -- are capable of handling multiple languages. Nowadays, experts only recommend switching to the majority language at home (in the U.S., English) under very specific circumstances.

Yet things don’t change overnight, and there is a well-known gap between scientific research and real-life practice. Countless parents have told me about pressure from professionals to drop the non-majority language in recent years. (As I mentioned above, there are indeed some specific instances where switching to majority-language only makes the most sense, like when the stress of maintaining two languages outweighs the benefits. But it ought not be a default recommendation.)

So, if someone tells you to switch from two languages to one language, what should you do?

#1. Reflect

Do you want to raise bilingual kids, or do your circumstances mean that you need to use two or more languages?

If your answer is no, and you don’t feel strongly that you either want or need bilingualism, then you should never feel obligated to implement it. Of course there are benefits to being bilingual, but it also involves investment of some combination of time, energy, effort, and money, especially in English-speaking countries where monolingualism is the norm.

If your answer is yes, you want or need your children to use multiple languages, great! Kids can handle more than one language, and there are many benefits to being multilingual. Now let’s delve deeper into knowledge and resources that can help you! Proceed to step two...

#2. Educate Yourself

Around half of the world’s children are raised with two or more languages. Being monolingual or multilingual are simply different states of being, neither of which is inherently superior.

A few important facts:

Children’s brains CAN handle multiple languages.

One language is not learned at the expense of another. The brain is not a bucket wherein the more space one language takes up, the less room the other language has. Bilinguals have more and denser grey matter in relevant areas of the brain than monolinguals. Knowing a language better simply means knowing that language better. It doesn’t necessarily mean knowing the other language worse. In a previous blog post, I gave tips for making sure that both of a bilingual child’s languages are kept up without losing the other.

Bilingualism doesn’t cause “confusion.”

Bilingualism does not cause speech delays and it neither causes nor worsens already-present speech disorders. A child switching between languages is normal, and is not a cause for concern.

A major reason why some people continue to recommend switching to speaking only one language is because they hold on to outdated myths about finite brain space and the risk of “confusing” children.

Get well-versed in the facts and you can avoid being swayed by arguments that rest on myths! Which leads to the next step...

#3. Find Good Resources

As stated above, some professionals may not be up to date with the current research: they don’t know that bilingualism does not cause speech delays, and it neither causes nor worsens already-present speech disorders. Thus, they may pressure families of kids with suspected or diagnosed speech/language difficulties to switch to one language only. (Or, they may even recommend English-only in any situation, as in my example above with my own daughter.)

You can empower yourself to feel confident in your own choices by educating yourself on the evidence-based information about bilingualism.

A great start is this ASHA post written for Speech-Language Pathologists. It clearly explains why automatically recommending that children with speech issues switch from multilingual to monolingual isn’t the best practice. This Smart Speech Therapy post digs into the research behind bilingualism’s benefits for kids with speech/language disorders in particular.

For those who like an in-depth, nuanced, thoroughly researched read, Dual Language Development and Disorders is a very informative book and that is written with both parents and professionals in mind.

A guideline that works for most situations is that adults who regularly interact with your child should speak any language that they’re fluent and comfortable in when they speak with your child. For example, let’s say there’s a mom, Guilia, who is fluent in both English and Italian, but her dominant language is English because she moved to the U.S. when she was a little girl. In this case, Guilia might choose to speak Italian to her son (even though it would be more comfortable for her to speak in English) so that her son has more exposure to her minority language. Even if Guilia’s son hears less English at home than his monolingual classmates, a typically developing child born in the U.S. and exposed to English at school and in his community is expected to pick up English just as fluently as his monolingual English-speaking peers.

The equivalent guideline for kids with diagnosed speech/language difficulties is a little more specific: to have adults who regularly care for your child speak the language to your child that these adults are most comfortable speaking. The logic behind this rule is that hearing as rich, varied, and complex a language example as possible is especially important for children with speech/language difficulties, since hearing such good language models helps build up the intricate scaffolding of important neuropathways that the brain needs for learning any language. In sum, parents of kids with diagnosed speech/language difficulties in particular are wise to consider which language(s) the primary adults in your child’s life are most comfortable speaking.

To illustrate how this might look in practice, let’s go back to the case of Guilia, a mom who is bilingual in Italian and English. Let’s say Guilia’s parents live with her and babysit often, and Italian is their dominant language, and they speak a little English. In this case, Guilia might speak English to her son because that is her dominant language, and have her parents speak Italian with her child, because Italian is their most dominant language. If Guilia’s parents switched to English, it would be tough for them, and they’d end up speaking and communicating less with their grandson overall if they’re not sure about grammar or how to say certain words in English. In this case, the best model of language that his grandparents can provide for him is in Italian, so that’s the language it makes sense for them to speak with him. Hearing models of any language with rich vocabulary and complex and grammatically correct structures helps a child develop skills that make learning other languages easier.

Families of children who struggle with language are most often told to switch to one language and stick to it. But what kids with communication difficulties truly need is extra language support. If switching to one language would lead to less language exposure overall in the child’s life, that’s one good reason to keep both languages.

#4. Dig Deeper

Think about why you’ve been advised to stop bilingualism.

Was it for reasons specific to your family’s situation?

Did you weigh the pros and cons of every option with the recommender?

Or was it a blanket recommendation given regardless of individual circumstances?

Every situation is different, and there are sometimes individual circumstances where the costs of maintaining two languages in a family outweigh the benefits, and the best course of action in that case may be switching to one language. That is why, when I work with bilingual children as a Speech-Language Pathologist, I look at all dimensions of the family’s situation, their wants and needs, and other relevant background such as the child’s medical history before making any recommendations.

A professional with deep knowledge of this topic will take into account at least the following:

  • Which language the important adults in your child’s life speak fluently
  • The language(s) spoken in the child’s larger social sphere (i.e. neighborhood, city, country)
  • The feelings of the child and the other members of the household regarding maintaining the heritage language
  • The child’s medical and developmental history

For many families raising bilingual children, switching to one language is not a simple matter, and it is not a decision to be made lightly. This is especially true for families passing on a heritage language, which lends a special connection to cultural background and to family members who only speak that language.

If you wish from the bottom of your heart to raise kids with more than one language, and someone recommends that you switch to one language only, I understand why you might doubt yourself - I've felt that moment of doubt, too! While there are no simple answers, empowering yourself through education and weighing all the options carefully will help you feel confident in whatever decision you choose for yourself and your family.

Finally, never hesitate to contact an expert if you have any questions or need guidance!


Families who are trying to raise bilingual/multilingual children may find it helpful to create an individualized Family Language Plan with a supportive bilingual professional. If having a guide to help you navigate the ins and outs of implementing effective and realistic bilingual methods and strategies sounds helpful to your family, contact me for a 60 minute initial consultation via Skype.


Top tips for raising bilinguals (from adults who were raised bilingual!)

Raising kids with a minority language at home is not always easy, and that’s especially true in countries such as the U.S., where society tends to view speaking one language as the norm. As a specialist in bilingual language development and as the mom of a bilingual child myself, I’m always on the lookout for tips to make raising bilingual kids easier!

In past blog posts, I’ve discussed bilingual parenting tips from the perspective of child development, and tips from other parents who are raising bilingual kids.

Today I bring you tips from the unique perspective of adults who were raised bilingual as children. Those who I interviewed were raised in the U.S. with a language besides English at home, and their parents intentionally passed on their heritage language to the next generation.

There are many common themes, thoughts, and tips brought up by many of the people I interviewed. Hopefully, their wisdom and life experience, both from their childhood memories and from their current perspectives as adults, can be helpful to parents today who are making choices about how to approach maintaining a minority language at home with their children.

There are 5 main takeaway points that I gathered from these interviews:

#1: There are a wide variety of benefits to being bilingual that far outweigh the downsides.

Those who were raised with two languages pointed out benefits to being bilingual across all dimensions of their lives.

These bilingual adults described many social benefits to being bilingual, both concrete and intangible. Many people described how speaking more than one language has been very practical and useful when traveling, and not only to countries where they spoke the language! For example, knowing Spanish helps you communicate when traveling to countries where other Romance languages such as Italian or French are spoken, because of the similarities among these languages, in addition to the fact that Spanish is a widely-spoken language around the world, so knowing both English and Spanish greatly increases the total number of people you can communicate with.

Some people describe similar benefits closer to home: you’re more likely to be able to help a lost tourist or communicate with a new neighbor from another country if you speak their language! Everyday benefits of being bilingual include having access to a wider variety of media such as news, books, and films, and the potential broadening of worldview that comes with that. For those who have relatives who speak only the minority language (or who are more dominant in the minority language), being able to speak the same language as that relative helps foster a closer relationship.

In terms of professional benefits, many people noted that they had more job opportunities available to them, and felt that being bilingual helped them in their careers. For instance, doctors, lawyers, social workers, and other professionals pointed out that their bilingual skills mean that they have a wider pool of potential clients. What's more, they can communicate better with (and thus be more helpful to) their clients who are more comfortable speaking a minority language. Others felt that being bilingual made them stand out in a positive way and gave them an edge during the job application process, regardless of whether ended up using their minority language at work.

#2: Bilingual adults are glad to be bilingual today, but rejection of heritage language at some point in childhood is very common.

All of the survey respondents said that they were glad to be bilingual as adults, yet almost all of them said that at some point during their childhood they disliked having a minority language, or even refused to speak the language at times. The age that these negative feelings came up varied widely, and the reasons given for the dislike ranged from being embarrassed, or viewing English as the more important language. Some children wanted to speak the language that their friends spoke at school, or, after they reached the point where they became dominant in English (as is expected and typical for kids raised in the U.S. to do at some point), they simply wanted to speak in the language that came most naturally to them and in which they could express themselves most clearly. Some who needed to speak the heritage language at home (due to having a relative who only spoke the heritage language, for instance) described going through a period of feeling resentment about speaking a language that was harder for them. The amount of time that this phase lasted also varied widely, but all the interviewees said after they went through the part of their life where they rejected the heritage language, at some point they had a change of perspective and embraced being bilingual and all the benefits that come with it.

Being prepared for the fact that rejection of the heritage language is a very common feature of raising bilingual children in a monolingual culture can help parents anticipate and navigate this phase.

But, what should parents do if children start rejecting the heritage language? Read on...

#3: The most common advice? Persist, even if it’s tough.

Bilingual adults vary in their advice on precisely how to implement teaching a heritage language, but the consensus is that the most important piece of advice is to keep up exposure to the heritage language, even if it gets tough. Some recommended having children answer in the heritage language and making sure they get a formal education in that language (such as after-school programs or other classes), while others emphasized maintaining a balance of exposing children to the heritage language in a natural way by overhearing it, while at the same time avoiding any pressure associated with the heritage language.

The wide variety of advice on how, exactly, to transmit a language speaks to the fact that family situations, environments, children’s learning styles, temperaments, and attitudes towards the heritage language differ widely, and there is no one-size-fits-all prescription for how to transmit a heritage language. The fact is, there is more than one way to effectively raise children to be bilingual, and part of the challenge for parents is to find a method that is effective, realistic to implement, and fits in with their family's unique culture and parenting style.

#4: The second most common advice: make it fun!

Another common piece of advice from bilinguals is to have a fun approach to language exposure! Doing fun, pressure-free activities in the language (such as games), emphasizing the cool advantages of being bilingual (such as having a "secret code" if it is a less common language), and finding creative opportunities to bring the heritage language into your child’s life all contribute to making learning another language motivating. 

#5: Start early!

Many adult bilinguals credit their ability to speak a second language as adults to being exposed to a heritage language before they can remember, thus laying the foundation for maintaining or strengthening those language skills later in life. Some of the bilinguals who mentioned that they went through periods of time of refusing to speak the heritage language credit their early exposure to the language and the deep-rooted knowledge that it conferred upon them to being able to pick up their heritage language again faster once they went back to it.

As you can see, wisdom from those raised bilingual includes: starting early, making learning a heritage language fun, being consistent with the teaching methods you choose, and persisting through obstacles. This will give you a great start down the path of raising children who grow up to be proudly bilingual adults!

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For more tips on raising bilingual children, check out Polyglot Parenting's online course, How to Raise A Bilingual Child.

Or, for individualized advice, families raising bilingual/multilingual children may find it useful to create a custom Family Language Plan with the help of a bilingual professional. If having a guide to help you navigate the ins and outs of implementing effective and realistic bilingual methods and strategies sounds helpful to your family, contact me for a 60 minute initial consultation via Skype.

 


6 Biggest Myths About Raising Bilingual Kids Debunked (Video)

Don't fall prey to these 6 common myths about bilingualism!

In this video, I debunk common myths that you may have heard about being bilingual. In sum:

#1:
MYTH: Bilingualism causes speech disorders and delays.
FACT: Bilingualism does not cause or worsen speech disorders or delays.

#2:
MYTH: A child's brain can't handle more than one language.
FACT: The human brain can handle multiple languages.

#3:
MYTH: Kids mix languages because they're confused.
FACT: Mixing languages is normal, not a sign of confusion.

#4
MYTH: Kids soak up languages like a sponge.
FACT: Children need significant long-term exposure to both languages to become fluently bilingual.

#5
MYTH: There's a cut-off age when kids lose the ability to become bilingual.
FACT: People of any age can learn new languages.

#6
MYTH: Kids learn best the language spoken directly to them.
FACT: Kids learn the language best that they overhear the most.

***

Families who are trying to raise bilingual/multilingual children may find it helpful to create an individualized Family Language Plan with a supportive bilingual professional. If having a guide to help you navigate the ins and outs of implementing effective and realistic bilingual methods and strategies sounds helpful to your family, contact me for a 60 minute initial consultation via Skype.

 


Buying the Best Bilingual Book

Reading with your children is a wonderful and fun way to build language skills, and holds countless other benefits as well. Many parents raising bilingual kids wonder what type of children’s books are best for learning the minority language. There are three broad categories of such children’s books: books written originally in the minority language, translations into the minority language, and bilingual books (sometimes called dual language books) written in two languages. Each type of book has its place, is useful in its own way, and would make a good addition to a child’s home library.

Minority language books can play a key role in language learning.

1. Books Written Originally in the Minority Language

Benefits: Books originally written in the target language are great! If you are able to read a text in its original language, every bit of nuance and wordplay is available to you, and without a doubt, there are some books and poems that are inimitably wonderful in their original form. Look no further than "Jabberwocky," a poem first written in English whose gloriously unique nature can be hard to replicate perfectly in translation (though not for want of trying, and some of the efforts get quite close to the feel of the original.) Being able to appreciate the wordplay in a piece of writing that’s uniquely accessible to a speaker of its original language can help foster a positive attitude toward the minority language, because it’s like having access to a cool secret code. Another benefit is that reading books originally written in the minority language is an immersive experience in language and culture, which supports biculturalism as well.

Keep an eye out for: Poems and nursery rhymes are especially wonderful in the original language because the original rhyme structures are preserved.

2. Translations into the Minority Language

Benefits: It can be very motivating for a child to read a translation of a book they’re already excited about. For example, if a child loves Eric Carle, Dr. Suess, or Harry Potter, reading translations of their favorites into the minority language can be fun. Also, reading a translation of a beloved book means the characters and plot are already familiar, so the focus of the book can be on the meaning of the language.

Keep an eye out for: First, make sure that the quality of the translation is good, i.e. that the book makes sense and the word choice and grammar are correct. It can be helpful to browse through books at the library and use the “look inside” feature of book-selling websites before you decide to buy a book. If you are not a native speaker of the minority language yourself, ask someone who is a native speaker to help you with this task--or just bring them along with you to the bookstore! If you go to a brick-and-mortar store, be sure to call ahead and check whether they have a selection of children’s book in the language you are looking for.

Also, when working with translations, bear in mind that there are always certain turns of phrase, plays on words, references, or rhymes that simply work best in the original language. What’s more, words that are “the same” in different languages may, in fact, have very different connotations. An example of this is the different images that “una torta de mela, apfelkuchen, tarte de pomme and apple pie” conjure up in the minds of people fluent in Spanish, German, French and English respectively; a great description of the differences can be found in this response on Quora to the question, "Which is better, reading a book in its original language or reading it in my native language?"

Yet there are many timeless stories that touch upon themes that are universal to the human condition. These books are translated into languages across the globe, and that does not detract from their value. Well-translated books are an asset to your book collection.

3. Bilingual Books (Dual Language Books)

Note that sometimes books written in two languages are called bilingual books, and sometimes they’re called dual language books. So, one tip for looking for books online is that you can increase your search results by trying both search terms plus your language. You will often come up with different search results for each.

Benefits:  Getting a dual language book is like getting two books in one. If a bilingual child has important people in their life who speak only one of their two languages, either can read this book to the child.  

Seeing the text of both languages side-by-side can help children develop metalinguistic skills. It allows children to do a side-by-side comparison of the two languages and think about language on a higher level, including considering how and when language is used and the different components that comprise each language.

Discussing a dual language book in each language at different times can create an opportunity to introduce vocabulary that involves analyzing stories, which can deepen the child’s comprehension of the texts and nurture their ability to discuss complex topics in each of their two languages.

For those children who are learning a heritage language, seeing representations that reflect their at-home heritage can be have a positive impact across dimensions, including academic, social, and emotional.

Helpful links on the topic of bilingual books include:

Keep an eye out for:  Generally, it may be helpful to read the book all the way through in one language at a time in order to create a language immersion experience (although it does no harm to go back and forth between the languages). This is especially true to if you are trying to create an association of a particular person with a particular language (as in the “One Parent One Language” method of teaching language.) This is similar to the principles behind why there is no need to use simultaneous verbal translation as a teaching method.

Where can you find books in the minority language?

Your local library is often a great place to start looking for children’s books in your minority language. Check your library’s online card catalogue. If there are few choices in the language you’d like, look into whether your library is able to special order a book for you from another branch. Call local book stores, including used book stores, and check to see if they have a selection of children’s book in your target language. When looking at online book sellers, look beyond big-name websites to niche websites that specifically specialize in selling books in your target language. Another unique idea is to get your child personalized bilingual books in your minority language. These can make for interesting, fun, custom gifts.

The bottom line is that reading is beneficial to language learning and helps set your children up for academic success. Whether that involves immersion in the language and culture that the book was originally written in, or reading already-familiar plots and characters in a minority language, or even reading a book in two languages, it’s all good. Just... read!

 

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For more tips on raising bilingual children, check out Polyglot Parenting's online course, How to Raise A Bilingual Child.

Or, for individualized advice, families raising bilingual/multilingual children may find it useful to create a custom Family Language Plan with the help of a bilingual professional. If having a guide to help you navigate the ins and outs of implementing effective and realistic bilingual methods and strategies sounds helpful to your family, contact me for a 60 minute initial consultation via Skype.


Why You Need a Bilingual Action Plan

One of the most common myths about bilingual kids is that they pick up languages very quickly and easily. The idea that children pick up languages “like a sponge” with small amounts of language input is one of those myths that has a grain of truth in it. Children are indeed better and faster at picking up languages than adults. Having said that, children require a lot of language input to become and stay fluently bilingual through adulthood. In an ideal world, becoming a person with native-like fluency in two languages would take about 50%/50% exposure from each language throughout childhood. In the real world, a good target for fluency is at least 30% of one of the languages. In terms of hours, that would be at least 20 hours a week of the minority language. That’s a lot of consistent language input, especially if the child attends school in the majority language.

Of course, the number of hours of minority language exposure that you choose certainly doesn’t have to be as much as 20 hours per week! The hours per week of the minority language that you want in your child’s life totally depends on your fluency goals. One thing that is clear is, no matter what your language goals, children becoming bilingual in a minority language (especially in a country, such as the U.S., where monolingualism in the majority language is the norm) doesn’t just happen effortlessly: it takes planning, and it takes resources such as time, effort, mental energy, or money. The path of least resistance is for children to lean towards speaking the majority language of their country, which means they can quickly become monolingual speakers of the majority language if given a chance. One of the best ways to set yourself up for success in maintaining the minority language is to figure out a plan that makes sense for your family, and to stick to it consistently.

Here are some questions that it may be helpful to ask yourself in the process of planning how your child will learn their minority language:

  1. What are your goals for your child’s fluency level? After all, knowing a language is not an all-or-nothing endeavor, and a wide spectrum exists between recognizing some basic phrases, total fluency, and everything in between. Would you like your child to be a balanced bilingual (i.e. equally fluent in both languages?) Would you be happy to have your child understand a basic conversation in the minority language? Would you like them to have the ability to hold conversations about everyday subjects?
  2. What language modalities are important to you? In terms of knowledge of the minority language, how important to you is their ability to understand spoken language? How about ability to speak? Is it important to you that your child be able to read in the minority language? To be able to write? How will you plan their language learning to gain skills in each of these modalities?
  3. If you are passing a heritage language down to your child, which adults in your child’s life will speak which languages to your child, and when, and where?
  4. Are all of the adult caretakers in your child’s life on board with your child learning more than one language?
  5. How many hours per week will your child be exposed to the minority language, and does that number of hours match up with your goals for your child’s fluency level across the different modalities of speaking, understanding spoken language, reading, and writing?
  6. What kind of resources are you willing and able to invest towards having your children learn more than one language in terms of time, mental energy, and money?
  7. In what situations, if any, will your child NEED to use the language? Will there ever be times when your child is immersed in the minority language?
  8. Are you prepared for potential naysayers? What might you say to them? It can be very helpful to be armed with facts about what typical bilingual childhood speech/language development looks like, to know the truth behind the most common myths about bilingualism, to know the basics of How to Raise a Bilingual Child, and to be able to give fact-based answers to questions such as “won’t kids get confused?
  9. How can you tailor your child’s learning a minority language so that it takes into account their interests and suits their learning style?
  10. Do you know what your local resources are for your minority language (such as local dual language schools, after school programs, classes, or playgroups)?
  11. For those with older children: How does your child feel about learning another language?

Every family’s language situation has countless unique variables that are best taken into account when creating a plan of action for raising multilingual kids. It’s not always easy to sort through all of these variables to create your family’s ideal language plan all on your own, so if you have any questions or if you feel stuck, don’t hesitate to reach out to a language professional for support in creating your plan. Then, last but not least, go forth and put that language plan into action!

 


4 Must-Know Aspects of How Bilingual Kids Learn Language

The speech and language development paths of monolingual and bilingual children have more in common than not. Bilingual and monolingual children generally experience the same major speech and language milestones. These include starting to babble, saying their first words, starting to form sentences, and being able to tell a complete story.

Still, there are a few unique aspects of language development for children growing up with more than one language. Not all bilingual children experience the language aspects discussed here, but the following four are common enough to keep an eye out for. It can be helpful for parents to know that these aspects can be a typical part of healthy bilingual language development.

Before delving into those unique aspects, though, it may be helpful to have a point of reference for speech and language milestones common to all children. If you wish to take a closer looking at those, there are lots of resources out there for general speech and language development. Here are a couple of good links with accurate information:

Aspect of Bilingual Development #1: Crosslinguistic Influence

The consensus of researchers in the field of bilingual language acquisition is that each language develops separately; children distinguish between their two languages from the start. Yet, the child’s two language systems are not completely sealed off from each other; at times, you can see crosslinguistic influence in a bilingual child’s speech.

Crosslinguistic influence is when a person communicates in one language, and their speech shows features (e.g., grammar, syntax, pronunciation, etc.) of another language they know. It can occur in bilingual speakers of any age, whether an adult learning a new language, or a child being raised with two languages. Crosslinguistic influence occurs in some, but not all, kids during typical bilingual language development.

To illustrate, let's consider an example using Spanish and English. (Note that this particular example happens to pertain to grammar, but crosslinguistic influence can manifest in any aspect of language.) In English, an adjective comes before a noun, whereas in Spanish, most adjectives (including colors) come after the noun. So, someone whose dominant language is Spanish may say “the car red” instead of “the red car” because that reflects the correct word order in Spanish (el coche rojo). When young bilingual children do this, it’s important to understand it as part of exploring and sorting out the grammar of their languages. Indeed, monolingual children make grammatical errors when learning language too (for instance, a monolingual toddler might say “me want truck” as a phase before they learn to say “I want the truck.”). Young children make mistakes as they sort through the system of systems of grammar that they’ve heard. Sometimes, when bilingual children make errors that have elements of crosslinguistic influence, it’s unfairly interpreted through a negative lens as a sign of “confusion”. Yet, a bilingual child making such an error should be no more cause for concern than the example just given of a monolingual child making an error. For parents wondering how to address this, you can continue the conversation including a model of the form you’d like them to use. For example, if your child says “I want the car red,” you can say “here is the red car you wanted” as you hand it to them.

Aspect of Bilingual Development #2: Silent period

Sometimes, when a child is introduced to a second language—especially when they are suddenly immersed, like starting school in a language that’s new to them—they may speak very little, or not at all, for a certain period of time. This is called a silent period of second language acquisition. Not all children go through this phase, and, for those who do, there’s no set amount of time that this period will last. Older children tend to have shorter silent periods than younger children. An older child may have a silent period of several weeks or months, whereas a younger child may not speak the less familiar language for up to six months.

For the children who go through this phase, being silent for a period of time is a response to the situation of being immersed in their new (or non-dominant) language. The silent period allows them to focus on listening, understanding, and absorbing vocabulary, grammar, and structure until they are ready to produce the language themselves. In this situation, the child’s period of silence in their non-dominant language environment then evolves to imitating the speech of others, copying words, copying phrases, quietly producing their own phrases, and, finally, speaking normally. Silent periods that occur as a stage of second language acquisition go away on their own.

If you have concerns about the amount of time that your child has been silent, especially if the child is making no movement over time in the direction of absorbing more and more of their new languages, or if the silence appears to be coupled with anxiety, reach out to an experienced Speech-Language Pathologist for an evaluation. Causes that may merit professional help include selective mutism, anxiety, and medical issues.

Aspect of Bilingual Development #3: Mixing Languages

Mixing grammar and vocabulary from two languages in one sentence is a common and normal stage in bilingual language development. This phenomenon is usually seen in children between the ages of two to four years old. For more information on language mixing, see my previous blog post Dispelling Confusion about Bilingual Confusion.

On the surface, using two languages in one sentence may sound like a child is getting “mixed up” or “confused”, but the reality is more complex. Mixing languages allows children to fill in gaps in their still-developing ability to communicate precisely what they want to say. They are temporarily leaning on their knowledge of one language while working to master the second. After the developmental phase of language mixing, children will be able to switch between speaking each language one at a time without mixing words.

Interestingly, language mixing is not only a phase of typical bilingual language development, but it is also something that bilingual adults may do with other bilingual speakers of their languages. They do this for a variety of reasons, including to fit in, share secrets, or make a point that can only be conveyed perfectly in the other language. Going back and forth between languages is something that doesn’t disappear forever. Rather, as kids grow older, it transforms into an intentional act (called “code-switching”) only done with certain conversation partners or in certain settings.

Aspect of Bilingual Development #4: Language Dominance Shift To Majority Language

Imagine a little girl, Isabella, who has been exposed mostly to Spanish since birth from her parents and grandparents at home, and Spanish is her dominant language. She starts school and is immersed in English for much of the week. As expected, within a few months, Isabella’s language dominance shifts from Spanish to English. At home, she begins mostly responding to her parents and grandparents in English. Since her family understands her in English, and English is a bit easier for her to speak now, she resists her family members’ requests for her to respond in Spanish. Her parents want her to maintain her Spanish skills, but aren’t sure how to proceed.

I often hear from parents who are disheartened that, after years of putting in effort to make sure their child gets plenty of exposure to their heritage language, they have started to face a situation like Isabella's family faces. It may be helpful to know that a shift in language dominance is nearly unavoidable when raising a child in a country (such as the U.S.) where monolingualism in the majority language is the norm. This dominance shift does not mean that your child has lost their heritage language forever, and it does not mean that all the energy that has been put into giving them opportunities to hear the minority language has been for naught. Certainly, it doesn't mean the parents have done anything wrong. It is a case where it is more helpful to prepare than to despair.

Advice for parents who wish to maintain the heritage language includes:

  • Learn about what’s typical for bilingual language development so that you won’t be caught by surprise by any bumps in the road. (Reading this blog post is a good start!)
  • Don’t be discouraged. Persist in speaking the heritage language to your child, and continue with all the usual ways you’ve exposed your child to your language, even if they reply to you in English/the majority language of your country.
  • Find opportunities where your child has a need to speak the minority language in order to be understood. The best ways to do that include making sure your child has consistent interaction with those who are monolingual in the minority language, or having your child be involved with a regular class or program that is conducted in the minority language.

The four aspects outlined here are not indicators of a language disorder, but rather, are simply language differences that are expected in healthy bilingual language development. Such differences can sometimes, on the surface, resemble a language disorder. For this reason, if you have any doubt or concerns about your child’s speech development, it’s important to see a Speech-Language Pathologist with expertise in bilingual issues who either speaks your language or is familiar with the proper protocol for using an interpreter in evaluating a child’s speech.

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For more tips on raising bilingual children, check out Polyglot Parenting's online course, How to Raise A Bilingual Child.

Or, for individualized advice, families raising bilingual/multilingual children may find it useful to create a custom Family Language Plan with the help of a bilingual professional. If having a guide to help you navigate the ins and outs of implementing effective and realistic bilingual methods and strategies sounds helpful to your family, contact me for a 60 minute initial consultation via Skype.

 

Rare photo of a young child mixing languages

 


4 Bilingual Tips to Skip

Raising your kids bilingual in a country where speaking one language is the norm is not always a piece of cake. That’s why there’s nothing better than a good, effective bilingual parenting tip, trick, or hack to make raising a bilingual kid that much easier.

But not all tips and methods for raising bilingual kids are created equal! There are some well-intentioned tips floating around out there may be unhelpful or even counterproductive to the goal of raising kids who are fluent in more than one language. Let’s break down these 4 bilingual tips to skip:

#1: Simultaneous Translation

The Tip to Skip: Going out of the way to repeat everything twice, once in each language, as a language teaching method.

First of all, there’s nothing wrong with occasionally repeating something in both languages, and sometimes there are practical reasons to do so. For example, in families where there’s one English-speaking and one bilingual parent, the bilingual parent may need to repeat crucial information to their child in the heritage language and then repeat it to their spouse in English so everyone is on the same page. Such practical situations are not what we’re talking about here.

Why skip this tip as an everyday language teaching method?

Children prefer to listen in their dominant language. So, if they know that everything will be repeated in both languages, they will listen in their dominant language and tune out their non-dominant language. In other words, it will simply take twice as long to communicate information. No parent wants that!  

Also, while it may seem that this method would expose kids equally to each language, if every other sentence is in a different language, then kids won’t get a chance to experience immersion in the heritage language (whereas, kids generally experience plenty of immersion in the majority language of their country throughout their childhoods from school and their community.) There’s nothing wrong with simultaneous translation, but there are more effective and efficient language teaching methods out there, and having heritage-language-only conversations in the child’s life are important for maintaining the language and culture.

What is a good substitute for this method?

There are many effective methods for raising bilingual children. For example, a popular and effective method for families with one bilingual and one English-speaking adult in the home is One Parent One Language, wherein the parent who speaks the minority language only speaks that language to the child. For families with two parents who are bilingual in the same language, Minority Language at Home is a popular option. 

#2: Forcing the Language

The Tip to Skip: Negative consequences if a child does not respond in a certain language and/or repeat back mistakes correctly.

First of all, I understand the logic behind this method - after all, speaking a language is good practice. If families have a rule such as “minority language only in the home” and that works for them, that’s great. My recommendation here is to use environmental influences, leading by example, and nurturing the child's self-motivation to maintain a culture of responding in a certain language, rather than negative consequences to keep up that expectation. This is because if punishments are used to compel the child’s responses, this can decrease intrinsic motivation for language learning, and/or create negative associations with that language which are counterproductive for maintaining bilingualism long-term. In fact, use of any external motivators, including rewards to incentivize language use, does not serve to increase the crucial element of internal motivation, and intrinsic motivation is key for keeping up something which requires sustained practice, creativity, and long-term commitment such as gaining and maintaining a second language until adulthood.

Before delving further into this topic, some background information about typical childhood language acquisition is in order: Almost all kids raised in an English-speaking country will start preferring to speak English at some point; English will inevitably become their dominant and most comfortable language. Once it becomes easier for the child to speak English, a child will switch to answering in that language if they know they can still be understood. This is because a child’s focus is communicating effectively in the moment. This inclination to speak in whichever language comes most easily is a part of typical language development, and the most effective way to deal with it is to find clever workarounds, not to attempt a (potentially uphill) battle of wills against it.

Four important elements are required to gain and maintain a language: exposure, need, positive attitude, and fun. While requiring children to respond in a certain language, with no reason other than fear of reprisal, may increase exposure, doing so at the expense of positive attitude can end up making the cons outweigh the pros. Having a positive attitude towards a language may seem like a small, fluffy detail, but in fact, it literally helps kids remember the language! Cultivating a positive attitude towards a language leads to long-term motivation to keep it up; creating a negative or punitive association with the language can lead the child to reject and ultimately forget the heritage language. Also, it’s not possible for a person to *force* another person to speak a certain language anyway.

What is a good substitute for this method?

First, there are ways that you as a parent can cultivate an environment where your child is expected to answer in the heritage language. Parents can consistently keep up speaking the heritage language to the child, regardless of whether the child responds in English, possibly with a gentle reminder to keep going in the heritage language if they seem to have slipped into English absentmindedly. If a child is speaking in the heritage language and they slip into English because it seems that they came across a word they only know in English, translate the word into the heritage language for them with minimal interruption to the flow of the conversation. Another way to create an encouraging atmosphere is to refrain from teasing the child if they make an error in the heritage language.

Next, remember what I was saying earlier about exposure, need, positive attitude, and fun being necessary elements in place to learn a language? "Need" is an often overlooked and undervalued aspect here, so make sure your child has a true need to consistently speak in the language. This involves regularly surrounding the child with people who are dominant speakers of the heritage language, such as relatives and babysitters. Other ways to create a need to use a language in your child’s life include video chatting with relatives who live abroad, sending children to an after-school heritage language program, or any class (art, music, dance, etc.) that happens to be in the heritage language. Likewise, try taking a family trip to an area where that language is spoken, or go places that you would attend anyways, such as a religious service, in your heritage language. Think outside of the box to put your family in situations where the heritage language is needed!

For more tips on making language learning fun, such as playing games and singing songs in the heritage language, check out our online course How to Raise a Bilingual Child.

Also, some children, especially older children, may be receptive to learning about the benefits of being bilingual, for instance, having a “secret code” to speak in, or access to more music and films. This can help them understand why responding in the heritage language is so important for practice, and thus help them stick with it.

#3: Taking the ‘One Parent One Language’ Guideline Too Literally

If you’re raising your child bilingual- or even just exploring the idea - you’ve probably come across the phrase “One Parent One Language”. This is a popular method where one parent speaks English to the child all the time and the other speaks the heritage language to the child all the time (and of course, the parents speak English with each other). There is also a variant that I call “Strict One Parent One Language,” which refers to a situation where two parents are fluent in the same languages, and one parent speaks English to both the other parent and to the child all the time, and the other parent speaks the heritage language to both the other parent and to the child all the time. Unfortunately, the idea of “One Parent One Language” is often misinterpreted.

Examples of how people sometimes misinterpret “one parent one language”:

  • Taking it to mean that this is the way you must implement bilingualism, or that this is the only effective way to raise a bilingual child. The truth is, there are many potential effective methods for raising a child. (Again, for more details on different such methods, please see our online course How to Raise a Bilingual Child.) Each family has unique circumstances that would make a different method, or a combination of methods, most effective for them; that’s why it’s so helpful for some families to consult with a bilingual parenting expert to figure out a method and plan for their specific family.
  • Some parents take the phrase “One Parent One Language” to mean that if the child hears the parent speaking any language other than “their” language that it will be harmful or confusing to the child in some way. Fortunately, that misperception is completely untrue. Children are very adaptable, and they assume that whatever situation is in front of them (whether it’s monolingualism, bilingualism, multilingualism, etc.) is normal. For a closer look at misperceptions surrounding potential confusion, please see the post Dispelling Confusion About "Bilingual Confusion."

#4: Using Teaching Methods for Older Children on Young Children

The Tip to Skip: Overusing direct instruction materials (such as flashcards, language learning DVDs, and interactive language learning computer programs) as language learning tools with very young children under age five.

Why skip this tip?

Children ages birth to five learn best through human interaction and real-life situations. Also, pre-school age children and younger have the amazing ability to learn language from overhearing it (a skill that declines as children get older.) Taking all this into account, having a young child exposed to the minority language in more naturalistic settings (such as hearing caregivers speak to them or in front of them in the minority language) is the way to go, if at all possible.

Tools of direct instruction have their place, and if a child is going to, for example, be using an app anyways, it can only be a positive thing to have that app be a language-teaching one. Yet if preschool age children or toddlers are learning individual words without context and absent social interaction, it may be hard for them to effectively absorb and integrate that language knowledge. Language learning tools that involve direct instruction such as flash cards and computer programs are best for children elementary school age and up, and there’s no need to go out of your way to use them earlier than that.

 

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For more tips on raising bilingual children, check out Polyglot Parenting's online course, How to Raise A Bilingual Child.

Or, for individualized advice, families raising bilingual/multilingual children may find it useful to create a custom Family Language Plan with the help of a bilingual professional. If having a guide to help you navigate the ins and outs of implementing effective and realistic bilingual methods and strategies sounds helpful to your family, contact me for a 60 minute initial consultation via Skype.

 


4 Tips for Monolingual Parents of Bilingual Kids

As a Bilingual Parenting Consultant, I help families create language plans to meet their language goals. Many families I work with have one monolingual parent and one bilingual parent, and one of the most frequently asked questions I get is, “How can I, as someone who speaks only English, be supportive of my kid becoming bilingual? Is there anything I can do to help if I don’t speak the language myself?”

The good news is, there is plenty that the English-only parent can do to be supportive. In fact, having the monolingual parent on board with the child growing up bilingual is super important for maintaining the minority language!

Many language tips out there are directed towards what the bilingual parent can do, so monolingual parents, here are some tips especially for you!

1. Actively help with minority language exposure

There are many opportunities for language exposure in addition to speaking to the child in the home. As the monolingual parent, you can take the child to and from lessons, playgroups, or storytimes in the minority language. Find great books in the child’s other language, find CDs or online song playlists in the language, or research other at-home learning materials that seem like a good fit for your child.

Take on some of the legwork in finding different language exposure opportunities. If there is no existing playgroup that’s local to you, connect with other bilingual families on social media to create one! Pick an activity that you think will be fun (such as reading books for a storytime), and offer to volunteer a space in your home and to oversee the activity, or go in with other local families on renting a space and hiring a professional teacher. It doesn’t even have to be a storytime class - any class that a child might normally attend (like music, dance, or art) can be taught in the heritage language.

If your child is going to be taking private lessons in something anyway (for example, piano lessons), find a tutor who can teach in the heritage language.

2. Accept that you won't understand everything

Perhaps in your family, the bilingual parent speaks only the heritage language to the child. If your family is doing child-directed One Parent One Language, don’t worry about not understanding everything that’s being said.

Feeling left out or jealousy is a natural, human response to not understanding what’s going on in a conversation between loved ones near us. Yet part of being on board with the project of raising a bilingual child may mean sacrificing understanding some conversations.

It helps to keep an eye on the big picture of raising bilingual kids and all the benefits being bilingual will mean for their future. Agree with your partner to keep open lines of communication about any ups and downs you both might be feeling - mutual trust and support is key. You may be surprised to find that you are both feeling similar emotions regarding the missed communication; often, while the monolingual parent is feeling left out, the bilingual parent is having feelings from their side of the situation such as guilt or missing having you as part of the conversation. Supporting each other through the sometimes-tough emotional aspects, articulating that you appreciate the sacrifices, time, and energy that each other are making, and reaffirming with each other that you are both on board with the goal of raising bilingual kids can be helpful.

Have something special that you and the kids share, just as the minority language is something special that the bilingual parent and the kids share - for example, a shared love for the same sport or same type of music, or activities you can do together, such as baking, painting, or anything else that speaks to you.

If there are practical concerns - for instance, you missed out on a crucial piece of information because it was only stated in the language you don’t know  - make sure to communicate clearly with your partner that if it’s something you need to know too, for them to please translate it for you!

3. Learn the language

Learning a language fluently from scratch is not an easy task. Fortunately, it’s not an all-or-nothing endeavor! Learn the most common household phrases (such as “let’s go” or “it’s dinnertime”) or words that are used in your home a lot - even if just to recognize the words being spoken. This can make living in a bilingual home easier for all, and therefore more feasible in the long run.

If you have the time and inclination, and wish to study the language more seriously, consider taking a class in the heritage language. Or, as a less time-consuming option, use a free language-learning app or website. Some of those apps make language learning gamified and fun, and it’s a good option if your goal is to gain some basic conversational skills, to understand some words, or learn to say some phrases.

4. Be the bilingual cheerleader

Your attitude towards the minority language will play a huge role in setting the tone for how the whole family views the other language, so encourage the rest of your family! Cheer on your bilingual partner when the going gets tough, and let your kids know how awesome and useful you think being bilingual is.

Educate yourself about the benefits of bilingualism, as well as popular myths and misconceptions about it. The benefits of bilingualism include an increased ability in multitasking skills, problem-solving skills, metalinguistic awareness, focusing in on relevant information, and filtering out unnecessary information. There are social benefits of being able to communicate with a larger number of people, plus more future career prospects. What’s more, being bilingual is a preventative factor against Alzheimer’s later in life.

See examples of common myths here: http://polyglotparenting.com/blog/6-biggest-myths-about-raising-bilingual-kids-debunked-video/

If people make rude comments or state misconceptions when overhearing the bilingual parent speak the heritage language with the child, act as a buffer! Firmly defending your family’s choice to raise bilingual kids will often stop negative comments in their tracks.

In sum, you as the monolingual parent have a crucial role in raising kids to be bilingual. Raising bilingual kids is a marathon, not a sprint, and your support and understanding will go a huge distance towards helping your family on the bilingual journey!

 

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For more tips on raising bilingual children, check out Polyglot Parenting's online course, How to Raise A Bilingual Child.

Or, for individualized advice, families raising bilingual/multilingual children may find it useful to create a custom Family Language Plan with the help of a bilingual professional. If having a guide to help you navigate the ins and outs of implementing effective and realistic bilingual methods and strategies sounds helpful to your family, contact me for a 60 minute initial consultation via Skype.