 |
Bilingualism
|
| What is Bilingualism?
• The Benefits of Bilingualism •
Successful Strategies
• When and how to start • Tips
to help your child with language learning • Right
or Wrong? - Test your knowledge on Bilinugalism |
|
|
What is Bilingualism?
Definition 1: The use of more than one language.
Definition 2: The ability to communicate naturally and fluently
in more than one language in all areas of life.
Between these definitions lie worlds. Somewhere in between we want
to see our children.
And as we know that life means learning in our constantly changing
world, we understand that Bilingualism is a process, not a result.
But why do we want our children to become bilingual?
Back to
top
|
The Benefits of Bilingualism
Knowing about the benefits that Bilingualism can bring helps us
to stick to our decision in difficult times. It also motivates us
to continue when our child reaches a "learning plateau":
|
Communication advantages |
Bilingualism enables the child to communicate with all members
of the close and extended family as well as with friends.
This helps developing a good family cohesion and building
relationships.
Bilingualism allows greater flexibility to choose a place
to live and work.
|
|
Cultural advantages |
As language is part of culture, Bilingualism
develops a broader cultural understanding and multicultural
sensitivity, greater tolerance and social harmony. |
|
Cognitive advantages |
Research shows that learning and use of more than one language
- enhances problem solving and analytical skills,
- allows better formation of concepts,
- increases visual-social abilities,
- furthers logical reasoning,
- supports cognitive flexibility.
|
| Personal
advantages |
Bilingualism also helps to
- stimulate creativity,
- raise self-esteem,
- increase flexibility and adaptability,
- enhance interpersonal and social skills,
- develop greater social sensitivity.
|
| Curriculum
advantages |
The understanding and development of concepts in more than
one language allows the transfer of academic skills across
the languages.
Bilingualism facilitates collaborative and cooperative learning
within a language-diverse environment.
Languages can be chosen as subject at school or university.
|
Back to
top |
Successful strategies
Please discuss the following strategies with all family members
(including grandparents, brothers, sisters etc.) and find a joint
decision. It is very important to stick to one strategy as early
as possible in the child's life:
| One
Person - one language |
Each parent speaks with the child in his/her language. The
child is able to develop a "single-language" relationship
to each parent.
|
| Minority
language at home |
Both parents speak their joint minority language at home
and the child learns the majority language away from home.
If you decide to speak the minority language at home, but
not in public, your child might feel that this language is
not being good enough to be spoken in public. This may affect
the child's identification with the minority language. Trust
multicultural Australia's ability to deal with many languages.
|
| Both
parents - both languages |
Parents chose the language according to their needs.
As the majority language is heard and spoken everywhere else,
we recommend speaking the minority language at home, if possible.
|
| Minority
language is only spoken occasionally |
The minority language is only spoken at special occasions,
at certain times and/or special places.
This strategy makes a good start to (re-)introduce the minority
language to a child who already speaks the majority language.
|
If you meet with speakers of another than your language, explain
that you speak to your child in the family language. You can ask
the people involved whether they would like you to repeat what you
and your child said in English.
Back to
top
|
When and how to start
Introducing the family language from birth
We recommend starting as early as possible, i.e. when the child
is born.
Introducing a second/third... language later in a child's life
is possible. Some families might wish to start with the second language
when the first one is firmly established, i.e. when the child is
about 3-4 years old. No research has shown that this strategy is
better for the language and literacy ability of the child.
(Re-)Introducing the family language later than English
Monolingual children might be introduced to a new language as a
special thing, gradually, starting with explaining words and songs,
stories, books, using special occasions, making it a game with lots
of fun and no stress.
You can introduce 1 or 2 words a day, depending on the age of the
child, stimulating the visual (pictures), hearing (songs) and tactile
(object itself) senses. To see if the child absorbed a word, let
it choose or point at the object you name and as the last learning
step the child will be able to repeat the word itself.
For older children you can label objects in your home, such as
door, table, shelf.
Introducing English later than the family language
Your child is settled in your family language and you want to prepare
it for the English speaking environment in general or its start
with school?
Stick to your chosen strategy for your family language and let
others teach your child English. Expose your child to English as
much as possible, for instance
- on playgrounds
- in playgroups
- meeting with English speaking friends
- in Childcare
For children of pre-school age childcare
centres organise one-on-one support for the child with a bilingual
childcare worker through the Ethnic ChildCare Resource Unit ECCRU
(initially 6 sessions with option for extension).
Special English learning support programs for non English speaking
children at school-age are available
at various locations around Perth. All programs are supported by
ESL. More details available from Education
Department of WA.
We encourage parents to match the vocabulary development of their
children through Migrant English courses, TAFE courses and/or private
language learning arrangements.
Back to
top |
Tips to help your child with language learning
Bilingualism is a process, it doesn't simply happen... But we can
work at it.
To enable your child to speak a language well, you have to communicate
as much as you can. The more opportunities your child has to practice
a language the faster this language will be learnt.
Here is what counts in successful language learning:-
|
Set your goal |
Decide what bilingualism suits your child and your family
situation. Do you like to have your children just understand
the family language or enable them to speak, read and/or write
it as well?
Only when the child grows into an adult, who is fully functional
in the family language, he/she might be able to teach it to
his/her own children.
|
|
Your Commitment |
If you speak in a language other than English, stick to it!
Be persistent, perseverant and patient.
|
|
Lots of Encouragement |
Encourage the child to speak in the
other language. |
|
Frequent Repetition |
Repeat the child's words in the correct
form. |
|
Different Means |
Follow up with music, books, stories,
tapes and computer software in your language.
Create language games according to your child's development.
Make your own collection of rhymes and riddles that you can
use over and over again. |
|
Different Topics |
Talk about everything. Find out how things work and encourage
your child to ask questions (and take the time to answer them,
too).
Knowledge, skills and concepts learnt in one language can
easily be transferred into another language. But if no concepts
are learnt in the minority language, the vocabulary and literacy
of the child will be very limited.
Match up the child's vocabulary in the other language in
your language. Speak with your child about what is happening
out of home in the family language.
|
|
Language Routines |
Invent a language routine. For instance,
when you go to the shops or on a walk, when travelling in the
car or brushing teeth, use the family language to tell certain
stories or speak about certain topics. |
|
Speak your language properly |
Parents and other adults are role models for their children's
language behaviour. Talk about your life, about what you see,
feel, want, like and share your thoughts.
Speak your language well. Use the appropriate names and make
whole, short sentences. Develop your own language skills by
reading, talking and writing in your language.
And please, don't mix your languages!
|
|
Broad range of Conversation Partners |
Show the child that other people speak your language, too.
The child needs to hear the language from many different
speakers (old, young, male and female voices, various accents
and dialects, different media like phone, radio, tape). Enlist
the help of family members of your language, like grandparents.
Mix with other people who speak your language in different
situations and environment. The child learns how adults communicate
while listening to communication between same language speakers.
|
|
Make it Fun |
Support the child at its own pace. Focus on the fun involved
and avoid stress. Try to give your child incentives that work.
Enjoy every little progress and focus on small success.
|
|
Kids Language Clubs |
Join one of our Kids
Language Clubs or become a Language
Coordinator for your Language. |
| Take
your language to school |
Let teachers, other parents and children in your child's
school know, what languages your family speak.
Support teachers in preparing classes in your language.
Ask teachers to set up bilingual term projects, for instance
if your child can deliver a project about snails in your language.
This could not only enrich the language classes for other
children at school, it also increases academic cognitive language
abilities in your child and is at the same time a great preparation
for TEE in the family language.
|
Back to
top |
Right or Wrong? - Test your knowledge on Bilingualism
Bilingualism is an exception.
In fact: Monolingualism is the exception. Two third of world population
speak more than one language.
More than one language confuses the child and it mixes the languages.
No research has yet shown that 1 language only gives advantages
to a child.
Bilingual children between 2-3 years often go through a stage when
they mix languages. Their vocabulary in both languages is seldom
equally developed. They not only have to learn which word is appropriate
in each language, but also which word belongs to which language.
Just repeat mixed sentences in the correct form and flow on. Try
to balance the vocabulary in both languages, i.e. talk about out-of-home
activities in your language.
A language is nothing more than language.
As language is the means of communication it is heavily involved
with culture. Language learning means understanding the culture
the language belongs to as well.
Bilingualism means speaking more than one language without accent.
It is not unusual for bilingual children to speak one language
with a foreign accent.
The dominance of one language to another may change from time to
time.
Back to
top |
| |
|
|
